It didn’t take long for the Goodrich girls basketball team to get back in the win column.
Five days after suffering their first loss in Genesee Area Conference play, the Martians bounced back with a 59-50 win against host Atherton. Goodrich improved to 11-2 overall and 9-1 in the league, while Atherton drops to 10-4.
Goodrich played without two starters: Andrea Tubbs, who was injured Oct. 14 against Genesee, and Maribeth Barns, who was sick and couldn’t go against Atherton. Coach Jason Gray said he is not sure when Tubbs will return to the lineup.
Just the same, Gray said the Martians stepped up to the challenge of facing a tough team days after losing their first league game.
‘It wasn’t like we were going into someplace easy,? he said. ‘It was a big win. I was proud of how the girls came back.?
The team finally met their match in the GAC Oct. 16.
In a matchup between the league’s two division leaders, visiting New Lothrop, the top team in the Blue Division, defeated the Red Division-leading Martians, 49-46.
Pfaff, who led all scorers with 18 points, made the last of her five three-pointers with 50 seconds left to put the Martians within three. However, Goodrich missed its final two shots, including a shot by Barns (11 points) that fell short as time expired.
The Hornets put the clamps on the Martians defensively, limiting Goodrich to 27 percent shooting from the field (15-of-56) and 45 percent (10-of-22) from the free throw line.
Goodrich led 18-16 in the second quarter before the Hornets went on a 12-0 run, which lasted from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third quarter.
The Martians cut New Lothrop’s lead to 40-36 early in the fourth, but could not overcome the Hornets.
Goodrich returns to action Oct. 28 when they travel to Grand Blanc.