Thoughts heading into Friday’s girls district final between Mackinaw City, St. Ignace
MACKINAW CITY – Talk about a matchup of girls basketball powerhouses – this is it.
On Friday, the Mackinaw City Comets and St. Ignace Saints will square off in a 6 p.m. MHSAA Division 4 district final at Mackinaw City.
The Comets (20-3) and Saints (15-7) head into this showdown following lopsided semifinal victories. With a chance to advance to regionals, here’s what to watch for in Friday’s final.
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE: Onaway, Inland Lakes girls survive scares, will meet in district final on Friday
MARCHING ON: Mackinaw City girls advance to district basketball final, Cheboygan falls short
Can Mackinaw City handle the pressure?
This is the ultimate test for the Mackinaw City girls, who take on the Saints, a team that always loves to apply defensive pressure on its opponents. When the Comets have went up against pressure defenses, they’ve struggled at times, so this will be a challenge for coach Jake Huffman’s squad.
A key player in this clash will be senior guard Gracie Beauchamp. Not only is she an all-around star for the Comets, but she’s usually the one running things at point guard. Ball security is crucial against the Saints, so Beauchamp and others will have to do their best to not commit too many turnovers that will allow St. Ignace to capitalize.
Height advantage?
What also makes this a treacherous task for the Comets is they’ll face a St. Ignace team that not only features a star in Jillian Frasier, but also multiple frontcourt players who can hurt you.
Among those are Addison Cullen and Cadence Cullen, who provide the Saints with height and strength. Mackinaw City will look to counter with senior standout Jersey Beauchamp and sophomore Kerry-Ann Ming, an up-and-coming player who’s been a solid rebounder all season.
Whoever wins these matchups might ultimately decide who wins on Friday, and both teams have so much quality at these positions.
REGIONAL CLASSIC: Jonny Ingalls, St. Ignace outlast Jadin Mix, Onaway in regional semifinal thriller
JADIN MIX: Onaway’s Mix goes down swinging, delivers best performance of career in final game
COLUMN: Onaway-St. Ignace regional clash proves why high school basketball up north is so beautiful
Unfortunately, someone’s going home
Last year, when the Comets made their magical run to the state quarterfinals, I always wondered what kind of game it would have been had they faced the Saints in districts. While we never found out, we’ll at least get that matchup this year between coach Dorene Ingalls, one of the greatest this state has ever seen, as well as Huffman, who guided Mackinaw City to a first-ever regional crown in 2023.
This will be a fascinating matchup, but it’s also sad to know that one of these great programs will be going out on Friday. No matter who prevails, one will have a strong shot to win what appears to be a wide-open regional.
May the best powerhouse win.
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: Breaking down Friday's girls basketball district final between Mackinaw City, St. Ignace
