Cheboygan, Onaway girls basketball teams advance to district semifinals on Wednesday
PETOSKEY – Survive and advance.
For the Cheboygan girls basketball team, Monday’s MHSAA Division 2 district first-round game against Kalkaska wasn’t a stellar display by any means. But in the end, the Chiefs did what they needed to do by holding off the Blazers in a 38-30 victory at Petoskey.
While the Chiefs (11-12) held a 20-10 lead at halftime, the underdog Blazers (1-19) battled back to trim their deficit to four in the fourth quarter. But right when they needed to, Cheboygan executed and defended well enough down the stretch to advance to face Kingsley (16-6) in a 7 p.m. semifinal at Petoskey on Wednesday.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Cheboygan coach Walter Hanson said following the win. “(Kalkaska’s) posts are really good, and we tried to hammer that in practice, and I thought we did a pretty good job, even though they got quite a few good looks. It was way better than last time, and we were able to shut down (Lucy Hall).”
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Cheboygan was led by nine points apiece from Bella Ecker and Jaelyn Wheelock, while Cloee Rupp recorded seven, Addy Baldwin netted six, Emily Clark scored four, Cheyanne Friday had two, and Olivia Patrick chipped in with one.
Hall, who scored 26 points against Cheboygan last week, finished with 11 to lead the Blazers.
“I’ve been trying to prepare the girls for a more physical game going into the playoffs,” Hanson said. “We haven’t really been in situations like this before, so it’s a learning process. I’m sure the next game will be more physical than this one.”
With a trip to the district final on the line, Cheboygan will look to top the Stags on Wednesday.
“From what we know and what we’ve watched, they’re very good,” Hanson said of Kingsley. “They have a lot of shooters, a lot of guards, and they like to bring the pressure.”
Box scores 26, Cardinals hammer Alanson in first round
ONAWAY – It’ll be a Presque Isle rivalry rematch in the district semifinals.
Sparked by a game-high 26 points from Charlotte Box, the Onaway girls basketball team rolled to a 51-9 victory over Alanson in a MHSAA Division 4 first-round matchup at Onaway on Monday.
Box scored 14 of her 26 in the second half for the Cardinals (15-8), who face Rogers City (13-8) in a 5:30 p.m. district semifinal showdown in Onaway on Wednesday. Onaway swept the Hurons in the regular season.
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Marley Szymoniak scored eight points and Ema DeMaestri tallied six for Onaway, which built a 29-5 halftime lead. Kailyn George finished with five points, Jayma Domke had two, and Natalie Hyde chipped in with one.
The Onaway-Rogers City semifinal winner meets Wednesday's Inland Lakes-Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy winner in the final at Onaway on Friday.
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: Cheboygan, Onaway girls basketball teams capture first-round district wins
