Mackinaw City girls seal sixth consecutive undefeated NLC basketball campaign

MACKINAW CITY – Champions, times six.

For a sixth consecutive season, the Mackinaw City girls basketball team not only captured a Northern Lakes Conference title but did so with an undefeated record. Behind another masterful team performance, the Comets officially sealed their unbeaten NLC campaign with a resounding 74-24 victory over Alanson on Thursday.

Here's some takeaways from another dominant Mackinaw City triumph.

Another fast start pays dividends

The Comets (18-0, 12-0 NLC) started fast again by building a double-digit lead after one quarter, then continued to use their suffocating pressure defense in the second, which saw them increase their advantage to 42-14 by halftime.

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When it was all over, Gracie Beauchamp, one of Mackinaw City’s senior stars, said this undefeated season was special in more ways than one.

“This one’s a little different because we don’t have the other girls that have won the past five, and some people were a little uncertain if we would even get this done because we lost a lot of people,” Beauchamp said. “This one means a little more because it was harder and it was a different team."

An incredible record

After wrapping up its NLC season, the Comets are a remarkable 73-0 in conference games since the start of the 2018-19 campaign. In fact, the last time Mackinaw City suffered defeat in NLC play came in a narrow 42-41 loss to Harbor Light on Jan. 30, 2018.

Guiding the Comets through their last five NLC title runs has been coach Jake Huffman, who praised his current group that’s developed nicely since the start of the winter. Despite losing four of five starters off last year’s regional title team, Huffman’s Comets found a way to stay atop the NLC again.

“I can’t emphasize enough how much of this team comes down to the Beauchamp twins and then building relationships with these younger girls and giving them the confidence to play basketball,” Huffman said. “As a unit, they work so hard together, and that doesn’t happen if you don’t have senior leadership that lets their teammates know that it’s OK to make mistakes, just play hard.”

Supporting cast doing its job

The leadership of the Beauchamps has been highly instrumental throughout Mackinaw City’s terrific season, but the Comets have had others deliver along the way. Huffman made sure to praise Mackinaw City’s third senior, Grace Sroka, sophomore Kerry-Ann Ming, and freshmen Kenzlie Currie and Rian Esper, who have all stepped up and shined in their roles.

“The minutes I get out of Grace (Sroka) and Kenzlie (Currie) and Kerry-Ann (Ming) and Rian (Esper) is just phenomenal, and they all contributed tonight,” Huffman said. “Everybody scored, everybody got rebounds, played good defense, steals. I’m so extremely proud, and our conference wasn’t easy to get through this year. We squeaked out a two-pointer down at Ellsworth, (Burt Lake) NMCA got up on us in the first quarter here, and Harbor Light gave us everything the other night.

“These girls work so well together, they don’t panic, and they just grit it out.”

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Gracie Beauchamp led the Comets with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 13 steals, seven assists and three blocks, while Currie tallied 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, Jersey Beauchamp had 13 points, five assists, five steals, three rebounds and two blocks, Ming added 12 points, eight rebounds, six steals, one assist and one block, Esper recorded seven points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block, and Sroka chipped in with three points, three rebounds and one assist.

For Alanson, Gretchyn Bowman led the way with 13 points, while Remi Wiertalla and Hazel Bowman each finished with four.

Mackinaw City travels to face Maplewood Baptist 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: Mackinaw City girls record sixth consecutive unbeaten NLC basketball season