KORYNN HINCKA PUTS up a roadblock for the driving efforts of Huron Becky Talaske. The Vikings rolled to a 68-40 win over the Hurons. (Photo by Richard Lamb)

The week after Christmas found the Hurons and Vikings on the court for girls’ basketball. Although the Hurons gave them a battle, the Vikings pulled away in the second half for a 68-40 win, their sixth straight win. “We will watch the game film and see how (Posen’s) reaction time is so much faster. We are just not recognizing the game of basketball quick enough,” said coach Dave O’Bryant after the Posen game. “I think it will be a good game up in Rogers City.”

Rogers City got on the scoreboard first when Lindsey Claus hit a rebound shot on the Hurons second possession. That lead lasted less than a minute after a fast-breaking Anna Couture hit Korynn Hincka down the middle on the way to a layup. Posen’s zone defense, patrolled by Hincka in the middle, made tough going for the Hurons inside. And their press after a made basket, caused several turnovers.

A blocked shot by Hincka set up Emily Delekta for an easy hoop at the other end to give the Vikings the lead. Another inside shot off the break from Emily Delekta and a free throw from her came before another basket off the break from Hincka, from another nice pass from Couture.

With the Posen lead at 9-2, O’Bryant called timeout. “We are a team of runs. We want to hit you with that 12-0 or 12-2 run. That is what we focus on,” said Viking coach Karl Momrik. POSEN LED 12-5 after one quarter and had a 19-7 lead after Couture hit a short jumper. The Hurons cut it to 19-11 on an inside shot by Rebecca Meredith with three minutes left in the half. Three free throws from Couture and two fast-break baskets from Hincka made the score 26-15 at halftime.

Three buckets on three shots from Claus kept the Hurons in the game at 30-21 midway through the third quarter. Then a jumper from Nikkie LaLonde cut the lead to 30-23 with 3:45 left in the third. LaLonde’s 3-pointer, after a basket from Couture on the other end, cut the lead to six with less than three minutes in the third.

LaLonde had another triple, but Posen outscored the Hurons 8-3 over the final 90 seconds to lead 43-31 at the end of three quarters. That would be as close as it would get as a pressuring Posen defense keyed a rally in the fourth quarter. “I thought Rogers City played really well. It was a real good game for us. We stuck to the guns. You just want to keep doing and play hard and they did. We finally broke it open in the fourth quarter, but give Rogers City tons of credit,” said Karl Momrik. “That is a team that is going to give a lot of people fits.”

Hincka paced the Vikings with 16 points, Couture had 13 and Emily Delekta added 10. LaLonde scored 14 for the Hurons, with 10 coming in the third quarter while Claus added 10. ROGERS CITY claimed the junior varsity game in Posen 38-11. The Hurons led 19-5 at halftime and 32-11 at the end of the third quarter. Logan Fleming had 14 points while Megan Quaine added seven.

The Vikings were led by Valerie Mangei and Shanne Smolinski who scored four points each. Tuesday the Hillman Tigers gained a measure of revenge for a Huron win in Rogers City by defeating the Hurons 56-46. A 9-0 start, 3-point shooting and free throw success were keys to the win for Hillman. Claus had six points in the first quarter, but the Tigers led 15-10 at the end of the frame. In the second quarter, the Hurons threatened, but couldn’t take the lead. A jumper from Kelleigh Lamb made the score 17-14, the closest the Hurons would get, before Hillman triples pulled away. Amanda Kennard, who had 15 points in the game, had three 3-pointers in the game.

A bucket in the closing seconds by Meredith made the score 30-20 in favor of Hillman. Rogers City could draw no closer. Brenna Hincka had a career-high 11 points and seven rebounds to pace the scoring attack. Becky Talaske added eight and Meredith had seven points. THE JUNIOR varsity Hurons notched a 42-12 win over Hillman, leading 10-0 after the first quarter of play.

Cassidy Purgiel had 15 points, Torre Delekta scored eight and Rachel Chojnacki added seven. Nine players scored in the game for Rogers City. The teams are back in action Friday in Newberry.