Lady Hurons fall to Class D powerhouses
LAST WEEK a pair of Upper Peninsula Class D powerhouse basketball teams called on the Hurons in Rogers City. St. Ignace, undefeated and ranked number one, stung the Hurons for a 67-14 win Jan. 31. The Saints used their usual full court press, solid half-court defense and unselfish passing to run out to an 11-2 lead in the game’s first three minutes.
After a bucket from Huron forward Courtney Streich, the Saints extended that to a 25-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. As they have all season long and for many seasons before, the Saints’ shut down the Hurons with aggressive defensive play while controlling the boards.
Rogers City’s last basket of the game came at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter on a Logan Fleming driving layup. St. Ignace scored the last 20 points with a running clock. Streich had six points in the game while Fleming, Cassidy Purgiel, Nikkie LaLonde and Rebecca Meredith each had two points.
On Saturday Detour, ranked number nine in Class D, let the Hurons in the game for a while before coming on strong in the second half.
Detour scored the first seven points of the game, then went cold as the Hurons (1-12) snuck back into the game. Three-pointers by Brooklyn Idalski and Morgan Hall cut the Raiders’ lead to 11-8 after the first quarter. A basket by Purgiel inside with 15 seconds left in the half knotted the score at 17
IN THE JUNIOR varsity games, St. Ignace took a 47-32 win over the Hurons. Sarah Meredith had 20 points in the game while Alexa Quaine added six. The JV team, coached by Karl Grambau, improved to 8-5 with a 30-16 win over Detour last Saturday. Rogers City trailed 6-2 in a slow-paced first quarter but exploded for 16 points in the second quarter, keyed by a strong press, to lead 18-6 at halftime. Quaine and Sarah Meredith each had eight points while Desi Smillie scored seven.
The Hurons travel to Pickford Tuesday then play at Newberry Thursday and play at Onaway Tuesday. Their next home game is Feb. 14 against Cheboygan.