Hoops Roundup: Cheboygan girls fall on road at Grayling
GRAYLING – The offensive looks were there for head coach Walter Hanson’s Cheboygan varsity girls basketball team on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately, his Lady Chiefs weren’t able to knock down enough shots to stay with the Grayling Vikings, who cruised to a 46-19 non-conference home victory over Cheboygan.
“We played much better as a team tonight,” said Hanson. “I thought there were moments when we moved the ball well and got some good looks, but we couldn’t knock them down. The seniors really did a good job of holding the team together. Cass (Jewell) did a great job and got some key buckets for us. (Kenzie) Burt and (Emily) Clark handled the ball well for us and we were able to get us some good looks.”
The Chiefs (0-4) were led by six points from Jewell, while Dakota Friday and Burt each scored three. Jaelyn Wheelock, Clark and Jordan Ashley tallied two points apiece. Becca Blaskowski added one.
“Both Burt and Kinsey (Carpenter) had some good defensive plays,” Hanson said. “Dakota (Friday) stepped up and knocked down a key three for us. We will be continuing the fundamentals and focusing on one thing at a time. We have been reaching our goals, so we are progressing.”
In the junior varsity game, Presley Chamberlain scored 10 points to help lift Cheboygan to a 43-22 victory over Grayling.
Addy Baldwin and Olivia Patrick each finished with eight points for the Chiefs, who received seven from Addison Ptasnik, four from Joyce Ormsbee, and two apiece from Jaelyn Wheelock, Madalyn Schlak and Kyleigh Burt.
Cheboygan continues its non-conference slate when it hosts Inland Lakes on Monday, Dec. 12.
Mackinaw City wins hard-fought battle at Cedarville-DeTour
CEDARVILLE – The Mackinaw City girls basketball team was eager to get an early-season challenge under its belt.
Well, it got one on Wednesday – and the Lady Comets did pretty well.
Fueled by a solid team play, the Comets captured a 57-46 non-conference road victory at Cedarville-DeTour.
The Comets (2-0) used a strong first quarter to open up a 19-9 lead, then extended their advantage to 30-14 by halftime. While Cedarville-DeTour played a more even third quarter, the Comets still held a comfortable 40-22 lead going into the final period. Cedarville-DeTour did stage a fourth-quarter rally, but the Comets did more than enough to hang on and remain unbeaten.
Madison Smith led the Comets with 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Julia Sullivan had 13 points, seven rebounds and one steal, Larissa Huffman tallied 12 points, seven boards, five steals, three assists and one block, and Marlie Postula also hit double figures with 10 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Also chipping in were Gracie Beauchamp, who had five points, seven boards, three assists and two blocks, and Jersey Beauchamp, who registered two points, six boards and one steal.
“All of the girls delivered strong minutes tonight, especially defensively on a team that was averaging 61 points a game coming into tonight's game,” said Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman. “Julia Sullivan, Jersey Beauchamp, and Madison Smith had great nights in the paint defensively and offensively. I was proud of the composure we showed down the stretch when the game got close and intense.”
Mackinaw City will travel to Big Bay De Noc on Friday night.
Five Comet boys reach double figures in season-opening rout
MACKINAW CITY – Fueled by five players reaching double figures in scoring, the Mackinaw City boys basketball team opened up its season with an emphatic 84-23 victory over Boyne Falls on Tuesday night.
The Comets (1-0), who built a 20-5 lead after one quarter and held a commanding 44-9 advantage at halftime, were led by Noah Valot’s 22 points, nine rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Cooper Whipkey finished with 17 points, four steals, two assists and one rebound. Others reaching double figures were Sabastian Pierce (15 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals), Lars Huffman (14 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, three steals, two assists) and Lucas Bergstrom (10 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three steals). Trystan Swanson rounded out the Comets with six points, seven boards, five assists, four steals and one block.
Monster night for Ferraiuolo lifts NMCA girls past Alanson
BURT LAKE – A huge scoring night for Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy senior Brooke Ferraiuolo helped the Lady Eagles remain unbeaten on the season after a 61-29 victory over Alanson in a Northern Lakes Conference home matchup on Tuesday.
In the contest, Ferraiuolo poured in a game-high 33 points and also added six assists and five steals for the Eagles (3-0, 2-0 NLC), while teammate Addie Pietrowski added eight points and seven steals. Alexis Fosmore scored six points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
“This was a fun atmosphere. I’ll give Alanson a lot of credit, they really improved from last year, and they came ready to play,” said NMCA coach Josh Ferraiuolo. “They surprised us early hitting a bunch of threes, but we were able to get separation with Alexis (Fosmore) crashing the boards, Addie (Pietrowski) was everywhere on defense so we could get Brooke (Ferraiuolo) out in transition and run.
“I’m so pleased by the effort we played with from top to bottom, but we turn the ball over at alarming rate. We must clean that up if we want to compete with some of the tougher opponents on our schedule.”
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan Area Basketball Roundup
