EDWARDSBURG —The Edwardsburg girls basketball team has a defensive-minded goal that is already motivating it to step up its rebounding and box-out game.

In the Eddies’ 60-30 Wolverine Conference South Division domination of visiting Sturgis Friday night, they were able to accomplish their goal of keeping their opponents to under 35 points.

The division win is proof that Ewardsburg’s preparation, which began over the summer, is already paying dividends.

The goal is to improve with each day, as members spend more time together, get to know each other’s skills better and build more relationships with teammates, said veteran Edwardsburg coach Jon Pobuda.

With that goal in mind, Pobuda was a little “iffy” about his team keeping the Trojans under 35 points for the contest, as the Eddies led 39-23 at halftime.

“We have a lot to work on still, but I’m proud of our effort,” Pobuda said. “We were scrappy. They were scrappy, but I thought we did a good job of getting the ball up and down the court and getting some transition baskets, especially in the first half.”

After a halftime talk, Pobuda felt the team’s second half of defense showed vast improvements, holding Sturgis to seven points, three in the third quarter and four points in the final eight minutes.

A strong defensive and attacking performance by senior Claire Bartz, who finished with a game-high 18 points, also helped Edwardsburg keep Sturgis off the boards.

“I think we needed to rotate a little better on defense,” Bartz said. “When we really do good is when we can push the ball up the court. I thought we looked for each other well. I was happy with our performance overall.”

Pobuda described Bartz as the kind of player who goes hard on the court 100 percent of the time.

“She got a lot of rebounds. She attacked,” he said. “Defensively she was all over the place, and she did a nice job for us.”

Another aspect of accomplishing their defensive goals is building team chemistry. During the offseason, injuries caused chemistry to be tested before the Eddies had even stepped on the court.

With an even amount of experienced, returning players and fresh legs to the varsity level, Bartz feels the somewhat young team will continue to get better.

“I just love to be out there with my girls, honestly,” she said. “It’s so fun playing with them. Everybody was making great plays tonight, and we were looking for each other. Going forward, I hope we can keep winning.”

Bartz is already looking forward to the team’s next game, which she considers to be a big one. The Eddies will host Portage Central on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

In the practices leading up to the game, Bartz said she thinks the team will need to work on rebounding, as Portage Central will have a height advantage over the Eddies.

“I hope that we can keep putting things together and work better together,” she said.