Boyne City girls get first-year coach Wilson win right away; Harbor freshman impresses
CHEBOYGAN — There was no waiting around or easing into it for first-year Boyne City girls basketball head coach Mike Wilson.
Down 15 points at halftime against host Cheboygan, the Ramblers battled back, buckled down and pulled out a 51-50 opening night win on the road.
“I was really proud of the girls and their ‘never die’ approach to the game,” Wilson said afterward.
The Ramblers scored just 16 total points in the first half, then 18 and 17 points respectively in the third and fourth quarters alone.
Much of it came behind a team-high 15 points from Elly Wilcox, along with nine points from Delaney Vollmer and seven points each from Mackensy Wilson and Delaney Little.
Boyne City (1-0) next heads to St. Ignace for another non-conference game Thursday, Dec. 7.
Harbor Springs 47, Gaylord St. Mary 35
GAYLORD — The Harbor Springs girls basketball team is well aware that someone around Olivia Flynn is going to have to step up this season.
Well, one game in, the Rams might have found out who.
And it might just be a freshman.
Freshman Stefi Reskevics – who excelled on the cross country course this fall at Harbor – stepped up with 17 points on the road against a traditional Division 4 power to help the Rams to a 47-35 win over Gaylord St. Mary.
Reskevics hit double-digits in scoring after the first half, with much of the Snowbird defense likely focused on the returning all-state guard, Flynn.
The Rams were helped by a big 16-point fourth, aided by nine points from Flynn, who led with 18. Sophie Barnadyn and Bryleigh Rummer also each scored four.
For St. Mary, Payton Glasby led with 20 points, which came behind six 3-pointers.
Harbor Springs will get back to the court on Friday, Dec. 8 back in Otsego County when they meet Johannesburg-Lewiston.
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Elk Rapids 41, Petoskey 34
ELK RAPIDS — As far as openers go, there are few teams that could have tested the Petoskey girls better than an Elk Rapids team coming off a 21-win season with their star player back once again.
And it showed.
Petoskey fell in a 41-34 opener on the road against the Elks Tuesday, dropping to 0-1 on the year.
Petoskey led by five at the break and held Michigan Tech signee Kendall Standfest to 13 points, though couldn’t push through in the end.
Naveah Leonard led with nine points for PHS, Caitlyn Matelski had eight and Lia Trudeau scored six. Sadie Corey also helped hold Standfest in cheek defensively.
Petoskey (0-1) returns to the court when they meet Grand Ledge on Friday, Dec. 8 in their Sean Pollion Memorial Tournament.
Gaylord 44, Charlevoix 41
CHARLEVOIX — Win No. 1 for the Charlevoix girls basketball team will have to wait, but they picked up a heck of a battle in the opener Tuesday.
The Rayders put in a big second half comeback to try to erase a 13-point deficit, but couldn’t pull it off against visiting Gaylord, falling in a 44-41 final.
Anna Kemp led the Rayders with 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals, Karlee Eaton had 10 points, five rebounds and four steals and Abbey Wright had eight points, seven rebounds and three steals. Bayani Collins also added six points.
Gaylord was led by Avery Parker with 23 points.
Charlevoix (0-1) next welcomes Traverse City St. Francis on Thursday, Dec.7.
East Jordan 44, JoBurg 26
JOHANNESBURG — June Kirkpatrick’s 14 points on opening night led the East Jordan girls basketball team to a victory to start things off against Johannesburg-Lewiston Tuesday in a 44-26 final.
East Jordan also had Lillian Stone come through with 13 points, Grace Nemecheck scored six and Sydney Guerrero brought her hard hat on the defensive end to lock down the Cardinals.
The Red Devils also picked up a win in the JV game.
East Jordan (1-0) will next welcome in Cheboygan on Thursday, Dec. 7 for a non-conference tilt.
Alanson 27, Wolverine 22
WOLVERINE — Gretchyn Bowman pulled down 23 rebounds, had 11 blocks and added seven points in a 27-22 season opening win for the Alanson girls Tuesday over Wolverine.
“Defense was out strong suit tonight, with amazing speed and and movement,” Alanson coach Nikki Leech said. “While the score was lower than usual, it just shows the areas that we need to work on for our next game Tuesday.”
Danica Sumner added 18 rebounds and seven points and Allison Peters scored six for the Vikings.
Alanson (1-0) welcomes in Cedarville up next on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Mackinaw City 45, Big Bay de Noc 41
COOKS — The Mackinaw City girls might have to grind out a few more wins this season, but a win is a win in the end.
The season opener for the Comets came as one of those hard-fought victories, as they pulled in a 45-41 win over Big Bay de Noc on the road.
“I am very proud of the effort my girls showed tonight against a quality Big Bay de Noc team that returned all but one player from last year's 16-7 squad,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said.
The Comets led in just a 26-25 halftime advantage then trailed after three.
Jersey Beauchamp led with 17 pants, 10 rebounds and two blocks, Gracie Beauchamp had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Kenzlie Currie scored 11 and Kerr-Ann Ming had 11 rebounds and four points.
Mackinaw City (1-0) next heads to Ellsworth on Friday, Dec. 8.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Charlevoix 68, Gaylord 52
CHARLEVOIX — With back to back games against Glen Lake, then Gaylord to begin the season – along with an Ellsworth opener – not many may have pegged the Charlevoix boys basketball team for a 3-0 start.
Who cares about those people.
Because after a 68-52 win over visiting Gaylord Tuesday, the Rayders are indeed 3-0.
"We showed good resolve tonight,” Charlevoix coach Anthony Troshak said. “We need to do a better job on the boards and a few other areas. When we play together, move the ball on offense and communicate on defense, good things happen."
Despite a 29-point night from Gaylord’s Luke Gelow and 17 in the first half, the Rayders found enough firepower to pull in the win behind Joe Gaffney and Hudson Vollmer.
Gaffney scored 21 points and Vollmer added 17 points, four rebounds and four steals, then Peyton Scott and Troy Nickel each added seven points.
Charlevoix (3-0) will welcome in Harbor Springs on Friday, Dec. 8 for a Lake Michigan opener against their rival.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Girls basketball gets started with Petoskey falling; Boyne City, Harbor win
