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MUSKEGON – Emmalyn and Madelyn Geers have always taken pride in doing the little things throughout a basketball game to help their team be successful.
Whether it’s crashing the paint for an offensive rebound, dribbling through a full-court press or chasing down a loose ball to help their team gain an extra possession, the sisterly duo for the Kent City girls basketball program is happy to take on the challenge.
The Geers put together another well-rounded effort for the Eagles during a 41-30 win at Muskegon High School on Tuesday night, as Kent City brought in a new era with an impressive road win over a Division 1 opponent.
Sophomore guard Madelyn Geers finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Eagles, while Lexie Bowers added 11 points and Emmalyn Geers added eight points and 12 rebounds.
“We are a defensive and rebounding duo,” said Madelyn of her and her sister’s dominance on the glass Tuesday night.
“We’ve been that way since we’ve grown up playing basketball together,” said Emmalyn Geers. “That’s what we’ve been taught to do. We always do the little things in order to be successful players.”
The Eagles jumped out to a 16-3 lead in the first quarter but had to hold off a second-quarter rally from the Big Reds after Muskegon’s full-court press sparked a comeback attempt for the home team. Kent City responded with a 14-point effort in the third quarter before holding off the Big Reds in the fourth quarter for a non-conference road win.
“I think at the end, we definitely matched up better and our defense helped a lot,” said Madelyn Geers. “In the beginning of the game, we weren’t matching up as well, but we did a better job of that in the second half. Offensively, we moved the ball more in the second half to help us make the gap bigger and pull away.”
The Kent City girls basketball program didn’t skip a beat under first-year head coach Aleah Holcomb, who takes over for long-time Kent City head coach Scott Carlson this season. Carlson stepped down from his position in October and has since taken an assistant coaching job with the Western Michigan University women’s basketball program.
“It’s definitely an adjustment from last year, but I think with the girls coming up and getting better, it’ll be a good run this year too,” said Emmalyn Geers.
Holcomb wasn’t surprised that her group responded well in a difficult matchup Tuesday night.
“I thought we played really well for our first game of the season and it’s exciting to get a win against a big school like Muskegon,” she said. “It was rough for a minute or two, but we finished strong. “These girls are all hard workers, and they prepare for this every day at practice, so they always come out and play hard no matter who we are playing against.”
First-game jitters can sometimes extend to the sidelines and Holcomb admitted there was definitely some anxious energy prior to Tuesday night’s tip.
“I was a little nervous since it was my first game as a varsity head coach, but I had faith in my girls and I knew they would get the job done,” she said. “I think we have a lot to prove this year. I think we can still be a successful program, and I think we have the girls to do it.”
The new coaching philosophy drew rave reviews from the Geers, who do the majority of their damage from inside the 3-point arc.
“She focuses more on the three-man game and post-work, which is an adjustment for us but it’s fun,” said Emmalyn Geers. “We enjoy playing that way, so it’s good for us.”
“It’s definitely a good change,” added Madelyn Geers. “I was really looking forward to this season just because last year we were a three-point shooting team. (Emmalyn) being my sister, it was hard for her to not touch the ball as much on offensive possessions, so now that we’re working through the post more and trying new things, I think it’s a good thing.”
For Muskegon, a slow start to the game on offense and a lack of defensive rebounding throughout the game proved to be too much to overcome.
“I saw my team fight back in spurts,” said Muskegon head coach Paris Thomas after the game. “I wish we could have put four quarters together, and I wish we would have fought harder a lot sooner, but I think we showed some things that we can build on moving forward.
“We just really have to learn how to handle that pressure. I think when the lights went on today, a lot of things just went out the window and I think our focus wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be. Some of it may have been nerves or first-game jitters but that’s something we need to do a better job of.”
McKynna Sims finished with 11 points and three assists to lead Muskegon, while Iyanna Brooks added six points and eight rebounds and Alayna Hussy had four points and two assists.
“Every coach preaches about winning the 50/50 balls and rebounded well, and I thought we got outrebounded over and over again tonight,” said Thomas. “That made it really hard to come back from that slow start because they were getting a lot of extra looks at the basket.
“I just told the girls after the game that we have to be the team that hits first. This is our home court. We should have defended it a little bit better than we did tonight. I just think we were too relaxed and then, all of a sudden, we realized we were losing.
“We always talk about winning five quarters. We want to win that warm-up and enter each game locked in and ready to go before the ball is even tipped. You can sometimes tell when a team is going to win just by looking at them during warm-ups and what kind of energy they bring when they walk on the court. We just didn’t bring enough of that out there tonight.”
The Big Reds (0-1) will host Kalamazoo Central on Thursday, while Kent City (1-0) will travel to Grant on Dec. 10 for a non-league matchup.
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