Grace Haley
Grace Haley
Grace Haley
It started with a 30-foot heave to beat the first-quarter buzzer, and it was capped with a game-winning rebound and layup.
It was one of those nights for Lansing Christian girls basketball junior Grace Haley, who scored 23 points and recorded 20 rebounds in the Pilgrims’ 48-47 victory over Stockbridge last week.
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Highlights from Haley’s double-double performance were captured on video and voted as the LSJ prep video of the week.
“My shot was feeling really good,” said Haley, who hit the game-winning bucket with about 15 seconds remaining. “From the beginning I was feeling confident in myself and my team.
“I kind of knew it would be a good night.”
Haley is no stranger to pressure situations. As a freshman, she hit a pair of game-winning free throws to give Lansing Christian a victory in the district tournament.
The junior guard/forward, who is also the latest LSJ prep athlete of the week, averaged 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while helping the Pilgrims to an eight-win season. Lansing Christian’s year ended Wednesday night with a loss to Morrice in the Class D district semifinals.
The Pilgrims almost didn’t field a team this year due to lack of participation.
Prep athlete of the week: Lansing Christian’s Grace Haley
“Eventually we got enough to come out – it was mostly freshmen,” said Haley, who was an all-conference selection last year as a sophomore. “In the beginning, it was hard to tell how much they were willing to put forth into the team and basketball. But toward the middle and end of the season you could tell they were working so hard.
“That game (vs. Stockbridge) was definitely a good milestone for us, coming together as a team.”
Contact James L. Edwards III at jledwards@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII.