Despite regional loss, the future looks bright for Inland Lakes girls basketball team
HARBOR SPRINGS – There’s no shame in losing to St. Ignace.
In fact, lots of teams have had their seasons end at the hands of coach Dorene Ingalls and the powerhouse Saints over the years. The Bulldogs became the most recent squad to suffer a postseason defeat against the Saints after a 59-35 loss on Monday.
But despite the setback, it didn’t take away from an outstanding campaign for the Bulldogs, who captured an outright Ski Valley Conference championship and a second consecutive district title under coach Daryl Vizina.
“We played until the final buzzer. It’s hard for the season to end, and it’s hard for the seniors,” Vizina said. “Unfortunately, we won’t get to share time and memories with them anymore, at least as players, but they’re always welcome to come back. We made that clear in the locker room (after the game), and it was a little emotional.”
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The great news for Vizina is that his program is in an excellent spot after two highly successful seasons. What this year’s Inland Lakes team had was great cohesiveness on the court. The Bulldogs were far perfect offensively, but their suffocating defense was also instrumental in their success.
While Vizina knows it’ll be tough to replace a strong senior class, what he has returning will put the Bulldogs in position for another postseason run next season.
“We’ve got a good crew coming back and the bar is really high here,” Vizina said. “We hadn’t won a district in 32 years and now we’ve won back-to-back. My second game my first year I coached here, we went to St. Ignace, and they beat us so bad I still feel it. We went from that to a regional game, and we competed. We’re going to get better. We’re getting to the point now where teams are going to have to at least take us somewhat seriously.”
Fueling the Bulldogs were guards Chloe Robinson and Brooklyn LaBrecque, who both return next winter, while Molly Monthei, Addison Byrne, Mary Myshock, Andrea Vigneau – all sophomores this winter – are back to provide Inland Lakes depth, along with Tara Clancy, who didn’t play because of a knee injury. In addition, Elizabeth Furman, a major freshman contributor, will also return.
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Vizina very much looks forward to 2024-25, but he’s still going to miss those seniors.
“Taylor (Jones) is an absolute beast, and that’s just hard to replace," Vizina said. "Marissa (Kolly) is the most dedicated player. She comes to everything. Erica (Taglauer) is probably the nicest girl on this team. Everyone loves Erica. She gives it 110 percent, and Ashley (Murray) is a wonderful girl who gives 100 percent.”
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 basketball has promising future following 2023-24 campaign
