MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer senior star Brooklynn Tornes has been the mainstay for the Rockets all season, and she was again Tuesday night, leading R-P to a 53-35 O-K Green win over Zeeland East.
Tornes had 22 points, five assists and five steals in the win. Even standing at 5-5, and even with opposing teams knowing Tornes is the Rockets’ top player, her numbers throughout the season have been remarkably consistent. No opponent has held Tornes under 17 points since the calendar turned to 2024.
“Her numbers have been consistent,” Rockets’ coach Rodney Walker said of Tornes. “She’s been keeping us in every game. She’s filling up the stat book, not just points, but rebounding the ball and playing great defense. We had her on one of (Zeeland East’s) best players tonight, so she’s playing on both sides of the floor. Being able to find shooters sharing the ball, she’s playing a complete and total game and that’s helping us with the consistency that we’re able to (have).”
R-P dominated three of the four quarters of play, only hitting one brief rut in the second quarter. Walker said the team attempted too many jump shots in that span rather than attacking the basket; only a Megan Barmes three-pointer connected for the Rockets in the first five minutes of the frame. The Chix rallied from a 15-3 deficit to get back within five points by halftime, at 21-16.
It didn’t take long for the Rockets to regain control of the game in the third quarter, though, scoring 10 points in the first four minutes out of the locker room.
Walker also tried some different things on defense, playing more man-to-man on that side of the ball. It was a gutsy decision against the Chix and their big center, Emily Wierenga, but it proved to be an effective one.
“We were trying to mix it up a little bit,” Walker said. “Everybody’s used to us playing zone (defense), so the last couple games, we’ve been working a lot on our man-to-man, so that later on down the line, when the playoffs start, we’ll have a variety of different defenses to go to.”
Late in the third quarter, Megan Barmes and Chloe Brainard knocked down consecutive three-pointers, and Barmes added another early in the fourth. That outburst effectively salted the game away for the Rockets. Brainard’s trey was her only one of the game, but she was a menace on defense, hounding Chix guards and coming up with six steals. Barmes had 14 points, and Irelyn Niklasch grabbed 10 rebounds.
R-P’s win pushed it over .500 in league play, at 7-6 (8-11 overall). The Rockets got off to a tough start to the season, mostly by design as they assembled a tough non-conference schedule. The idea behind the tough start was to get ready for conference action, and it seems to have worked, as R-P has played competitively throughout the league slate, even against elite teams like Muskegon. The Rockets hung with second-place Wyoming for four quarters in the game prior to beating the Chix.
It’s that type of effort that has R-P dreaming of being a district spoiler this year, much like Kenowa Hills did to the Rockets last season.
“Maybe we can be Kenowa this year and be the spoiler for somebody,” Walker smiled. “I don’t think anybody would like to see us on their schedule, to be honest, because we do have the capability of winning games. Once the playoffs start, from what I see, any given night, anybody can win depending on who steps up...I think we have a great opportunity to be very effective when the playoffs start.”
