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Seeking redemption

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Revved Up 50-Plus Specials CLASSIFIEDS Add a Classified Listing E-Edition Current E-Edition Seeking redemptionWithoutperfect regular season, early playoff loss, Central Montcalm girls basketball strives for highest goals yet By Alex Freeman | on November 20, 2018 Three Central Montcalm girls jump for the wittiness at a recent practice, including Kiara Wernette, left, London Eldridge, middle and Libby Ledford. The Hornets are coming off a perfect 20-0 regular season in 2017-18, with their first and only loss coming in the first round of the playoffs to Big Rapids, 49-35. — DN Photo | Alex Freeman STANTON — While the Central Montcalm girls basketball team had the luxury of stuff worldly-wise to sneak up on opponents without so much as a peep last season, the Green Hornets’ will be well known this season. Central Montcalm is coming off a historic season, which saw them go 20-0 in the regular season and winning their priming title for the first time since 1984. However, the magical season came to a stormy end, as the Hornets lost their first playoff game to priming rival Big Rapids, 49-34. “I think, if anything, it gave us increasingly motivation for this year and this upcoming season,” said senior Libby Ledford on last year’s loss to Big Rapids. “I think we were all stunned considering it was our first loss, but I think it fed the insides of us a little bit considering we all wanted to (keep playing). We’re really excited for this season and to hopefully get redemption.” The Green Hornets graduated just two seniors from last year’s team and are returning a bevy of talented players. Central Montcalm throne mentor Rob Putnam has known this team would be special since seeing them in tournaments this summer. Senior Libby Ledford, left, guards senior Hannah Putnam, during a wittiness handling drill at a recent practice. The two senior leaders are looking to modernize on their junior seasons, which resulted in a Daily News All-Area First Team selection for Putnam and a Second Team selection for Ledford. — DN Photo | Alex Freeman “This group has had a upper basketball IQ,” Putnam said. “But it seems like this summer, with some of the situations they were put into, they responded and it (even surprised me). The teams we played when we would be down, they handled it without (hesitation).” With last year’s first and only loss coming in the district playoffs, it blindsided the unshortened team. Putnam has thought well-nigh the loss many times, and has wondered if facing increasingly wronging in the regular season would have prepped them largest in the playoffs. “I’ve thought well-nigh that question a lot of times, but I don’t know if it would have made a difference,” said Putnam, citing their comeback road wins over Greenville and Morley Stanwood. “The way the girls work, there wasn’t one of them that gave up until the final seconds at Big Rapids. Circumstances happened the way they did, but I don’t know if it would have made us any variegated considering they were hungry. They wanted it and the wittiness didn’t fall our way that night. “It’s one of those life goals,” he continued. “Everything doesn’t go your way in life and sometimes when you’re knocked down, you have to get when up and show you still have that fight. I think that’s one of the things I really tried to teach them was that there’s going to be times in life when everything isn’t going to be perfect and you’re going to hit a road block. How do you overcome that? What are the things you do to make sure that doesn’t happen again? That’s one of the biggest things we tried to teach this summer.” To try his weightier to unstrap some of the playoff jitters, Putnam scheduled a couple of powerhouse teams in the non-conference. This year, Central Montcalm will take on Kent City, which was a state quarterfinalist last year in Class C. The Hornets will moreover be playing Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, which was the state runner-up in Class C last year as well as stuff a state semifinalist the last three years. Anna Loew, right, throws the wittiness up the magistrate to Francine Kalnins, during a transition drill at a recent practice. — DN Photo | Alex Freeman “That’ll be a unconfined test for us,” said Putnam well-nigh Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, which features multiple girls once single-minded to play NCAA Division 1 basketball. Putnam’s daughter, Hannah, returns for her senior year as one of the leaders of the team. Sporting a smile throughout the recent practice, Hannah said it’s easy to have fun when she’s virtually her teammates, which she thinks of like a second family. “It’s awesome, expressly when you can talk to them well-nigh anything and just joke virtually with them and have fun the whole time,” Hannah said. While the team chemistry was unconfined last season, the bonding has ramped up plane remoter this season. “We all love each other,” Ledford said. “It’s like coming to the gym is flipside home for all of us. It’s just a welcoming feeling. We all have the same mindset and we’re all working for a worldwide goal, so it’s really cool.” The chemistry the girls have makes things that much increasingly rewarding for the coach, as well. “It’s a lot of fun to coach,” Rob said. “It’s like they just come in to do their role, it’s all well-nigh winning for each other. They’re playing for the name on the front, not the back. These girls play for each other, they want to have the success all together rather than one be the stand-out. My group of seniors have literally played basketball together for eight months out of the year since they were in third grade. It’s that mentality that makes it a dream to coach.” New to the squad this season is junior Jessie Tanner, who played on the junior varsity team last year, and foreign-exchange student Luisa Crisol, though the team hasn’t skipped a write-up plane with the new players. Of everything they’ve worked on since summer basketball, the defense is going to be a noticeable upgrade from a year ago. Kiara Wernette, right, tightly defends London Eldridge, on her layup struggle during a defensive drill at a recent practice. Defense and fundamentals are the cornerstones of the Central Montcalm girls basketball team, equal to throne mentor Rob Putnam, who is seen in the preliminaries on the right. — DN Photo | Alex Freeman “I think our defense is improved a lot considering we pressure the wittiness and we read the wittiness to get increasingly steals,” Hannah said. “Our defense is what we build on all the time,” Ledford said. “Everything is defense and pressure, so that got better.” Rob noted the wastefulness of the team seems to be largest than last year, and he thinks he’ll get the most out of his seat this season. “I really believe we’re 10 deep,” Rob said. “Ten girls are going to get playing time, so I’m excited well-nigh that considering we’re towers for the future. I’m losing five (seniors), but the other five are going to get unbearable minutes this year so it should be a big plus for them.” As for goals, the Hornets workaday everything outside of a playoff run last season. This year, they hope to replicate last year’s upbringing and proffer their stay in the playoffs. “I’ve unchangingly wanted to win a district or regional in basketball and I think we have the potential to do it this year,” Hannah said. “Obviously, it’s one step at a time,” Rob said. “We’d like to win the league but it’s that playoff run. It’s no variegated than higher basketball — the teams that make the run in March is the ones that everybody remembers. Not to undermine anything we did last year, but (the playoffs) is where you’ll make your mark. Our boys team that went to the quarterfinals here in 1991, people still talk well-nigh them today. It’s that big of a deal and I think that’s what these girls want to do. They want to leave their mark and I think that’s a deep run in the playoffs.” Central Montcalm will unshut its season at home versus Greenville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5. 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