Third quarter press helps Posen pull away from RC
Posen seniors Roxann Hincka and Mary Calhoun combined for 50 points in a 70-43 victory Tuesday over county-rival Rogers City. The Vikings used a third quarter press to seal up the win, outscoring their neighbors 24-8. The Posen lead was as much as 32 midway through the fourth quarter, as the home team wins round one of the annual battle between these two schools in basketball. The Vikings improve to 4-2 with back-to-back wins, while the Hurons slip to 1-5 with three straight losses. ?When they get away from the game plan, bad things happen,? said Rogers City coach Paul Stempky. ?When we ran our offense I thought we played pretty well. You really have to slow it down against Posen.?
The game was close through the first eight minutes. A PAIR OF field goals by Dana Fairbanks put the Hurons within three, 13-10, with two minutes left in the first. At 15-10, Chelsie Brege went coast-to-coast for an uncontested lay up to make it 15-12. Calhoun drained three-of-four free throws and Hincka knocked down a field goal off an offensive rebound to build the lead to eight heading into the second quarter. The Vikings exploded for four straights points to start the second, but the Hurons answered with five points off a Brege three and a Hilary Lynch jumper from the paint, cutting the margin to seven. Posen had to call timeout but came back with the next six points. Four came from Hincka, including a nifty jumper from the right side that gave the Vikings a 13-point edge, 30-17.
ROGERS CITY would get it to single digits with baskets from Monica Cercone, Fairbanks, and Brege, but could not hold down a Viking team, which may be finding its groove. ?They have been playing together so long, but they did not play that way in the first few plays,? said Posen coach Tom Schellie. ?Now I can see some positive things happening in practice and in the games. We are running our plays, we are getting open looks.? He said the girls clicked against Rogers City and Atlanta. We really clicked today, and we really clicked against Atlanta. ?The one thing that I have really been focusing on in practice and in the games has been hustle. The last two games we are sprinting and hustling.?
Calhoun had a season-high 28 points and added seven steals and five rebounds. Hincka, who has been averaging double digits in points and rebounds, had 22 points and 12 boards. Brege had a team-high 11 points. Fairbanks finished with eight, while Lynch and Cercone added seven apiece. Rogers City is at Rudyard tonight and back home Tuesday against Sault Ste. Marie. Posen is at home tonight against Au Gres and then travels to C
LAST THURSDAY, the Hurons let a close one get away from them as they overcame a poor start against Onaway and erased a 16-point lead. They could not hold a one-point advantage with 2:30 left against the Cardinals. Stempky said the girls missed some open shots in the closing moments. The final score was 53-47. Jenny Fleming scored 17 points, while Fairbanks added 15. The Vikings took it to Atlanta last Thursday, 75-35. Calhoun poured in 24, but it was Jenny Ciarkowski’s hot start that got the team going. She had 14. Hincka added a dozen and collected 14 boards.
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THE POSEN JV won back-to-back games. They defeated Rogers City Tuesday, 41-37, with Victoria Wozniak leading all scorers with 12. Nicole Purol and Christina Bednarski both added eight apiece. For the Hurons, Greta Grambau finished with 10, while Katie Tulgestke and Sam Hall had seven each. The Rogers City JV overcame a 15-10 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter against Onaway to pull out a low scoring 22-20 win. Leann Knopf fueled the rally with all of her seven points in the fourth quarter. Posen railroaded Atlanta, 49-9 with Cheryl Romel leading the scoring attack with nine.