George scores 24, Onaway girls pick up second straight win by topping Bellaire at home
ONAWAY – A sign of a good team is one that shows it can bounce back quickly.
After a lopsided loss at Gaylord St. Mary on Monday, the Onaway girls basketball team did that with an overtime triumph over Mancelona on Wednesday. But to maintain their momentum, the Cardinals needed to cap off the week with a quality home performance against a solid Bellaire squad.
Behind enough offense and terrific defense, the Cardinals won their second straight game by capturing a 47-34 victory over the Eagles on Friday.
Here’s some takeaways from Onaway’s home clash.
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Pulling away late
While the Cardinals (7-3, 5-3 Ski Valley Conference) held a 24-19 lead at halftime, the Eagles (6-4, 3-3) continued to hang in there in the third quarter. However, a couple key buckets allowed Onaway to push its lead to eight by the end of three.
Led by junior guard Kailyn George, who scored a game-high 24 points, the Cardinals made critical baskets down the stretch and pulled away. Marley Szymoniak finished with nine points and Charlotte Box scored seven for Onaway.
“Well, we’re finally at full strength for the first time in the last six or seven games,” Onaway coach John George said. “We’ve got Marley (Szymoniak) back, she looks better. Charlotte (Box) looked like herself out there. Kailyn (George) did what she does, she hit shots, and here we go. We’re back running with wins again, so that’s what we’re looking to do.
“They were resilient. (Bellaire) made some runs, but we just answered right back. We seemed to have an answer for everything they threw at us. When we needed a shot, we hit one. When we needed a defensive stop, we got one, and that’s all that we can ask for.”
Alex Dawson netted 12 points to lead Bellaire.
Two out of three this week
Playing shorthanded at Gaylord St. Mary on Monday, the Cardinals were no match for the Snowbirds in an ugly conference loss. But with key players returning like Box and Szymoniak, it helped Onaway grind out two tough victories to finish off a strong week.
“Let’s face it, Monday wasn’t looking up. That was an embarrassing loss for us, and justifiably so – that's a good team we faced,” George said. “For them to bounce back, we won in overtime (on Wednesday), and this one we pretty much handled the game from the start for the most part, and I hope we can just keep rolling from here.”
At the same time, George hopes to see his team clean up in a few areas for future games.
“We don’t always seem to be disciplined at times,” George said. “I thought tonight we probably could’ve been a little more patient on offense, but I think that’s going to come with time. The more we get to play with each other since we haven’t had a full squad, I think we’re going to get better at that type of stuff. It’s going to come, as long as we keep improving as the season goes along.”
Onaway travels to Johannesburg-Lewiston on Monday.
A special night
Following Onaway’s victory, the district title-winning 1973 Onaway girls basketball team was honored right before the varsity boys basketball clash. The ‘73 Cardinals are one of only two girls teams to win a district championship in the program’s history.
“It’s an awesome accomplishment, and when you look at our banner up there and see how hard it is to do, especially in the girls program, where it’s been done two times in the history of the school. We’re hoping we can be the third and we’re hoping that maybe that’ll send us some good luck that way," George said.
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: Onaway girls basketball team holds off Bellaire in home victory
