Back-to-back! Inland Lakes girls hold off Onaway, capture second straight district title

ONAWAY — It was fast-paced, it was physical, and it was scrappy.

It was your vintage girls basketball rivalry game between the Inland Lakes Bulldogs and Onaway Cardinals on Friday.

But once more, the Bulldogs — behind stellar defense and enough mental toughness in a hostile environment — one-upped the Cardinals and sealed a second consecutive MHSAA Division 4 district title with a 46-38 victory at Onaway.

“I don’t mean any disrespect to our district last year — I think we were without question the most talented team in that district — this year was a little bit more balanced,” Inland Lakes coach Daryl Vizina said. “Rogers City had a winning record. Onaway is obviously tough, especially having to play them here. Beating them three times is really difficult, on their home court, with their fans, who are probably the best fans in the Ski Valley.

“This is really special.”

Here’s takeaways from Friday’s rivalry showdown.

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Just finding a way

The Bulldogs (18-6) were in control for much of the game, building a lead as big as 16 points in the third quarter. However, the Cardinals (16-9) battled back to get within four following a 3-pointer from junior Kailyn George and a tough inside bucket from sophomore Marley Szymoniak.

But right when the Bulldogs needed it, they received a crucial rebound and putback attempt for a basket by sophomore Chloe Robinson, who helped push I-L's lead back up to six. From there, the Bulldogs did enough to hold on for a win.

“I think we have really good mental toughness, and we work well with each other,” Robinson said.

Again, it was a collective team display from the Bulldogs, who were led by 12 points from junior Brooklyn LaBrecque, eight from freshman Elizabeth Furman, and six apiece from Taylor Jones, Molly Monthei and Robinson. Marissa Kolly added three and Mary Myshock netted two.

Shooting, free throws let Cardinals down

Playing in front of a rowdy home crowd, the Cardinals came up with a strong defensive display. But scoring-wise, it was a nightmare for an Onaway team that finished 12-of-39 from the free throw line and struggled to find a consistent offensive rhythm.

“Give me 50 percent of those (free throws) and it’s a totally different game,” Onaway coach John George said. “We missed a lot of easy (baskets) in the first half, we kind of perked up in the third and fourth quarter when we applied a little pressure. The kids stayed in and could’ve folded, but my hats off to them. They played hard. Daryl’s (Vizina) kids, they were just the better team tonight."

Szymoniak’s 11 points fueled Onaway, while Charlotte Box and Kailyn George each tallied eight, Sydney Peel had four, Sadie Decker and Natalie Hyde added three apiece, and Ema DeMaestri recorded one.

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Staying alive

After a second straight district title, the Bulldogs will face St. Ignace in a 7 p.m. Monday regional semifinal clash at Harbor Light. The Saints rolled to a 74-33 win at Mackinaw City on Friday.

Vizina continued to deliver praise to his team, which has progressed nicely throughout the winter.

“They work hard in practices, in the offseason — this is without a doubt the hardest working team I've had in the offseason,” Vizina said. “We had to be. We came in with a pretty young crew, but they worked really hard, they don’t complain, they show up every day."

Getting over the hump?

Friday was a tough pill to swallow for the Cardinals, who lost in the district final for a third time in six seasons.

So, what will it take for George and his program to break through?

“I told them in the locker room to pick two things to be better at when you come back next year, because it’s just got to happen,” George said. “Unfortunately, I think it’s a little bit about the amount of time we’re putting into it and what we’re getting out of it right now. So it would be nice to see a little bit of a commitment not only from the coaching staff but the players, too. The players are there, they’ve got talent, we’ve got experience. We just need to put it all together.

“At some point as a coach, I need to figure out how to elevate to get them there.”

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes girls top rival Onaway, claim second straight district title