District playoffs roundup: Litchfield and Waldron girls hoops advance to the semifinals
HILLSDALE COUNTY — Monday night started the race for the girls basketball district championships in the MHSAA state tournament.
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Two district quarterfinals games were held on Monday night involving Hillsdale County squads. Litchfield girls basketball took on Will Carleton Academy in the district 120 quarterfinals. The North Adams-Jerome Rams took on Waldron in the District 121 quarterfinals.
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The Waldron Spartans won their 16th game of the season against the Rams with a 44-17 victory. It was another dominant performance for senior Morgan Burk, who led the Spartans with 16 points. Kailee Kurtz contributed nine points. Delleshae Saxton added six points. Peyton Fuller had four points. Mackenna Burk and Dakota Hoffman each had three points.
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The win sends them on to the district semifinals where they face Morenci on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Morenci is the host school of the tournament, and they are an honorable mention D4 AP state ranked opponent with a 17-3 record. It will be a tough matchup for the Spartans, but they are battle tested and just one game away from putting themselves in a title game.
It's been quite some time since both Spartan boys and girls basketball teams have competed for a district championship in the same year. Coach Jon Burk says that the Spartans will have to play their best game of the year in an underdog battle.
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"We will have to play the best game of the year to have a chance to beat Morenci," Burk said. "They are very skilled, can shoot, and are just a complete team. Either way the game goes, the girls have played extremely well this season, and I'm proud of them."
The winner of that semifinal faces either Pittsford or Jackson Christian for the title game. North Adams-Jerome stats will be updated online.
Over in District 120, the Terriers and coach Al Alvarez won their quarterfinal game against WCA in a 29-18 final.
Litchfield Senior Addison McLouth had two triples and a total of 11 points. Abby Bills and Arabia Shelton each had seven points.
For WCA, Junior Kristin Recob had two triples and a total of eight points. Madison Recob, Kherington Ladd and Josie Moore had 3 points. The team finished the season with a 6-16 overall record, 4-4 in the CAC. In a transition year for the program, the team only loses one senior, Molly Johnson. They will have several returning playmakers to the squad next year under coach Jason Coward including Madison Recob and Kristin Recob, and eighth grader Kherington Ladd.
It is the 12th win of the season for the Terriers. This is the best season record for the program since their 2019-2020 13-win season. The Terriers won a district title that season in an impressive three-game playoff run. They last competed for a district title last season, falling short to Athens.
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This year, they will move on to the semifinals to face Concord, the host school of the bracket. Concord is an impressive program with a 17-5 overall record and has multiple athletes who have averaged double digit points this season.
“We wanted an opportunity to play Wednesday, and that’s truly all that matters,” Litchfield coach Al Alvarez said. “We know that when we play together, and our shots fall, we can play with the best of them. We have to play tough defense and take care of the basketball. We cannot lose the turnover battle. We will try and put a good game plan together for Wednesday and may the best team win.”
The game will be played on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Concord.
On the other side of that bracket, Hillsdale Academy plays Camden-Frontier to determine the other district finalist. The Colts look to earn their third straight district championship. Camden-Frontier last won a district title in March of 2021, against Hillsdale Academy.
Another game of consequence on Monday night was the matchup between Homer and Quincy in the District 84 finals held at Jonesville High School. Homer lost to Quincy in a 57-55 overtime game.
The Orioles advance to play the Reading Rangers on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Jonesville. The Rangers and Orioles split their regular season series, with Reading winning game one 54-40 and the Orioles winning game two 34-27.
On the other side of the bracket, Hillsdale will face Jonesville to determine the other district finalist. That game starts at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Quarterfinals Roundup: Litchfield and Waldron advance to the district semifinal round
