Rapid River?s pressure too much for Vikes at regionals
Sometimes there just isn’t enough time to savor success in the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. Posen (14-9) was fresh off the heels of capturing its second consecutive Class D district championship with a 74-54 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston last Friday, but couldn’t get by state-ranked Rapid River (22-1) in Monday’s regional semi-final game at Newberry. The final score was 72-46. It’s the second year in a row the Vikings’ tournament run has ended at the hands of the Rockets, a basketball team that returned nearly every player from last year’s team.
Rapid River, which is making its ninth straight appearance in the regional tournament, came into the game ranked fourth in Class D and is expected to continue its march to the finals in Lansing. What the Rockets were not expecting was the fight they received early in the contest against Posen. Maybe the RR players remembered the 2003 regional semifinal between the two schools, when the Rockets dominated the first quarter, outscoring Posen, 22-2. History was not to repeat itself.
POSEN TOOK control early with an 8-3 lead on a putback by Whitney Meeder and a field goal by Roxann Hincka. Rocket coach Jon Miller, who was told by another coach not to underestimate Posen, called timeout to regroup. RR cut it to 8-5 on a shot by Cassi Rushford, but Hincka countered with a bucket and the Vikes still maintained a five-point advantage. The Rockets came back with five unanswered points to tie the game at 10.
Showing a lot of poise and patience, Posen kept fighting. Jenny Ciarkowski knocked down a shot after getting a pass from Meeder to make it 12-10. The game went back and forth until the end of the first quarter, which was deadlocked at 14. Mary Calhoun started the second quarter with a field goal and Posen was back on top, 16-14. At 4:49, the girls would add to a one-point lead on another assist from Meeder, this time to Calhoun, for a 18-15 lead. The game turned when it seemed the Rockets were at their weakest. Rushford was on the bench in foul trouble and gunner Breanne Marshall went down with an ankle injury.
THE VIKINGS had a lead 25-21 with less than three minutes to go in the half, but the Rockets found the motivation they needed with a couple of their star players watching form the bench. The reserves came in and provided a lift for the Rockets, which went on an 11-point run to end the second quarter. The score at halftime was 32-25, RR. Momentum was on the Rockets side starting the second half, but Posen still wasn’t willing to concede, trimming the lead to five points on a bucket by Meeder to make the score 34-29, but the Rockets turned up the defense and the press started to wear down the Vikings. RR went on a 19-0 run to put away the contest in the third quarter.
Late in the game, coach Tom Schellie had his five seniors Kendra Krajniak, Courtney Romel, Katie Lewandowski, Megan Latz, and Meeder on the floor to close out a tremendous season. Meeder ended with a team-high 18 points, while Hincka had 10. “We gave them a challenge,” said Schellie. “I think they were looking past us.” RR coach Jon Miller believes it’s the most adversity his team has faced in a while. “We were told they were a better ball club,” said Miller. Schellie said the constant pressure from RR was too much for his club to overcome.
“Turnovers were the key,” he said. “We have a lot to hang our hats on, winning back-to-back district championships.” Posen has won three district titles in four years. Schellie can’t help but look ahead to next year with a solid nucleus of young, talented basketball players, including starters Calhoun and Hincka. District championship game against Johannesburg-Lewiston The Vikings used the recently-implemented a 1-2-2 defense to shut down Johannesburg-Lewiston and shot extremely well to clinch the district tournament trophy. They did it in front of a loud Joburg crowd that had plenty to cheer for earl
The Cardinals were on top early, 10-6, getting most of their points on the press. The Vikings backed out of the press and smothered Joburg, quickly silencing the crowd with a 7-0 run. Terra Payne drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 15-13, but Posen came right back with an 18-5 run. Everything was clicking for the Vikings in the second quarter as they led 43-28 at halftime. To Joburg’s credit, they kept fighting and the crowd kept cheering every basket as if the score was much closer. The game still was tense, although the Vikes would never let the Cardinals get any closer than within 13 points.
“It was awesome, baby! Wow!” said Calhoun of taking another trophy back to Posen. There were three players in double digits. Meeder led the attack with 22 points, while Hincka finished with 21. Lewandowski scored 13 points.