Van Buren County girls fall in opener

DANVILLE — Van Buren County opened their season with a trip to Danville Tuesday night.

It was the first night out for Marley Hall as head coach of the Warriors as well.

The Warriors put up a fight through-in and throughout, but ultimately fell in the contest, 60-52.

Danville pressed Van Buren for the majority of the contest, causing the Warriors to commit an overabundance of turnovers, ending the game with 60 total.

“I won’t take anything away from Danville, they pressured the heck out of us,” Hall said. “They have the numbers to do so. They had fresh legs, and they were pushing, pushing, pushing. I think a huge thing for us, is handling the ball under pressure. In the past we had one or two people that handled all of that, we don’t have that this year. It’s a brand-new thing for them.”

The Bears came out of the gates firing, hitting five threes in the first quarter.

At the end of quarter number one, the Warriors trailed the Bears 22-12.

In the second quarter, Van Buren started to find their stride. Midway through the quarter, the Warrior went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 24.

Despite the run, the Bears fought back, a ended on a 5-0 run of their own, ending the quarter with a 29-24 lead.

In the third quarter the Warriors struggled, scoring only seven points. By the end of the quarter they faced their largest deficit of the contest for a second time, trailing 46-31.

The Warriors fought back, coming within eight, but there wasn’t enough time left on the clock.

The loss is the Warriors first opening night loss since 2015.

Despite the loss, Hall is proud of how hard her team fought.

“Realistically, that game shouldn’t have been close with all our turnovers, our numbers, fresh legs, all of that,” Hall said. “I told the girls were not going to hang our head on that one. That’s a gritty, tough game. It tells us a lot about that group whether we won the game or not.”

Three Warriors finished in double digits, with Jaelyn Boley leading with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Shae Scott ended the contest with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Zoe Best added 12 points with four rebounds and four assists.

Kadence Nusbaum rounded out the Warriors scoring with nine points.

Hall says she’s excited that the season back, and ready to help this team get better.

“It feels good, but obviously we have a lot of hills to climb,” Hall said. “It’s a reality that we have to face. It’s tough. I love the game and to be in this position, to be out here with these girls, it feel great.”

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