Basketball Roundup: Mach leads Jonesville girls hoops to win in Comet vs. Comet showdown

HILLSDALE — Thursday night prep hoops action ended up marking the last games of Week 6 with winter weather on the horizon, save a potential Comet vs. Comet matchup on Saturday. Teams made the most of their opportunities in the girls basketball events around Hillsdale County and surrounding areas. For a few boys basketball teams, Thursday night ended their weekly schedule with disappointing losses.

The biggest matchup of Thursday night was a varsity girls basketball matchup between two rivals-turned-conference rivals.

Jonesville girls wins battle of the Comets

The Jonesville varsity girls basketball team traveled to Hanover-Horton for their first matchup as league opponents since the Comets joined the Cascades. The Comet vs. Comet matchup appropriately lived up to the hype, but it was the Orange and Black Comet team that came out with the W.

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The Jonesville Comets extended their win streak to five games with their 35-31 victory over Hanover-Horton. The game featured many swings in momentum that saw both teams take turns with the lead.

It was Hanover-Horton that survived a defensive-heavy first half with a 16-14 lead. However, those would be the only points they would put on the board until the fourth quarter.

Jonesville continues to improve on defense with each game, and their recent success on that front culminated in shutting out Hanover-Horton for the entirety of the third quarter.

While Jonesville has struggled at times to score points this season, the team was able to overcome those obstacles thanks to a standout effort from junior Haley Mach.

Mach hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter to help lead a 12-0 swing in favor of Jonesville. Jonesville held a 26-16 double-digit lead heading into the final minutes of the game.

However, the Comets of Hanover-Horton would not go out without a fight. The team hit three triples in the fourth quarter, including several daggers in the closing minutes, to bring themselves within a score.

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But with little time remaining, the game would be won at the free throw line, should Jonesville sink their shots. Mach showed up again for the orange and black, hitting on all four of her free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.

With 8.4 seconds remaining, team leader and senior Lyra Nichols sank one of her two free throw attempts to make the score 35-31, forcing Hanover-Horton into quick and unsuccessful shot attempts as time expired.

"Our defense through three quarters of that game was spot on," coach Tom Dunn said. "They hit some shots in the fourth quarter that were spot on, and credit to them. We need to hit some more free throws in the end. We obviously need to work on that, but I'm proud of our kids. They played hard and played pretty solid D."

The Jonesville Comets are now 6-3 overall. Mach had a total of 14 points, three 3-pointers, three assists and two steals to lead the team. Gracen Hager had seven points and seven rebounds. Alexis Trine had six points. Nichols and Reese Stanton had four points each. Nichols finished the game with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Santon had three steals and two rebounds. Korra Estel had a major impact on both ends of the floor, serving up four assists, earning three steals and grabbing three rebounds.

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For Hanover-Horton sophomore Maggie Soper led the team with 10 points, including the final 3-pointer that brought the game within one score. Soper also had one assist, one block and one steal. Halee Krage had six points on two 3-pointers. Molly Soper had five points, three rebounds and two assists. Morgan Kuhl had four points, eight rebounds, one steal, two assists and one block.

Hanover-Horton falls to 5-2 overall. Both Comet teams stand behind Columbia Central in the Cascades West standings.

Boys basketball results

• Adrian Madison 47, Hillsdale 33

  • Hornets drop second-straight conference game

  • Senior Jack Bowles earns 1,000 career points

  • Jack Bowles: 19 points, 3 3-pointers, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 rebound

  • Jace Lennox, 7 points, 2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist

  • Brody Adams: 3 points, 5 rebounds, four steals, two assists, 1 block

• Union City 40, Reading 36

  • Reading drops to 3-7

  • 10-3 Charger run in third quarter wins game, improves UC to 6-4

  • Brady Kling: 14 points, 3 3-pointers

  • Brayden Wright: 10 points

  • Brayden Foley: 6 points

Girls basketball results

• Camden-Frontier 37, Tekonsha 29

  • C-F wins first game of season

  • Averil Miller: 15 points

• Hillsdale Academy 47, Litchfield 25

  • Hillsdale Academy improves to 5-4; Litchfield falls to 4-3

  • Colts win first of back-to-back games against Terriers

  • (HA): Iris Millies - 12 points, 3 steals; Ava King - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists; Lydia Jackson - 6 points

  • Terrier stats to be updated

• Waldron 42, North Adams-Jerome 9

  • Spartans improve to 7-1; Rams fall to 2-6

  • Stats to be updated

• Pittsford 48, Jackson Christian 18

  • Wildcats are on 3-game winning streak, improve to 8-2 overall

  • Ava Mallar: 22 points

  • Riley McCumber: 9 points

  • Halle Clark: 8 points

  • Shelby Bryner: 7 points

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hoops Roundup: Jonesville wins Comet vs. Comet showdown 35-31