• Posted February 23, 2024
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Ram Sports

• By Stephanie
• The Climax Crescent County Legal News

Rams lose in final seconds

G-A, 6-12 entering play February 19, was unable to get off a shot in the final few seconds and the Clippers (13-5) avoided an upset.

The Clippers held a 10-2 lead in the first quarter on the strength of three, 3-pointers. G-A pulled to within four points at the end of the second quarter on a Rhyann Wilson basket and two free throws by Maureen McBride.

Martin continued hitting triples, as they connected on three more on the way to eight three-pointers for the game. Midway through the second period the Rams would cut the lead to 18-15 but would get outscored 7-0 to end the half trailing 25-15.

Jaidyn Klimp scored 8 of her team high 13 points in the third quarter and the Rams cut the lead to 32- 29 after three quarters.

G-A scored the first four points of the final quarter to take a short lived 33-32 lead, their first of the game. Martin would answer with another three-point basket to retake the lead, which the Rams would recapture on the strength of two, three pointers by Mya Erskin at the three minute mark. G-A had a chance to build on that lead but missed four free throws in the final minutes.

Klimp led the Rams with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals and an assist. Freshman Ellesa Callender had her best game, scoring 8 points to go with 7 rebounds. Erskin scored 6 points and McBride had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal.

Turnovers again plagued the Rams as they committed 22 for the game and 9 in the fourth quarter.

G-A will play at Gobles February 23 at 6 p.m., at Plainwell February 27, and close out the regular season February 29 in a home game against Battle Creek St. Philip.

Martin                         10 15  7   8 - 40
Galesburg-Augusta      6   9 14 10 - 39
Mya Erskin 6, Lillian Thompson 2, Jaidyn Klimp 13, Ellesa Callender 8, Brooklyn James 2, Maureen McBride 4, Rhyann Wilson 4
Free throws: G-A 7-17
3-point baskets: G-A 2 (Mya Erskin 2)

G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Jaidyn Klimp 11, Ellesa Callender 9, Maureen McBride 6, Rhyann Wilson 6
Assists: Maureen McBride 7


A quick 10-2 run by Hackett in the first two minutes of the game gave the home town fans something to worry about. The Rams didn’t panic and went on a 9-4 run of their own to end the first quarter trailing 14-11.

G-A started the second quarter with a 7-0 run, giving the home team an 18-14 lead. The Rams extended the lead to 31-20 at the 3 minute mark and finished the half on a 7-2 run and a 38-22 halftime lead. The 27 point second quarter was the largest for G-A this season. The Rams shot a blistering 63% from the floor in the second quarter including 2 for 2 from three-point range.

Hackett came out fired up for the second half, enjoying a 7-0 run that cut the Rams’ lead to just nine points in the first two minutes of the third quarter. The two teams played even up for the next five minutes before the Rams scored the final six points to build a 47-33 after three quarters.

The G-A shooting percentage took a nose dive in the second half, with the Rams hitting just 20% from the floor. Hackett didn’t fare much better although they did outscore G-A 8-4 in the final period. It wasn’t enough however and the Rams recorded their second straight win 51-41.

G-A Coach Lindsey Newton was very pleased with the way her girls played as a team and not individuals. Five of the first six Ram baskets resulted from assists, showing how the team was looking out for each other. She added that the girls played a pressing man to man defense that didn’t allow Hackett to get settled into its offense.

Another key factor in the win was how well G-A took care of the ball. The team made only 8 turnovers for the game, the fewest by the team this season.

Jaidyn Klimp had a monster game, recording 23 points, 18 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. Lili Thompson scored 10 points, Grace Gibson had six and Rhyann Wilson 5.

Hackett Prep           14   8 11 8 - 41
Galesburg-Augusta 11 27  9 4 - 51
Mya Erskin 3, Lillian Thompson 10, Jaidyn Klimp 23, Brooklyn James 3, Maureen McBride 1, Rhyann Wilson 5, Grace Gibson 6
Free throws: G-A 4-12
3-point baskets: G-A 3 (Rhyann Wilson 1, Lillian Thompson 1, Mya Erskin 1)

G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Jaidyn Klimp 18, Ellesa Callender 6, Rhyann Wilson 4, Maureen McBride 3
Assists: Maureen McBride 3

Two losses for G-A JV girls basketball team

G-A dropped a 38-17 decision to Kalamazoo Hackett Prep February 13 and then lost to Martin 45-24 February 15.

Highlights for G-A in both games were not available.

G-A will close out the season with a road game at Plainwell February 27 and a home game against Battle Creek St. Philip February 29.


G-A received 17 points from Calvin Benard and 13 points from Giovonni Evans in a 64-33 win over Martin February 15 on the road.

Three Rams reached double figures in scoring in G-A’s 39-37 win over Lawton February 13 at Lawton.

Giovonni Evans scored 15 points and Anakin Jordan and Calvin Benard each contributed 10 points.



After getting off to a solid start with a 14-9 lead entering the second quarter, G-A stumbled in the second frame while Allegan flourished. The Tigers outscored the Rams 22-6 in the stanza to take a 31-20 lead into the third quarter.

Allegan was able to extend the lead to 15 points (45-30) after three quarters.

The Rams will take a 14-5 record into the regular season finale February 23 at Gobles.

The Rams will begin district tournament play February 26 against Comstock at 7 p.m. at Schoolcraft. If G-A wins, the team will play Schoolcraft February 28 at 7 p.m.

Galesburg-Augusta 14 6 10 23 - 53
Allegan            9 22 14 22 - 67
Jeremiah Mann 12, Ethan Thomas 6, Fred Slater 1, Ethan Gibson 13, Adam Hubbard 6, Nolan Brewer 1, Tegan Lockmiller 6, John Klimp 8
Free throws: G-A 12-21/Allegan 19-28

The Rams took charge over the middle two quarters when the home team held the Clippers to single digit scoring in each quarter, outscoring the visitors 29-10 to take a 45-20 lead into the fourth quarter.

Adam Hubbard, who knocked down a trio of three-point baskets, led G-A in scoring with 16 points and Tegan Lockmiller added 10 points to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

G-A knocked down 43 percent (25-57) of its two-point attempts and was accurate on 33 percent of its triples (4-12).

Martin                     10  3   7 17 -37
Galesburg-Augusta 16 11 18 14 - 59
Jeremiah Mann 9, Coner Bortolussi 3, Tegan Lockmiller 10, Levi Born 2, Fred Slater 9, John Klimp 7, Nolan Brewer 2, Adam Hubbard 15, Jadon Durnell 2
Thompson
Free throws: G-A 4-12/Martin 13-31
3-point baskets: G-A 4 (Adam Hubbard 3, Jeremiah Mann 2)/Martin 0

G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: John Klimp 9, Fred Slater 8, Jeremiah Mann 7, Tegan Lockmiller 7, Nolan Brewer 5, Adam Hubbard 4, James Phillips 3
Assists: Ethan Gibson 5, James Phillips 3
Blocked shots: Tegan Lockmiller 2
Steals: Tegan Lockmiller 4

A three-point basket by Galesburg-Augusta senior Tegan Lockmiller with 21 seconds remaining lifted the Rams to a 57-56 win over Lawton February 13.
Lockmiller made all three of his floor attempts, however the third was the biggest.

The Rams entered the third quarter with a 25-23 lead, however a 21-15 surge by Lawton in the third quarter sent the home team into the final quarter leading 44-40.

Jeremiah Mann was instrumental in keeping the Rams close, pouring in 10 of his 19 points in the final stanza before Lockmiller hit a three-pointer in the last seconds.

John Klimp added 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Galesburg-Augusta  14 11 15 17 - 57
Lawton.                   11 12  21 12 - 56
Jeremiah Mann 19, Ethan Thomas 2, Fred Slater 1, Ethan Gibson 7, Adam Hubbard 4, Nolan Brewer 2, Tegan Lockmiller 7, John Klimp 15
Free throws: G-A 9-17/Lawton 9-15
3-point baskets: G-A 6 (Jeremiah Mann 3, Ethan Gibson 2, Tegan Lockmiller 1, Lawton 7 (Connor Triemstra 4, Parker VanPeteghem 2, Kallon Motter 1

G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: John Klimp 7, Jeremiah Mann 3, Tegan Lockmiller 3, Nolan Brewer 3
Assists: Ethan Gibson 4

Valadez, wrestling in the 170-pound weight class, was pinned by South Haven’s Vanessa Alcaraz by a pin in 3:40.

Valadez, who finishes with a 3-23 record, was a Girls Individual State Finals qualifier last year, but lost her first two matches at the State Finals.