BATTLE CREEK — A poor shooting night was too much for a young Edwardsburg team to overcome in the Class B regional semifinals at Battle Creek Harper Creek Tuesday.

The Eddies struggled all night against Wolverine Conference foe Otsego and were eliminated from the state tournament by the Bulldogs 52-30.

Edwardsburg (15-8) had the same issues in a February meeting with Otsego.

Edwardsburg started the first quarter trading punches with Otsego keeping the game close at 7-7 with 3:53 left in the opening frame.

The Eddies had 12 turnovers in the first half. The Bulldogs used their height, length and half-court pressure to force turnovers, which led to easy baskets at the other end.

“The pressure got to us early,” Edwardsburg coach Jon Pobuda said. “They did a good job of using their length to cut off the passing lanes.”

Things did not improve for the Eddies as over the next eight minutes, Otsego went on an 11-0 run, which produced a double-digit lead the Bulldogs would not give up.

From then on the shooting struggles set in, as the Eddies shot just 6-of-27 in the first half, including 1-of-7 from 3-point land.

“It’s hard to win at this point in this point in the season when you shoot the way we did tonight,” Pobuda said. “We missed a good amount of open looks that could have really turned the game around.”

Using up nearly the entire 10-minute halftime in the locker room, Edwardsburg started the second half well, going on a 7-2 run ove the first couple of minutes.

A similar run from Otsego kept the distance at 19 points for Edwardsburg, with the score 42-23 after three quarters.

The Bulldogs would pad the lead a little bit more to advance against Marshall, which beat Lakeshore 62-44 to advance to Thursday night’s final.

The Eddies were led by Savannah Dixon and Brayden Curtis with seven points each, while Samantha Ekanayake finishing with a couple of 3-pointers.

Freshman point guard Kaitlyn Zarycki added five points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

“In a word, this season was enjoyable,” Pobuda commented. “These girls made this season enjoyable. It was a great first season here at Edwardsburg. There is not a greater group of girls out there.”

 

EDWARDSBURG 30, OTSEGO 52

At Battle Creek

EDWARDSBURG 30

Michaela Ritschard 0 0-0 0, Alexa Markel 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Zarycki 2 1-1 5, Gabi Fonseca 1 1-2 3, Savannah Dixon 3 0-0 7, Chloe Bartz 0 0-0 0, Hana Dantone 0 0-0 0, Noelle Kraus 1 0-0 2, Hannah Olson 0 0-0 0, Brayden Curtis 2 2-4 7, Samantha Ekanayake 2 0-0 6.  TOTALS: 11 4-7 30.

OTSEGO  52

Erica Drobny 0 1-4 1, Liz Barwegen 2 5-8 9, Grace VerHage 2 0-0 4, Cayla Koshar 1 0-0 2, Hailey Davis 0 0-0 0, Katie Voisard 1 0-0 2, Mattison Rayman 7 4-4 18, Lynsey Perry 1 0-0 2, Rachel Perry 1 0-0 2, Jaycie Callaway 5 2-2 12.  TOTALS: 20 12-18 52. 

 

Edwardsburg                        7          14       23       30

Otsego                                    11       33       42       52

3-point baskets: Edwardsburg 4 (Ekanayake 2, Dixon 1, Curtis 1), Otsego 0. Rebounds: Edwardsburg 32 (Zarycki 5, Fonseca 3), Otsego 43 (Drobny 6, Barwegan 6, Koshar 6). Assists: Edwardsburg 9 (Zarycki 4), Otsego 9 (VerHage 3). Steals: Edwardsburg 9 (Ritschard 2, Zarycki 2, Dixon 2), Otsego 11 (Drobny 3). Blocks: Edwardsburg 2 (Bartz 1, Curtis 1); Otsego 6 (R. Perry 2). Turnovers: Edwardsburg 20; Otsego 19. Fouls (fouled out): Edwardsburg 16 (none), Otsego 10 (none). Varsity records: Edwardsburg 15-8, Otsego 20-3.