Grass Lake, MI. – The Ypsilanti Arbor Prep Gators girls basketball took their show on the road tipping off against last year’s Division Three Champions, the Grass Lake Warriors. The Warriors were without their top player Indiana commit and senior Lexus Bargesser who has been out most of the season due to injury. And The Gators were shorthanded dressing only 7 players and could not bring anyone up to help because they don’t have a junior varsity team. But they didn’t stop the Gators from putting on a big offensive show easily defeating Grass Lake 65-38.
Grass Lake started fast but Sophomore guard Taylor Wallace hit two big three-point shots to help her Gators take a 7 point lead into the second quarter. It didn’t help the Warriors at all that with 45 seconds left in the first senior Gabi Lutchka went down with an ankle injury.
Wallace started the second with another big 3 and then Texas A & M commit senior Mya Petticord hit a three to give the Gators a 13 point lead. It was all Abor Prep in the second quarter playing solid defense and forcing lots of turnovers to take a huge 31-16 lead into the locker room at the half.
It was all Gators the rest of the way but the Warriors kept battling back and never gave up and entered the final stanza down 47-27. In the fourth, it was Wallace again hitting another three, and freshman guard Tyra Wright hit a big three to push the Warriors deficit even further. Gators Head Coach Scott Stine did a great job rotating his only two bench players in and out of the game for substitutions and the Gators defense was a big difference in this big victory.
The Gators were led in scoring by Petticord with 17 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals. Wallace who was 4 for 5 on her three-point shots finished with 16, senior Kira Woods finished with 15, and Stacy Utomi had 14.
The Warriors were led by Kate Starkey with 15 and Makenna Horodeczny had 8.
Grass Lake (13-5 on the season) will host Jonesville in a conference crossover game Thursday night. Arbor Prep (16-2 on the season) will head home Thursday to host 17-1 Lansing Catholic.
