SAULT STE. MARIE — After two grueling road trips west, the Sault Blue Devils were looking for a little home cooking on Friday night against the Rudyard Bulldogs and served up a meal consisting of a relentless defense, an offense that moved the ball unselfishly, and an extra helping of rebounds in a 51-9 Straits Area Conference win.
“It was nice to come home,” Sault coach Pat Bennin admitted after his team traveled to Negaunee on Tuesday, and got right back on the bus on Thursday for a roadie to Marquette. “Our legs weren't really there, but the girls played hard despite that and did a really good job.”
The Blue Devils held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly the entire first half. Autum Lemmerman finally got the 'Dogs on the board with 2:20 left in the second quarter. The Sault led 36-4 at the half.
“You always worry about a letdown after a big win like we got in Marquette,” Bennin said. “But we came out and gave good effort and didn't show any lack of energy.”
Gave good effort might even be selling the Devils' effort short. The Sault polished the floor diving for loose balls, even after the game was well in hand.
Victoria Nagy had her best scoring output of the season, leading the Devils with 16 points, including two three-pointers and two made free throws in two attempts.
“Victoria sparked us tonight,” Bennin said of his senior guard. “We talked about not just going through the motions out there a little but and she made sure that it didn't happen.”
Also in double figures for the Devils was Val Gage. She came off the bench for the Sault and hit for 12 points, and was perfect from the stripe, going 6-for-6. Ashtyn Bell chipped in with eight points.
The Sault was good on both ends of the floor, but it was the defensive play of the home team that stood out. Every Rudyard shot was contested and the Bulldogs were unable to find any open lanes to the basket. Hannah Beelen, Cierra Molina, Lemmerman, and Lane Clegg had two points each for the visitors.
“We were really solid defensively,” Bennin said of his team's effort. “We didn't want them to get off to any kind of a good start and we did what we wanted there. We also wanted to ride the momentum of the Marquette game a little bit and I feel like we were able to do that as well.
The Sault, 7-4, will be at Gaylord on Tuesday.
RUDYARD 0 4 3 2 — 9
SAULT 16 20 12 3 — 51
RUDYARD — R. Beelen 1, H. Beelen 2, C. Molina 2, Lemmerman 2, Clegg 2. FT: 3-8; F: 11; Fouled out: none; 3PFG: 0.
SAULT — Kalchik 4, Nagy 14, Gage 12, Wilhelms 5, Werner 2, Bell 8, Beaumont 6. FT: 12-14; F: 14; Fouled out: none; 3PFG: 3 (Nagy 2, Beaumont 1).