Onaway avenges early-season loss with 48-39 win at RC
by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor
A rash of turnovers cost the Lady Hurons in a 48-39 loss to Onaway Tuesday. The Lady Cards avenged a loss in the first week of the season to Rogers City. After playing the night before and winning at Inland Lakes, 39-27, Rogers City came out flat in the opening minutes at home against Onaway. So flat, in fact, that after falling behind 9-0 in the first four minutes, coach Emily McLean pulled all five starters for one minute. Sara Carpenter finally got the Hurons on the board with a put-back of her own shot with 3:42 left in the first. ?I think it woke them up a little bit. I should have maybe sat them down a little longer,? McLean said. ?I was just so frustrated with them. I told them you can?t start slow against Onaway and that is just what they did.? From there the Lady Hurons played a bit better outscored the Cards 12-10 to trail 19-14 at halftime.
McLean is concerned about the progress, or lack of it, heading into the district playoffs, which begin March 1 at Inland Lakes. Bad decisions led to many turnovers in the game. ?It felt like our second game and not our 17th game. They were rushing themselves. I told them not to put the ball on the floor right away. It is not like a hot potato that you have to get rid of right away,? McLean said. THINGS LOOKED better in the third quarter after Leann Knopf?s pass to a cutting Greta Grambau netted a basket. With 4:48 showing, Logan Schuiteman rebounded her own miss to cut the lead to 21-19. Then Sam Hall got the Hurons ahead with a three-pointer from the right wing with 3:35 left in the third. But that would be the only time the Hurons led. Baskets by Payton Lupo and Amanda Pomranke and two from Allie Nave, sandwiched around a triple by Grambau, had Onaway leading 29-25 entering the third quarter.
Onaway continued its hot run in the fourth, using Huron turnovers to key a 9-4 run over the first four minutes, building a 39-29 lead. Schuiteman scored six points down the stretch to account for the final margin. Grambau scored 12 while Schuiteman added eight for Rogers City. Nave led all scorers with 17 points. MONDAY AT Inland Lakes, Grambau had 20 points in a 39-27 win. Knopf scored 10 while Schuiteman added six. Rogers City connected on 5-of-12 free throws while Inland Lakes made one of only two attempts.
The Hurons out-scored Inland Lakes 27-8 in the second half. Last Thursday, Newberry stuck a 39-31 loss on the Hurons. Rogers City led 12-5 after one quarter and 16-14 at halftime before going cold in the second half. Grambau led the team in scoring with 11 points while Schuiteman added 10. THE HURONS junior varsity fell to 8-8 after losing two-of?three games this week. A 32-26 loss to Newberry started the week on a low-scoring note. Rebecca Meredith and Nikkie LaLonde each had six points in the game. Rogers City was hurt at the free-throw line, connecting on just 6?of-19 while Newberry hit 13-of-25.
Monday brought a win at Inland Lakes by a 29-24 score. Tough defense held the Lady Bulldogs to one point in the first quarter while the Hurons built an 11-7 halftime lead. Meredith and Becky Talaske each scored seven points while Lindsey Claus added six. Rogers City made 9-of-24 from the line. Finally, a 20-0 run in the second half was the difference in a 50-30 Cardinal win. Rogers City led 26-25 before the huge run. Meredith scored eight while Claus added six. The Hurons play in Cheboygan Friday while the boys? teams from the two schools play in Rogers City.