Girls Basketball: Pittsford clinches SCAA East; Comets survive OT in crossover game

HILLSDALE COUNTY — This weekend concluded the penultimate week of prep girls hoops in the state of Michigan. While many teams will play in games during the end of February, many matchups sealed the division and conference titles for several teams in Hillsdale County.

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This was the case for the Pittsford girls basketball team, which has three straight wins against SCAA East opponents, including a 46-17 win over Litchfield on Friday that secured it the SCAA East title.

After back-to-back losses in the middle of the month, coach Aaron Davis and the Wildcats won three straight games by a combined differential of 178 points to 55 points to earn their third straight division crown.

Junior guard Ava Mallar led the team with 22 points against the Terriers of Litchfield. Riley McCumber had seven points. Halle Clark had eight points. Karlee Embach and Laura LeMar had four points each.

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The Wildcats are 15-5 overall, with a 12-1 conference record. They have two more games left on their schedule, including a division rival matchup with Waldron on Feb. 29. The Spartans were chasing down the Wildcats for a potential division title battle that night in Waldron, but they lost to Hillsdale Academy on Friday night, allowing Hillsdale Academy to hold second place.

The Wildcats will face Waldron for their final division game of the season on Thursday. Their games against a 13-5 Climax-Scotts team and a 14-6 Waldron team will be followed up by a district semifinal matchup with Jackson Christian on Wednesday, March 6.

Jonesville escapes 2OT to win crossover battles with East Jackson

The cardiac Comets pulled off another stunning overtime thriller on their home court to end their first season of Cascades Conference play. The Jonesville varsity girls basketball team pulled away in the second overtime against East Jackson to win 54-46 in their Cascades crossover matchup.

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The Trojans held a lead over the Comets for much of regulation, holding the Comets to zero points in the first quarter and just eight in the second. Both teams offenses would kick into high gear in the fourth quarter, where Alexis Trine would lead the Comets with seven points in the quarter.

The Comets trailed the Trojans with just 30 seconds left in the fourth. With around 14 left on the clock, senior Comet Lyra Nichols drained a 3-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Comets and Trojans were tied up at 34-all, and a similar back-and-forth game would ensue in the first overtime period. The Comets trailed 42-39 and had just one possession left to score with time ticking under 5 seconds. Junior Comet Korra Estel, who had hit from the arc in the fourth quarter, took the ball from midcourt and put up what could have been the final shot of the game right at the 3-point line.

The shot would go in just before the buzzer sounded. The 3 sent the game to a second overtime period. The game was then won at the free throw line as Comet senior Gracen Hager and Estel drew multiple fouls on their way to the basket. The Comets used their defense to finally shut down Trojan lead scorer Mariah Kerley, who had 24 points.

Trine finished the game with a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Estel had a season-high 14 points and added nine rebounds. Hager had eight points, five rebounds and three steals. Nichols had the triple and added nine rebounds and four steals to the stat sheet.

It was the third overtime win for the team since the start of February, all on their home court and against conference opponents. Since winning a Pat Paterson Pool A crown at the end of 2023, the Comets have been in 10 games that have been decided by 10 points or less. After starting the month of February with three straight losses (one on Jan. 30), the Comets have won four of their last five games. Their only loss was a 47-46 defeat on the road to Homer.

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The win puts Jonesville's overall record at 12-8. The Comets now move into the toughest non-conference slate of the year. They host the 17-4 Grass Lake Warriors on Tuesday, Feb. 27 and then the 16-4 Ypsi Arbor Prep squad on Thursday, Feb. 29.

The two-game home stand should be a good challenge for coach Tom Dunn and the Comets before they host the Division 3, District 84 playoffs the following week. The Comets are slated to take on Hillsdale on Wednesday, March. 6 in the district semifinals. The Comets also host Reading, Homer and Quincy in the same district bracket.

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Other Scores

• Camden-Frontier 33, North Adams-Jerome 17

  • Camden-Frontier wins after a 15-point night from senior Lexus Sigler. Averil Miller, Week 8 Athlete of the Week, chipped in nine points, followed by Alexis Landwehr with seven. C-F hosts senior night on Thursday against Jackson Christian.

• Hillsdale Academy 36, Waldron 24

  • Ava King had 16 points for the Colts and added nine rebounds and six steals. Lydia Jackson had eight points. Iris Millies had seven points.

  • The Colts may have a shot to clinch a share of the SCAA East title should they win against North Adams-Jerome this upcoming week and the Wildcats fall to Waldron on the road.

• Will Carleton Academy 32, Pansophia Academy 17

  • Will Carleton Academy won their consolation game of the CAC conference tournament over the weekend. It lost to Battle Creek Academy in round one. The Cougars are off until their district quarterfinal against Litchfield on March 4.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Girls Basketball: Pittsford Clinches SCAA East; Comets win third OT game at home this year