John Raffel
Sports Scene
Lyndsay Ruckle has been a talented three-sport athlete the past three years at Farwell and is making plenty of noise on the basketball court this winter for the Eagles.
One of her best games was a 35-26 victory over Gladwin, when she delivered 14 points and 16 rebounds.
In the 45-27 season-opening win over Coleman, Ruckle had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“She had a good all-around game,” first-year coach Tom Kleinhardt said. “It was all I could ask for.”
Ruckle came into the season learning her role, she indicated
“Definitely rebounding is my strongest part,” she said, adding that she’s working on “everything.”
Ruckle added that the players are getting used to the transition from former coach Steve Klinge to Kleinhardt, and the Eagles were 4-2 at the holiday break.
“I think we’re going to be very competitive,” she said. “We’re definitely very quick.”
Defense has dominated action in recent games for the Eagles, including a 27-24 win over Roscommon. Ruckle had nine points to lead the Eagles and had nine rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and two assists.
“All around, she had a nice night,” Kleinhardt said. “She was 4 for 8 on the line.”
In a 53-37 victory over Houghton Lake, Ruckle had another big night with 21 points, 15 rebounds, five steals , and a block.
“She just had an all-around good night,” Kleinhardt said.
On Jan. 20, the talented Farwell senior displayed her standout basketball skills by scoring 17 points in her team’s 36 -26 Jack Pine Conference girls basketball victory over Beaverton, coming off an illness.
Kleinhardt, a former assistant at Clare, has been working on getting his Farwell team to click on a consistent basis.
“I was spectating a lot,” he said. “Basically, I was getting a feel for what’s going on,” he said. “A new offense is coming in that is different for the girls and nothing they’ve ever run before. There’s some new stuff for me, too. I’m experimenting with some new things. Between me trying to see if it fits with them, it’s new to basically both of us. I’m trying to capitalize on our strengths right now.”