The Lady Tiger offense got off to a sluggish start again on Saturday, spotting the host Arlington Baptist Patriots a 25-17 halftime lead.  The Tigers actually took an early lead and it could have been double figures if not for a lot of missed easy shots.  Grace held a 13-9 lead when Arlington went on a run and the Tigers didn’t score for several minutes as the hosts jumped out to a double digit lead. 

The Lady Tigers re-grouped at halftime and came out with better execution and took two point leads on two different occasions.  Arlington had and answer every time and consistently hit shots, usually three pointers, on their key possessions.  The hosts hit eight shots from behind the arc compared to only three for the Tigers.  The Tigers did a good job of containing Arlington’s two main scoring threats, but the supporting cast consistently hit key shots when it counted. 

The Lady Tigers had balanced scoring for the game with Sydney Wildeboer (Kent City) leading the way with 11 points.  Kerie Rudd (Battle Creek Pennfield) and Marissa Pelletier (Calvin Christian) each had 10.   The Tigers enjoyed a solid 40-29 rebounding edge with Kerie Rudd and Amy Leszinske (Ravenna) each leading the way with eight boards.  Amy also stuffed the stat sheet with six assists and four steals. 

“Once again we showed we can play with some of the better teams in the NCCAA”, Coach Rich Renzema commented after the game.  “One of these times we will close out the game and get the win.  We did a lot of good things in the game, but Arlington made a few more plays than we did.”

“I thought Amy Leszinske played her best game of the year.  She is starting to realize her potential and cause a lot of problems for opponents with her size and speed at the point.”

The Tiger team will travel home from Texas on Sunday and will be back in action at Great Lakes Christian on Tuesday.