Onaway girls basketball resets sights on rare district title after upset loss last season

PELLSTON – The Onaway Cardinals were in a great position last March.

With a chance to earn the program’s first girls basketball district title since 2006, the Cardinals needed to top Johannesburg-Lewiston, a team they beat twice in the regular season. Instead, JoBurg exacted its revenge.

As a new season begins, that loss has provided motivation for the Cardinals, who will be seeking championship glory with a talented squad this winter.

"The district title is our goal even more than the conference. I feel we have a good chance (to win both). Our team has very good chemistry this year, so hopefully we’ll be able to do well," Onaway junior guard Kailyn George said. "Winning the district would be awesome. There’s never been a regional title for Onaway girls basketball, ever, so it would be cool to get into that regional and win a game.”

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After a 17-7 record and tying for third in the Ski Valley Conference last season, Onaway is prepared to take it a step further under coach John George.

While the Cardinals have shown huge signs of growth during George’s tenure, the coach admitted his team will need to deliver in the big games. That means knocking off M-68 rival Inland Lakes, which beat Onaway twice last season, as well as having success against the likes of JoBurg and Gaylord St. Mary, two likely Ski Valley contenders.

If the Cardinals do prevail in the Ski Valley, it would be their first conference crown since 2006.

“Those big games will hopefully get us prepared for what may be a conference championship game or a district championship game, so hopefully we can get over that hump,” George said. “We’ve lacked being able to win the big game, and that’s what we’re working towards every single day in the gym. It’s been almost 20 years since we’ve put any type of banner in that gym, and that’s what we’re shooting for one way or another.

“I think everybody’s got a mutual feeling as to what this season should end like, and I think that’s a good thing.”

The Cardinals certainly have the tools to challenge for multiple titles, especially with the return of junior Kailyn George, a talented shooter, as well as junior Charlotte Box, a first-team all-conference player, and sophomore Marley Szymoniak, a stout defender. Onaway also features senior Sydney Peel and junior Ema DeMaestri, who will provide strength in the frontcourt.

Coach George knows the quality of his squad, but its overall togetherness might put it over the top.

“This group has always really been close with one another, our junior class, especially, with the five juniors having worked together since they were in fourth grade, and we’ve got some great additions of sophomores and freshmen, and then our two seniors that are with us,” Coach George said. “They’re extremely compatible, which helps. They’re good friends outside of the gym, and I think that shows on the court.”

Onaway started its season by rolling to a victory at Pellston on Wednesday. Bigger challenges lie ahead, but Kailyn George and her teammates believe they’re capable of winning the big one. At the same time, mental toughness will be required to break through against the best foes.

“We’re super motivated to win games that we’re supposed to win and take care of business,” Kailyn George said. “(The Ski Valley is) going to be good competition, Inland Lakes, (Gaylord) St. Mary’s. It’s all mental with Inland Lakes and St. Mary’s, so if we can get over that, I think we’ll be in really good shape. I’ve been putting a lot of time into it, and everybody else around me has, too, doing open gyms all summer, basketball camps.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

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 hungry to win titles in 2023-24 season