Hoops Roundup: Lady Comets swept away by Saints in second half

ST. IGNACE — When Mackinaw City and St. Ignace met up in a girls basketball clash a few weeks ago, the Lady Comets stayed within striking distance until faltering in the second half.

Unfortunately for the Lady Comets, history repeated itself in a 65-38 road loss to the Saints in a 'Hooping for a Cure' Cancer Awareness game on Tuesday.

The Comets (17-2), who only trailed 13-11 after one quarter, put themselves in a solid position when they faced a four-point halftime deficit.

But like the first clash, the Saints flipped in the switch with a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Comets 20-5 and taking a commanding 45-26 advantage to the fourth.

"The girls showed great effort and played hard from start to finish," said Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman. "A challenging third quarter gave us a hole we couldn't dig out of after playing a strong first half that went back and forth, with Skylar Secci hitting a 3-point buzzer beater to send St Ignace up 25-21 at the half."

Mackinaw City's only two losses this season have come at the hands of the Saints.

Raeann Hingston led the Comets with eight points, three rebounds, three steals and one assist, while Julia Sullivan had eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one block, Larissa Huffman tallied eight points, five rebounds and three blocks, and Gracie Beauchamp added seven points, eight rebounds and two assists.

"This game will help us get better as we move forward towards districts and give us some game experience to learn from," Huffman said. "Our effort was great, and we did a lot of good things tonight. We will just focus on how we put together 32 great minutes against competition of St Ignace's caliber."

Marlie Postula (three points, two rebounds, one steal), Madison Smith (two points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, three assists, two steals), Ella House (two points), Gabi Bell (three rebounds) and Jersey Beauchamp (two rebounds, one steal) also contributed for the Comets.

Mackinaw City finishes off its regular season at Inland Lakes on Thursday.

Mack City boys topped by St. Ignace

ST. IGNACE — The Mackinaw City boys basketball team suffered a 75-29 loss at St. Ignace in its 'Hooping for a Cure' game on Tuesday.

It was a slow start for the Comets (12-6), who trailed 25-11 after one quarter. By halftime, the Saints held a commanding 44-30 lead.

Cooper Whipkey led the Comets with nine points, four rebounds, three steals and one assist, while Noah Valot tallied five points, six rebounds and three steals, and Lucas Bergstrom added five points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. Jalen DeWitt (three points), Travin Barkley (two points, two steals, one rebound, one block), Lars Huffman (two points, one assist, one steal), Trystan Swanson (two points), Sabastian Pierce (one point, five rebounds, one assist, one block) and Nick Vieau (four rebounds, one steal) were among the other contributors for the Comets.

Mackinaw City hosts Flint International at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26.

Onaway girls fall to Bellaire, drop seventh straight

ONAWAY — The Onaway girls basketball team put up another good battle.

Unfortunately, it once again ended up being a setback.

Despite keeping things relatively close all game, the Lady Cardinals suffered their seventh straight defeat after a 48-40 home loss to Bellaire on Thursday, Feb. 17.

"We really hung in there this game," said Onaway coach John George. "I thought the kids showed some serious heart. We started off going down 11. I expected the kids to fold, but they battled. Pretty proud of that."

The Cardinals (7-12, 5-10 Ski Valley Conference) fell behind 15-8 after one quarter, but recovered with a solid second period to trail only by three at the half.

However, the Eagles increased their lead to five after three and held on in the fourth for the win.

Aubrey Benson finished with 14 points to lead the Cardinals, who received six points apiece from Kailyn George and Cloe Ehrke, and five points each from Nicole Larson and Taylor Larson. Charlotte Box netted four.

"This seems crazy, but we are playing way better losing seven in a row than when we did when we won seven in the first part of the season," George said. "We have a very respectable conference and a brutal schedule in the past seven games, not to mention a tough Posen contest coming up on Friday (Feb. 25).

"My girls seem to be positive knowing we have improved tremendously throughout the past 10 games. I understand more than anything that winning matters, and we haven't done that for one reason or another. We just haven't been able to put it all together."

Onaway's upcoming matchup with Posen on Friday will be its regular season finale.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Prep Basketball Roundup