No. 7 Van Buren stays hot

FT. MADISON - The seventh-ranked (Class 2A) Van Buren County girls basketball team took it to Holy Trinity on Tuesday night, beating the Crusaders 63-34 on their own home floor. The boys played HTC tight but fell 39-32.

The Warriors held Holy Trinity to just five field goals in the first half, all two point baskets. When the two teams went into halftime, the Warriors led 22-10.

Van Buren outscored HTC 13-6 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 19 points, and cruised in the fourth for their sixth-straight win.

Isabel Manning led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Taryn Scheuermann had 21 points and four blocked shots. Grace Davidson scored eight points. Madison Bartholomew had six, and the duo of Chloe Davidson and Jaelyn Boely scored two points each.

The Warrior boys trailed 9-4 after the first quarter and 17-9 at halftime. Van Buren outscored HTC 12-11 in the third quarter to cut the Crusader lead to 28-21 after three quarters, but they couldn't stage a fourth-quarter comeback.

Wyatt Mertens led the Warriors with 10 points in the loss. Tony Davidson had nine. Jackson Manning scored eight. Jonah Heckenberg had three, and Lane Davis scored two.