Warriors Pull Away Late To Win Key Cascades Battle

Reese Lape (1) of Grass Lake High School drives to the basket during a home game Thursday against Leslie. Photos by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports.

David Rice | JTV Sports

Thursday January 16th

(1-16-2025, 9:20PM): Two of the top five teams in Division 3 in the state of Michigan met on Thursday night at Grass Lake High School.

It was also a Cascades Conference East Division matchup as the No. 4 Leslie Blackhawks came to play No. 1 Grass Lake Warriors.

In the end Grass Lake outscored Leslie 15-5 in the final four minutes of the game for a 49-39 win.

GL improves to 8-3 overall and 5-0 in the competitive Cascades Conference Eastern Division. Leslie falls to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play.

Grass Lake got out to a hot start, scoring the first eight points of the game just two minutes in. The senior leader Kate Starkey scored six of them for the Warriors. Ella Locke helped rally Leslie, scoring five straight points to make it an 8-7 contest. Grass Lake led 12-8 after the opening quarter.

The second quarter was low-scoring, as the Warriors only outscored Leslie 5-2 with three minutes remaining. The Blackhawks rallied in the last three minutes, scoring six straight thanks to points from Rylie Burley, Sophia Cowing, and Lily Smieska. The Warriors still led 17-16 at halftime.

Three points to open the second half from Ella Locke helped Leslie tie the ball game at 19 apiece shortly after opening the half. The rest of the third became a game of runs, Grass Lake scored the next eight points to make it 27-19. Leslie answered by scoring five of the next seven points, still trailing 29-24 after three quarters.

The Blackhawks continued to rally and respond to open the fourth quarter, going on a 7-3 run to make it a 32-31 GL lead with 6:35 to play. Leslie only took a lead in the game one time, leading 34-32 with 4:40 remaining.

A corner three from Junior Mya Viegelahn gave the Warriors a 37-34 lead, which would ultimately break it open for the Warriors as they pulled away. Grass Lake outscored Leslie 15-5 in the final four minutes to earn the win and stay undefeated in the conference.

Starkey finished with 20 points, Reese Lape added 17 points and nine rebounds, Bree Salts tallied nine rebounds, and Elise Bullock grabbed six rebounds for Grass Lake.

Grass Lake travels to Olivet Friday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff while Leslie will host Hanover-Horton Jan. 22.