Title winners: Inland Lakes girls, Alanson boys earn conference championship shares
INDIAN RIVER – In 2004, none of the current players on the Inland Lakes girls basketball team were born yet.
On Friday, the Bulldogs captured at least a share of a Ski Valley Conference championship for the first time since 2004. Fueled by balanced offense and ferocious defense, the Bulldogs ended a 20-year drought by earning a 51-26 victory over Central Lake on senior night.
Following the win, Inland Lakes coach Daryl Vizina made sure to pay tribute to a special class.
“An amazing senior night for the crew,” Vizina said. “Every senior scored and played really well. I thought Ashley Murray was very impressive. Marissa Kolly was scoring. Taylor Jones was her typical defensive menace and Erica Taglauer stuffed the stat sheet. Before this crew became varsity players, the program had two winning campaigns in the previous 11 years. They’ve had a winning season all four years, were part of a district championship and regional finalist for the first time since 1992, and clinched at least a share of a conference title this year for the first time since 2004.
“They will be missed.”
The Bulldogs (14-5, 13-2) received help on Friday as Johannesburg-Lewiston (15-5, 11-3) beat Gaylord St. Mary (13-7, 12-3), putting both the Cardinals and Snowbirds at three conference defeats. If the Bulldogs win at Gaylord St. Mary on Monday, they’ll clinch the Ski Valley outright, but if St. Mary wins and JoBurg wins its final conference game, it would be a three-way finish at the top.
Kolly’s career-high 12 points lifted the Bulldogs past Central Lake. Andrea Vigneau scored seven, Brooklyn LaBrecque and Jones recorded six apiece, Chloe Robinson netted five, and Elizabeth Furman and Murray chipped in with four each.
In a 48-45 overtime win over Rogers City on Wednesday, Robinson led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while LaBrecque scored 10, Furman tallied seven, and Jones added six.
"What an incredible game," Vizina said. "We struggled for three quarters and found ourselves down double figures with about five minutes remaining. We continued to play hard on defense and momentum swung. Shots that didn't fall all game started to drop. We've won four consecutive games where we trailed and had to come back. It is a testament to these girls."
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Vikings top NMCA, win first NLC crown since 2016
ALANSON – The Alanson boys basketball team clinched a share of the Northern Lakes Conference title by capturing a 59-48 victory over Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian Academy on Friday.
Christian Silveus finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Vikings (16-5, 10-2 NLC), who received 11 points, four rebounds and two steals from Mason Weidenhamer, eight points and seven rebounds from Donovan Honeysette, six points, four rebounds and four assists from Troy Johnson, and six points and six rebounds from Isaac Bowman.
“These guys have been tremendous all year. When you win your conference coming off an 8-13 season the previous year, that’s a lot of hard work and dedication to this sport that was put in over the summer and the course of this season,” Alanson coach Brian Kujawa said. “The coaching staff, our administration, our athletic director, and the support that we have received from our fans, parents, cheerleaders all deserved tonight’s celebration.
“This was something the Alanson Vikings had only done once previously in the past 25 years, the last being the 2016 team.”
Josiah Brabson and Josh Ferraiuolo scored 15 points apiece for the Eagles. (7-15, 3-9). Jeremiah Tucker recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“I knew going into it that (Alanson) would play with a lot of energy on their final night and with a share of the NLC crown at stake,” NMCA coach James Brabson said. “Hats off to Alanson getting at least a share of it tonight. They were a tough play for everyone all season long and they deserve the credit for making it happen on the floor all season long. We turned the ball over too much on offense, and were pretty weak on help defense, which is a bummer because I thought in our last two games, we had done a really good job defensively.”
Alanson travels to face Pellston in a MHSAA Division 4 first-round district matchup on Monday, while NMCA heads to Rogers City for a postseason contest on Monday.
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: Inland Lakes girls, Alanson boys basketball teams capture conference titles
