Lady Rockets defeat Eagles 61-38 to win second straight game

After winning just one game over the course of the past two seasons, the Lady Rockets notched their second consecutive win Tuesday night in Remsen, knocking off Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn 61-38.

"These girls really bought into the concept of working hard," R-U coach Nick Fynaardt said. "You can definitely see their efforts are paying off and they are reaping the benefits."

The visiting Eagles played hard and stuck with the Lady Rockets through the first quarter, with R-U holding a 20-15 lead after eight minutes.

But Fynaardt's squad opened up their lead in the second quarter to hold a 36-24 halftime advantage.

"I thought we matched up pretty well against Marcus as far as talent goes," Fynaardt said. "We just came out in the beginning. From the minute the girls stepped on the floor, they wanted this game pretty badly. You can tell by the way we played our game."

The Lady Rockets kept the scoring going in the second half, while limiting their opponents with strong defense. R-U outscored MMC 25-14 in the second half en route to the 61-38 win.

"We were definitely shooting the ball a lot and taking some really good shots," Fynaardt said.

Leading the scoring for R-U was Gina Mae Frericks with 24 points. The senior recorded a double-double as she also pulled down 10 rebounds.

"Gina had several steals as well," Fynaardt said, although the total number was not available. "We had a lot of deflections and steals tonight. We just played really, really solid defense."

Cassie Stoos was also in double figures as she netted 10 points and pulled down four rebounds. Kelsey Paskert and Jen Ruba scored nine and eight points, respectively. Ruba added five rebounds.

Amanda Sudtelgte pulled down four rebounds in the win.

"The girls are the ones that really deserve the credit," Fynaardt said. "They give it everything they've got - you can tell by the results of what happened. The girls are giving it everything and reaping the benefits."

"They are gaining some confidence and starting to believe they can play with almost anyone."

Fynaardt said that the confidence R-U has gained will be especially important Thursday night as the Lady Rockets face No. 7 Akron-Westfield on the road.

"I know they are a very talented basketball team," Fynaardt said. "I told my girls that it's a great situation for us to be in because no one expects us to win except ourselves. We're just going to show up and play and leave everything on the floor and see the end result."

A-W won its season opener Tuesday, shutting down Westwood 63-28. R-U improves to 2-0 with Tuesday's win.