And the had to do it with just two players left on the bench.

Despite the loss of senior post player Alision VanLoon last week, and the loss of freshman standout Autumn Christenson early in Thursday’s game — both due to knees injuries, the Vikings never trailed versus the Eagles, coming away with the 57-48 victory. Oakridge was missing one of its key players as well, senior Vanessa Decker-Smith.

Whitehall and Shelby now sit just one game back of the Eagles in the race for the West Michigan Conference title.

“Our energy was where we needed it to be tonight,” said Viking head coach Tony Annese. “We take pride in winning at home. We haven’t lost here in over two years.”

The Vikings looked confident from the start, racing out to the 16-8 lead after one and upping that lead to 11, 32-21 at the break.

But the Eagles made a game of it in the fourth, chopping the Vikes’ lead to just three, 43-40, before a 7-0 run, including a big three-pointer by senior Taylor Sikkenga, put the game solidly on the side of the host Vikings.

“We knew they’d make a run, and I told them that at half time,” said Annese. “We were able to fight through it.”

On the other end of the court, Oakridge head coach Terry DeJonge lamented his team’s first loss of the season. “This one’s going to hurt,” he said. “We just shot ourselves in the foot.”

Senior Nicci Thomas led the Vikings with 20 points and four boards, while senior Haley Sohasky poured in 13 points and dished out five assists. Sikkenga added 12 points on four threes and came up with four steals in the victory.

Oakridge’s Sam Zimmer shared game-high honors with Thomas, finishing with 20 points as well.

Whitehall 57: Allie Annese 1 5-6 7, Hayden Stine 1 2-2 4, Taylor Sikkenga 4 0-0 12, Haley Sohasky 3 5-9 13, Autumn Christenson 1 0-0 2, Nicci Thomas 8 4-5 20. Totals 18 16-22 57.

Oakridge 48: Wiard 8 2-3 18, Cooper 1 0-0 2, Lowe 1 2-2 4, Basch 3 0-0 8, DeNio 1 0-0 2, Zimmer 8 1-2 20. Totals 18 16-22 57.

Three-point field goals: Sikkenga 4, Sohasky, Basch 2. Total fouls: Oakridge 18, Whitehall 10, Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. JV: Oakridge won.

Whitehall 16 16 8 17-57

Oakridge 8 13 12 15-48

Pre-game pep talk sparks Reeths-Puffer girls to win

MUSKEGON — While it’s usually the case that the only thing in basketball that matters is what you do out on the court.

But Friday night, the Reeths-Puffer girls basketball squad learned some things are important off the hard court as well.

The Rockets received a rollicking pep talk by long-time Michigan high school basketball coach Rob Porritt — who is related to the Rockets’ Jennifer Wilson — prior to their game with Kenowa Hills, and it seemed to make a difference.

“We’ll give him an assist,” smiled Rocket head coach Brandon Barry.

Despite a slow start, the Rockets battled back from a 12-9 first-quarter deficit to tail by just one point, 23-22, at the break.

From there, however, the Rockets took control of the game, outscoring the Knights 15-5 in the third quarter to take a 37-28 lead into the fourth.

The Rockets benefited greatly from the free throw line, hitting 23-of-32 attempts, more than making up for a critical lack of field goals.

“We did it at the line, and we did it with defense,” said Barry.

The Rockets got scoring from seven team memebers, led by senior guard Killian Barry, who had 12, and senior guard Emily Lindenbaum, how added nine. The duo also caused three steals each.

Senior center Cassie Swanson pulled down eight boards for R-P in the win.

Reeths-Puffer 44: Briana Fogle 1 4-6 7, Jennifer Wilson 0 5-5 5, Killian Barry 4 2-3 12, Cassie Swanson 0 4-6 4, Kelly Barnes 0 2-3 2, Erin Caughey 0 3-4 3, Emily Lindenbaum 3 3-4 9. Totals 8 23-31 44.

Kenowa Hills 34: Palmer 4 1-2 9, Rettig 1 0-0 2, VanEssen 1 0-0 2, Preston 2 2-2 6, Morley 1 0-0 3, Anderson 2 0-1 4, Sandel 1 0-3 2, Soltys 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 5-10 34.

Three-point field goals: Fogle, Barry 2. Total fouls: Kenowa Hills 20, Reeths-Puffer 17. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.

Reeths-Puffer 9 13 15 7-44

Kenowa Hills 12 11 5 6-34

Quick start doesn't hold up for Wiidcats

Montague girls

SHELBY — A quick start versus Shelby wasn’t enough Thursday night for the visiting Montague Wildcat girls basketball team, which fell to the Tigers 45-39 in league action.

After earning a 10-3 lead after one, the Wildcats were outscored 15-4 in the second quarter, with Shelby taking a 18-14 lead into the locker room. The Tiger lead ballooned to 10 in the fourth before Montague battled back to take a two-point lead late in the game. But the Wildcats went cool from there and Shelby won it from the line.

“We had our chance to win it,” said Montague head coach Bill O’Connell. “We just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

Makenzie Bortell led the ‘Cats with 10 points, with Audrey Anderson adding eight points. Rachel Flagstead had seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, while Katie LaRue had six rebounds and four steals in the defeat.

Montague 39: Makenzie Bortell 4 1-2 10, Morgan Cullen 1 1-2 3, Bri Lambrix 1 0-0 3, Audrey Anderson 2 2-4 8, Katie LaRue 2 0-2 4, Rachel Flagstead 1 0-0 2, Megan Rumsey 2 2-4 6, Aubrey Boerema 2 0-2 4. Totals 14 7-18 39.

Shelby 45: Hoffman 1 0-2 2, Tjapkes 1 0-0 2, Beckman 5 3-3 14, Rice 1 1-2 3, Brown 1 0-2 2, Czurak 5 4-10 14, Henion 2 2-5 6. Totals 17 10-24 45.

Three-point field goals: Bortell, Lambrix, Beckman. Total fouls: Montague 14, Shelby 13. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none. JV: Shelby won.

Montague 10 4 9 16-39

Shelby 3 15 9 18-45