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MACKINAW CITY – Jake Huffman knows his squad has come a long way this season.
But it’s districts where the Mackinaw City girls basketball coach hopes his team will be at its best.
At least for one round of postseason action, Huffman was thrilled about his Comets, who avenged a double-digit home loss to Mackinac Island earlier this campaign by getting revenge with a 52-36 victory over the Lakers in an MHSAA Division 4 first-round district clash on Monday, March 2.
“We’ve definitely figured it out a little bit, and we talked a lot about maintaining consistency and playing a game for 32 minutes,” Huffman said. “We’ve seen the ceiling, and we’ve seen the floor. There’s a lot of potential in this group when they’re playing well, and it’s about building that confidence in themselves."
The Comets (15-8) used a solid first quarter to build a 16-5 lead, but the Lakers (9-8) battled back behind the play of senior Lakelyn Bunker, who reached 1,000 career points during the second quarter. Just as important, she helped the Lakers close the gap to 23-20 by halftime.
Mackinaw City picked a perfect time to play its best quarter of the season in the third, using a 17-6 scoring advantage to take a commanding 40-26 lead into the last period.
In the fourth, the Comets controlled play, captured their eighth win in nine games, and set up a 6 p.m. district semifinal clash at Cedarville on Wednesday, March 4.
“This was a great win for us tonight,” Huffman said. “It shows a little bit of the growth that we’ve made this year, taking care of some of the little things that we need to take care of with our team, and a lot of it was energy. We talked at halftime about how we need to maintain that level of play, and I was really proud of how the girls came out in the third quarter and stayed after it.”
Freshman Emily Kruczynski finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals for the Comets, who received 14 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and a steal from Rian Esper, 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals from Kenzlie Currie, and six points, 17 rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks from Kerry-Ann Ming. Mackinaw City was rounded out by Poppy Wallace (three points, four rebounds, one assist), Ella Kruczynski (two points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal), and Elizabeth Kruczynski (one assist, one steal).
With momentum on their side, the Comets hope to pull an upset over a talented Cedarville (13-7) squad on Wednesday, but it’ll take an effort like the one they put in on Monday.
“I think we have a shot,” Huffman said. “It’s really about if we’re going to go out there, play for 32 minutes and take care of the basketball, and we have found success in games this year where we keep our turnovers down. If we go up there and handle that pressure that they’re going to bring, I think we can give them a game.”
Bunker led Mackinac Island with 18 points.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Mackinaw City girls basketball beats Mackinac Island in district clash