Heart breaking regional championship
game loss for Lady Panthers in overtime
The Climax-Scotts girls varsity basketball team dropped a 38-37 heart breaking decision in overtime to Zion Christian in the regional championship game at Martin March 12.
C-S finishes the season with a 19-6 record while Zion Christian took a 20-6 record into the quarterfinals March 18 against Concord at 7 p.m. at Harper Creek High School.
After moving in front 33-30 with a pair of free throws by Holly Talbert and 8.3 seconds from winning a regional championship for the first time since 2013, C-S watched Zion Christian send the game into overtime on a three-point basket by Jayda Steenbergen with 0.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
C-S took an early 35-33 lead in the four minute extra session on a basket by Addy Reeves with 3:49 left, however Zion Christian scored the next two baskets to move in front 38-35 with 2:32 left.
A basket by Annabelle Edwards with 2:22 left pulled C-S to within 38-37. But the Lady Panthers did not score the rest of the way, missing four straight chances starting at the 1:15 mark and turning the ball over twice down the stretch.
C-S had one last opportunity to win after Steenbergen missed two free throws with 5.5 seconds left.
Annabelle Edwards pulled down the second missed free throw, got the ball up to Sophie Braithwaite, who dribbled a short distance and got a shot off about three feet outside the three-point arc but missed the mark.
“I was extremely proud of our kids. They played their hearts out. A good team (Zion Christian) over there. Credit to them. With the season ending you’ve got a lot of heavy hearts in the lockerroom. I couldn’t be prouder. Super proud of our kids. They represented our community well,” said C-S coach Chip Paddock.
C-S got off to a good start, pulling in front 6-0. But the shooting went cold the rest of the quarter (1-5) and the Panthers settled for a 9-4 lead after one quarter.
While C-S’ cold shooting continued in the second quarter (1-for-11) Zion Christian’s heated up. The Mountaineers were 5-for-9 in the quarter and took a 15-11 halftime lead.
A basket and free throw by Zion Christian’s Audra Kapstein followed by a triple by Steenberg moments later extended the Mountaineers’ lead to 21-13 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
C-S pulled to within 21-18 on a pair of baskets by Talbert, but Steenberg connected on another three-point basket to give Zion Christian a 24-18 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The determined Lady Panthers remained close with strong rebounding, especially at the offensive end that led to inside baskets by Talbert and Reeves, pulling C-S to within 28-26 with 3:53 left.
Zion Christian moved in front 30-26 with a basket at the 1:52 mark, however a basket by Braithwaite with 55 seconds left and a three-point basket by Talbert with 33 seconds left gave the Panthers a 31-30 lead.
A pair of free throw makes by Talbert with 8.3 seconds left following a foul on Zion Christian seemed to put C-S in a good position to win, but Steenberg found the range with a triple with 0.2 seconds left to tie the game. C-S could not get a desperate attempt off and the contest went to overtime.
The C-S offense mainly went through Talbert, who scored 21 of C-S’ 37 points. Talbert, who was 9-25 overall from the floor, which included a 1-for-2 effort from the three point line, finished with a game high 21 points.
C-S junior Ashlynn Gilbert pulls down a rebound under the offensive boards during the Lady Panthers’ regional championship game against Zion Christian March 12 at Martin.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
The scoring dropped down to six points each from Annabelle Edwards and Addy Reeves.
C-S was 15-for-45 (33 percent) overall from the floor, including a 1-for-7 performance from the three-point line.
Talbert added eight rebounds and Reeves had seven rebounds. Kendal Reitz contributed five assists and three steals and Sophie Braithwaite came up with three swipes.
Jayda Steenbergen finished with 19 points to lead Zion Christian.
The regional championship game was played in front of a big crowd, with fans for both schools offering loud support. After the regional championship medals and trophy was presented to Zion Christian, Coach Paddock had his players run over to the C-S cheering section and applaud them for their support.
“It was amazing. I don’t think we ever had this many fans at a game before. It’s awesome. And it’s far away too and they all came. It was special,” said C-S junior Addy Reeves.
Climax-Scotts 9 2 7 15 4 - 37
Zion Christian 4 11 9 9 5 - 38
Kendal Reitz 2, Lylah Parrish 2, Holly Talbert 21, Annabelle Edwards 6, Addy Reeves 6
Free throws: C-S 6-10/Zion Christian 1-6
3-point baskets: C-S 1 (Holly Talbert 1/Zion Christian 5 (Jayda Steenbergen 5)
Rebounds: Holly Talbert 8, Addy Reeves 7, Annabelle Edwards 6, Ashlynn Gilbert 4, Sophie Braithwaite 3
Assists: Kendal Reitz 5
Steals: Sophie Braithwaite 3, Kendal Reitz 3, Holly Talbert
Lady Panthers have potential to
make a strong push to get to
next level in 2025-2026 season
Understandably, tears and sadness followed a 38-37 overtime loss to Zion Christian in the regional championship game March 12 for the Climax-Scotts girls varsity basketball team.
However with the entire starting lineup returning next season and another year of experience, there’s good reason to be optimistic.
Senior Lylah Parrish is the lone senior departing.
Juniors Addy Reeves, Ashlynn Gilbert, Sophie Braithwaite and Holly Talbert, along with sophomore Kendal Reitz, the five starters in the regional title game loss, all return. Sophomore Annabelle Edwards, who is a good rebounder and inside scoring threat, missed most of the season due to an injury, but enjoyed a handful of strong games at the end of the season.
Those six returners have been playing basketball together since they were in the second and third grade.
Junior Stephanie Behlke, who saw quite a bit of action this year and was a threat from the outside, junior Chloe Czuk, and freshmen Alyssa Morrison and Kyla Etheridge bring plenty of promise also.
The same accomplishments this year’s team enjoyed should be within reach again next year, with capabilities of reaching another level.
The Lady Panthers came within under half a second from winning a regional championship for the first time in girls basketball at C-S since 2013, but a three-point basket by Zion Christian junior Jayda Steenbergen sent the game into overtime and the Mountaineers outscored C-S 5-4 in the extra session to win the regional championship.
C-S, which finished the season with a 19-6 record, enjoyed a strong regular season, posting a 16-5 record. The Lady Panthers won the SCAA West Division with a 11-1 division record and went on to win the district championship.
“We’ve got to mourn, but not too long. We had it within our grasp. It’s going to sting a little bit, but we’ve got to continue to fight. We lose one senior and we’re bringing everybody back,” said C-S coach Chip Paddock.
Paddock was pleased how his team remained composed in front of a loud crowd in a big game environment. While his team lost, the Lady Panther coach hopes the close game serves as a learning experience.
“It’s a pretty big stage. It’s good for us to be in this. Except for one, we’ve got everybody coming back next year. Our goals will be extremely high. We have some extra things we’re definitely trying to accomplish. We’d like to get right back here (to the regional championship game) and hope to be able to take care of it,” said Paddock.
Paddock hopes falling short in the regional championship game motivates the returners to put in the extra time over the summer to get to the next level. He also hopes improvement will bring higher expectations.
“That’s what these kids are doing now from a leadership stand point. They worked hard in the off season. The month of June they did a phaenomenal job preparing themselves for moments like this,” said Paddock.
And there appears to be buy in. Reeves didn’t hesitate noting what it will take to get back to the regionals and hopefully grasp some hardware.
“Get back in the gym as soon as possible and start working,” said the Panther junior.
C-S wrestling coach steps down
A popular Climax-Scotts wrestling coach who helped guide the Climax-Scotts-Martin co-op wrestling team to the Division 4 Team State Finals championship match this year and another Team State Finals appearance his first year, is stepping down from the position.
Mike Reitz said his family and a promotion where he works were factors in his decision to step down. His son Cole will be attending college next fall, and his daughter Kendal will be a junior at C-S next year and Reitz said he wants to have time to follow any school related activities they will be participating in. He also received a work promotion as a project manager at W Soule and Co. that would make devoting the necessary amount of time to be the head coach difficult.
C-S-M posted a 52-8 record in his two years as C-S head coach. The co-op team also won two team district championships and two regional titles.
“Everything comes to an end. My son’s going to college. I’ve missed a lot of my daughter’s high school basketball games. Now it’s time to commit back to my family,” said Reitz.
The C-S coach said he would enjoy helping in practices if the new C-S wrestling coach would like his assistance.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
Reitz told his wrestlers and parents at the team banquet March 14 about his decision that he was stepping down. As could be expected, there was sadness along with concern about the future of wrestling at C-S after it was also announced Martin and C-S will be splitting the co-op and C-S is expected to return to wrestling on its own next year.
Reitz held the head coaching position for two years and was an assistant coach under former coach Jason Wade for three years, however he has coached in the MyWay wrestling program since 2013.
“It was fantastic to have the opportunity to start with these kids in the MyWay program and then get to follow them up through high school and compete with them throughout their elementary, middle school and high school career,” said Reitz.
Reitz said it was very rewarding to coach the team that advanced all the way to the Division 4 Team State Finals championship match in his last season.
“We talked about from the first day of practice of being in the Team State Finals and competing against Hudson and we did. We went out and we competed. It was sweet to be able to have these guys go out and compete for each other. We always talked about in the lockerroom, two schools, two communities joined as one. The guys went out and wrestled for all our fans in the stands, for the communities and their families, as a team,” said Reitz.
Martin coach Logan Curry said he enjoyed coaching next to Reitz.
“It was a blessing to coach side by side with Mike. We had some unforgettable moments together over the last 4 years, many of which I will cherish for the rest of my life. Next year when the season begins there’s going to be a little void that we will all feel from Coach Reitz not being there. I’m going to miss all the time that we spent together. He will always be welcome in the Martin wrestling room,” said Curry.
C-S Athletic Director Tyler Langs said the position will first be posted internally at C-S and if there is no interested candidate, the position will be posted externally.
Reitz held the head coaching position for two years and was an assistant coach under former coach Jason Wade for three years, however he has coached in the MyWay wrestling program since 2013.
“It was fantastic to have the opportunity to start with these kids in the MyWay program and then get to follow them up through high school and compete with them throughout their elementary, middle school and high school career,” said Reitz.
Reitz said it was very rewarding to coach the team that advanced all the way to the Division 4 Team State Finals championship match in his last season.
“We talked about from the first day of practice of being in the Team State Finals and competing against Hudson and we did. We went out and we competed. It was sweet to be able to have these guys go out and compete for each other. We always talked about in the lockerroom, two schools, two communities joined as one. The guys went out and wrestled for all our fans in the stands, for the communities and their families, as a team,” said Reitz.
Martin coach Logan Curry said he enjoyed coaching next to Reitz.
“It was a blessing to coach side by side with Mike. We had some unforgettable moments together over the last 4 years, many of which I will cherish for the rest of my life. Next year when the season begins there’s going to be a little void that we will all feel from Coach Reitz not being there. I’m going to miss all the time that we spent together. He will always be welcome in the Martin wrestling room,” said Curry.
C-S Athletic Director Tyler Langs said the position will first be posted internally at C-S and if there is no interested candidate, the position will be posted externally.
Two powerlifters from C-S
are first team All-State
Climax-Scotts had two first team All-State finishers at the Varsity State Powerlifting Championships March 8 at Lake Orion.
C-S senior Cole Curtis was state champion and first team All-State in the varsity 123-pound weight class and C-S junior Ryan Pejakovich was first team All-State with a third place finish in the varsity 220-pound weight class.
Curtis finished with a squat lift of 305 pounds, a bench press of 185 pounds and a dead lift of 390 pounds for a total weight of 880 pounds, 15 pounds ahead of the second place finisher.
Pejakovich had a squat lift of 520 pounds, a bench press of 350 pounds and a dead lift of 530 pounds for a total weight of 1400 pounds, 30 pounds behind the first place finisher and 15 pounds behind the second place finisher.
C-S finished with 20 points in 9th place as a team.
C-S senior Cole Curtis was state champion and first team All-State in the varsity 123-pound weight class and C-S junior Ryan Pejakovich was first team All-State with a third place finish in the varsity 220-pound weight class.
Curtis finished with a squat lift of 305 pounds, a bench press of 185 pounds and a dead lift of 390 pounds for a total weight of 880 pounds, 15 pounds ahead of the second place finisher.
Pejakovich had a squat lift of 520 pounds, a bench press of 350 pounds and a dead lift of 530 pounds for a total weight of 1400 pounds, 30 pounds behind the first place finisher and 15 pounds behind the second place finisher.
C-S finished with 20 points in 9th place as a team.
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Three-County & Full Pass also available
.png)
