Holland Christian Schools

December 3, 2008
Ball Movement & Glass Work Lead to Defense of Tournament
After shrugging off a nine month layoff, the Maroons cruised winning in dominating style Tuesday night.  Back in the Dutch Dome on Wednesday, for the championship game of the Camp Sunshine Charity tournament, Holland Christian hoped to defend their championship against the Hawkeyes of Hamilton.  This matchup would be a precursor to their two conference bouts this season in the OK-Green.  After advancing to the finals with a win over West Ottawa, Hamilton had the tall task of slowing down the Maroons inside game that fed through Hannah Petroelje and Carissa Verkaik.  After HC dominated the boards in their Tuesday night victory, a key for the team would be continuing that trend against Hamilton.  With a larger crowd in attendance, they were treated to an evenly matched first quarter as the extra attention on the Maroons post players slowed their offensive attack down.  HC grabbed the lead early as Verkaik outreached two Hamilton defenders for the rebound and went up strong with the put back for the 2-0 lead.  Kristina Bosch, the Maroons point guard, delivered a beautiful skip pass across the court to a wide open Jodi Folkerts.  With her feet set, Folkerts arched a perfectly spinning shot online that swished through the nylon for the three point bucket and a 5-1 lead.  After the Hawkeyes cut the lead to one, Dana Jongekrijg’s quick hands knocked down an entry pass and she picked up the loose ball and outletted it to Bosch.  Bosch used her scats to dart around the two remaining defenders as she deftly leapt and finger rolled the lay-up in and a 7-4 lead.  Hamilton would respond though frustrating the post not allowing the Maroons to penetrate cleanly.  The Hawkeyes were shutting down and stepping in front of the passing lanes creating several turnovers.  These turnovers were the driving factor in a Hamilton 6-0 run.  Trailing for the first time this year, the veteran Holland Christian team never blinked as they cut the game to 11-9 on a great give and go between Folkerts and Petroelje.  Entering the second quarter trailing by two, HC began to execute their offense at a higher level getting the ball into the paint.  This was exactly what the team needed as they rattled off thirteen straight points before the Hawkeyes scored with 1:00 in the quarter.  Over the course of the seven minutes they did not score, the defense clamped down not allowing any second chance opportunities and when they slashed the paint, the ball was poked or swatted away.  By the time Hamilton scored the scoreboard read 22-13.  This would be the score when the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime.  In the second quarter alone, head coach Tim Schoonveld saw Petroelje notch six points and Verkaik five.  While the teams rested at break, the crowd was treated to two Special Olympics teams that played one another.  As the halftime game wrapped up, the Maroons were being told by Schoonveld to move the ball around.  That message hit home.  Whether it was the back-to-back nights or just early season fatigue, the team did not come out of the gate the way many expected.  The third quarter opened the way many maroons faithful hoped as the offense put together several possessions of ball movement.  Achieving the extra pass opened up the game as Jodi Folkerts (above, right) began the game raining threes, knocking consecutive three pointers down to push HC out to a 28-13 lead.  With the opposition unable to just key on the post, the perimeter shooting sucked out the defense and the girls went to the glass.  Any missed shot was ripped down by either Gina Luurtsema, Petroelje or Verkaik and that combination compiled the team’s next eleven points extending the team’s lead to 39-13 by the end of the third quarter.  The Maroons continued to get points underneath the basket as Dana Jongekrijg and Luurtsema put in quick buckets to start the fourth quarter. With the game clearly in hand, the entire healthy roster of the team cracked the lineup.  In the fourth, the team got valuable minutes and a great performance in the post from Gina Luurtsema (left) as knocked down eight points in the fourth quarter.  They maintained the over twenty point lead holding on to win the game 54-27 and move their record to 2-0 on the year.  The team was awarded the trophy for the second straight year and two Maroons were named to the All-Tournament team (Petroelje & Verkaik).  On the night, Folkerts and Verkaik led the way with 11 points while Luurtsema and Petroelje’s ten points a piece rounded out the balanced attack.  An impressive statistic was the fact that Petroelje and Verkaik combined for 19 rebounds, as Verkaik had 10 for her first double-double of the year, while Petey had nine.  One of the only things missing from last season’s remarkable season was a conference crown and the team will begin their quest at the OK-Green title on Thursday, December 11 at Zeeland East with the varsity tipping off at 7:00 p.m.  PHOTOS / G.R. PRESS / SENTINEL

December 3, 2008
Maroons Claim Title
Turnovers are key in any athletic event and some sports experts would say it is never more critical than in the game of basketball.  Without the ability to hold onto the ball, teams can turn defensive stops into immediate offense.  That was the formula for victory on Tuesday when the JV girls’ basketball team defeated Holland.  The suffocating defense held the Dutch scoreless for an entire quarter en route to their dominant season opening win and they were looking for more of that Wednesday in the championship game of the Camp Sunshine Tournament.  That defense was on full display as Hamilton was unable to make a field goal until two minutes remained in the second quarter.  While the Hawkeyes were being smothered by the HC defense, the Maroons offense opened the game on a 10-0 run.  Becky VanderSluis (right) got Holland Christian on the board with a powerful post mover as she elevated over the Hamilton center.  VanderSluis then swatted a shot into the waiting hands of Bekah Harrell who set off sprinting down the left sideline.  She blew by the only opponent at half court and went in for the lay up uncontested to put them up 4-0.  Another bucket by VanderSluis in the paint was the last score for the next three minutes as neither team could find the bottom of the net.  Nicole Weener broke the streak hitting consecutive hoops to give HC the 10-0 lead.  The Hawkeyes got two points on free throws at the end of first as it ended 10-2.  Holland Christian extended their lead to as large as sixteen points before Holland hit two baskets at the end of the half to cut the lead to twelve points.  The second half began with the interior of the Maroons exploiting Hamilton as Becky VanderSluis enjoyed a strong quarter.  VanderSluis hit for seven points in the quarter, half of her team leading fourteen points.  When she was double teamed she was able to kick the ball out to Kally Verkaik who hit two open jumpers in the period.  By the end of the third, Hamilton’s offense finally began to click and they chipped into the Maroons lead.  By that time, it was too late.  As was the case yesterday, head coach Mike Verkaik got his bench extended play in the second half and they did not disappoint as they hustled their way all over the court harassing Hamilton on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.  Holland Christian sealed the championship off winning the game 37-26, improving their record to 2-0 on the season.  Another balanced scoring attack enabled HC to take the title with Verkaik and Weener (left) each totaling six points, good for second on the team in scoring.  Up for the Maroons will be a busy week seeing the JV playing the Squires of Calvin Christian twice.  Their first matchup of the week comes Monday, December 8, at Calvin Christian with tip-off at 4:00 p.m.  PHOTOS

December 3, 2008
Hawkeyes Soars Over HC
After a rousing opener to their season, the Maroons freshmen team looked to make it two and a row to start the early season when they took on the Hawkeyes of Hamilton Wednesday afternoon.  The winner of the game would be the champion of the Camp Sunshine tournament and HC was looking to make it back-to-back years as titleholders.  After a dominating inside presence from the combination of Jenna Jongekrijg and Olivia Schipper, the pair combined for 32 of the team’s 55, Hamilton tried to contain their post play.  The concerted effort on the post limited the Maroons attack as they struggled from the field.  Couple that with the inability to stop the Hawkeyes on the glass and HC was in trouble early trailing 12-5 at the end of the first.  That seven point deficit doubled as Hamilton was able to pull away early in the second quarter and they led 23-9 at halftime.  Leading the way was Jenna Jongekrijg’s (right) four points for the Maroons.  Coming out of halftime, Holland Christian hoped to remove the metaphorical lid from the not so metaphorical hoop.  While the Maroons were able to pry the lid off and gather more points in the third quarter than they got in the first half, the rebounding presence of Hamilton hurt HC as they continued to trail 38-24.  As head coach Kim Zwiers spurred her girls on, the freshmen responded locking down on the defensive side of the ball.  The stronger surge on defense aided their offensive cause and saw the game narrowed to 39-30 with five minutes remaining in the contest.  Hamilton began to pull away but again the Maroons pulled back into the game.  Working at a feverous pace, Holland Christian fought back into the game and as they dribbled the ball down, with 1:37 remaining, they were looking at a chance to cut the lead to only four at 43-37.  Hamilton forced a turnover and hit the ensuing free throws to reclaim their commanding lead and ice the game as they took the tournament title winning 51-41.  Olivia Schipper once again led the team scoring 17 points, fifteen of which came in the second half.  Jenna Jongekrijg’s ten and Bethany Edewaard’s seven points were the next top scorers.  Holland Christian, now 1-1 on the young season, will now wait to play until Tuesday when they head to Grand Rapids to face Northpointe Christian.  The freshmen will play on December 9 at 5:00 p.m.

November 29, 2008
Football State Championship Gear Available
For those Maroons faithful that would like to buy a Football State Championship t-shirt or sweatshirt, you can place your orders now!  Please click the order form, print and fill it out and send to the address on the form with your payment.  The forms must be submitted by December 6, 2008 to be included in this year's order.  FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ORDER FORM


Girls' Freshmen Basketball--Maroons Schip to Opening Victory   (December 2, 2008)
Girls' JV Basketball--Opener Goes Well for JV   (December 2, 2008)
Girls' Varsity Basketball--Patience Pays Off in Dominant Opener   (December 2, 2008)