It was another incredible season for the Vicksburg girls’ basketball team. They entered the season as back-to-back Wolverine Conference champions. The team brought back six seniors from last year’s squad that had won conference, district and regional championships. Five of the seniors were 4-year varsity players.
The Bulldogs finished 13-1 in conference and won their third consecutive Wolverine Conference Championship. They went on to win their second straight district championship defeating Battle Creek Harper Creek, 46-33, using a 13-2 run to end the game and secure the win. Makayla Allen led with 16 points, Scarlett Hosner with 15 points and Kendra Cooley with 10.
In the District Final, the Bulldogs defeated host Marshall in dominant fashion 63-36. Scarlett Hosner led with 28 points and 10 rebounds, Kendra Cooley 17 points and 8 rebounds, Makayla Allen, 10 points.
In the regional semifinals, the team was matched with conference foe Edwardsburg and won a hard fought 49-30 battle, led by Scarlett Hosner with 15 points, Kendra Cooley 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Hannah Devries 7 points and 10 rebounds.
In the Regional Final the Bulldogs took on host Grand Rapids South Christian. Both teams battled back and forth all game, with the Dogs trailing by 6 at halftime. South Christian came out an scored the first 7 points of the 2nd half to take the lead and led by 5 midway through the 4th quarter. Foul trouble and South Christian pressure proved to be too much as the Lady Dogs fell 64-57 to end their season.
“This was probably the best game that I have ever been a part of,” said Coach Tim Kirby. “Both teams played at an incredibly high level that you expect when you get to this point in the tournament. And while our season came to an end, I am so incredibly proud of my team and the incredible energy, intensity, toughness, grit and resilience that they played with. While the loss really hurt, we can hold our heads high knowing that we gave everything we had.”
The Bulldogs were led by Scarlett Hosner with 26 points, and Makayla Allen with 19 points. Hannah DeVries and Emily Zemitans had 11 rebounds each.
“The end of this season is especially difficult as we will be graduating 6 seniors who have been a vital part of taking our program to a place that it has never been before,” said Kirby. In their 4 years, they finished with a career record of 83-15. They won the first 3 conference championships in school history. They won back-to-back district championships – the first since 2006 – and won the first ever regional games and regional championship in school history.
“Their legacy and accomplishments may never be touched again,” said Kirby. “What I love most about each of them is that they were unselfish and willing to do whatever was asked of them. They came to practice and games every single day with the sole desire to be great together. So, now we have to close that chapter and move on to the next. I’m excited for the next challenge and to see if we can continue to build on our program’s success with the next group.”
