PLYMOUTH – It was everything that you might expect as Plymouth’s Lady Pilgrims took on Rochester and it was Plymouth hanging on for a 46-36 win.

“It was a great win for us,” said Plymouth head coach Dave Duncan. “When the game had to be dictated we were able to hit free throws down the line and that was probably the difference in the ball game.”

Defense was the name of the game as both squads had their intensity turned up to high, and early on Rochester had a big key to being outsized inside by the Lady Pilgrims.

“They came out and put one kid right in the middle of the lane,” said Duncan. “It threw us off a little bit at the beginning and then we decided to go into our driving offense and I think that might have changed the game a little bit.”

While strong in the first half, the level of intensity went even higher in the second for Plymouth. Out of the locker room the Lady Pilgrims limited Rochester to just thre points in the third quarter

“(Rochester head coach) Tony (Stesiak) does a great job with his kids,” said Duncan. “I thought we were a little more assertive going to the ball in the second half. In the first half we batted around a little bit but in the second half we just went and got it. Second half I thought we were more assertive on the boards than we were in the first half we were getting bodies on people and grabbing it with two hands.”

Both teams had some sub par shooting (Plymouth 34 percent, Rochester 35), but much of that was due to the defensive pressure both teams were exerting on the night. Plymouth’s defense was able to force 20 turnovers out of the Lady Zebra’s and Plymouth’s baksets in transition – along with free throws at the end – made the difference.

Patience was also at a premium for Dave Duncan’s squad.

“In our dribble drive we did not want to get in a hurry even though we were trying to attack the basket,” he said. “I thought Kaydon did a really good job squaring up, shot faking, getting people off balance and then she was able to get into the paint. At that point we started slowing down.”

Plymouth is now 12-6 with an NLC game at home on Saturday against Wawasee. Rochester is now 15-4.

Score by Quarters

Plymouth 10 20 28 46

Rochester 10 19 22 36

Rochester (36) – Holland 6 0-2 15, Stesiak 4 4-5 12, Pfeiffer 0 0-0 0, Malchow 2 0-0 4, Abbott 0 0-0 0, Larkin 2 0-0 5, Ruff 0 0-0 0, Musselman 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 4-7 36.

Plymouth (46) – Stevens 7 6-6 20, Andrews 3 0-0 7, Fosler 1 3-4 5, Harrell 2 0-0 5, Wright 0 0-0 0, Stephenson 0 1-2 1, Horvath 3 2-4 8. Totals 16 12-16 46.

3 Pt. FG – Plymouth 2-13 (Andrews, Harrell), Rochester 4-20 (Holland 3).

Rebounds – Plymouth 26 (Horvath 8), Rochester 20 (Malchow 6).

Assists – Plymouth 8 (Fosler, Wright 3), Rochester 5 (Abbott 4).

Steals – Plymouth 12 (Harrell, Wright 4), Rochester 7 (Holland 2).

Turnovers – Plymouth 16, Rochester 20.

Fouls (Fouled Out) – Plymouth 15, Rochester 14.