Posen looks to lock up outright title; districts on tap Tuesday at home

Posen lost a game Tuesday to the Alcona Tigers, which featured some large point swings. The Vikings erased a second quarter, 16-point deficit before halftime, and led by five at halftime, to only let it slip away from them in the next quarter. The Tigers turned up the pressure in the third quarter, with some help from the hot shooting hand of Alcona?s Hailey Oliver, to build the lead back to 16. Posen suffers its fourth loss of the season on 15 wins. The final score was 72-65. They head into their final regular season game against North Star League opponent Arenac Eastern with a chance to wrap up an outright title. Arenac has won one game this season. It will be the last tune up before the Vikes host Hillman Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the district semifinals. On the other side of the bracket is Johannesburg-Lewiston and Atlanta. They play Monday at 7 p.m. The district final is next Thursday. Posen swept both regular season games against Hillman, including last Thursday’s 73-63 victory on the road. The win against Hillman gives the Vikings a clear path to a second consecutive NSL title. They are 12-1 in league competition.

IN TUESDAY’S game against Alcona, Posen could not stop Oliver, who dropped eight three pointers from downtown, on her way to a 32-point scoring night. The Vikings were down early, 27-16, but head coach Tom Schellie broke the girls out of an early funk with a heavy dose of full court pressure and outscored Alcona, 28-12, in the second quarter. Schellie said it was the best quarter the girls had played all season. Alcona returned the favor in the third quarter by pressing the Vikings. It paid off, as the Tigers went on a 10-0 run in the first minute. “We went down quickly,” said Schellie. Alcona enjoyed an 11-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Tigers improved their record to 13-3 overall.

CALHOUN HAD 35 points in last Thursday’s NSL showdown with Hillman. Most of the points came in the fourth quarter without senior Roxann Hincka on the floor, after she fouled out with more than six minutes to go. Posen built on a slim one-point lead with three quick bu

ckets at the start of the second quarter. The Vikings got the lead to as many as seven, before Hillman went on a late scoring run to take a one point lead at the break, 31-30. In the third, the Vikes got a lift from senior Michelle Mulka and freshman Janice Ciarkowski. Mulka had three field goals, while Ciarkowski knocked down a three early in the quarter. Posen carried an important lead into the fourth quarter, 47-43. The scoring cushion was needed. With 6:56 left in the contest, Hincka fouled out, but try as they may, Hillman did not have an answer for Calhoun, who exploded for 18 points in the final quarter.

The Posen fans outchanted the hometown crowd as the Vikes wrapped up their 12th NSL victory of the season. In JV action, Tina Mulka hit three, three pointers in a 49-25 win against Hillman, and finished with 12. Christina Bednarski had a dozen, while Victoria Wozniak had eight. Nicole chipped in seven points. The girls improved to 16-3 with a 58-26 win Tuesday against Alcona. Wozniak had a game-high 12.