Rogers City nearly steals win over Tigers
by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor
The Lady Hurons girls came oh-so-close to notching their first win of the season, but fell a basket short. In a furious fourth quarter comeback bid, the Hurons took a brief lead but couldn?t close the deal. Rogers City led 25-24 before Hillman senior Maci Schook nailed a three-pointer from the corner with less than two minutes to play. On their next-to-last possession, Huron coach David O?Bryant?s team had a chance to tie on the other end, but a shot rang around the rim without falling. Now forced to foul, the Hurons put Schook on the line where she netted two with just 12 seconds left and Hillman led 29-25.
Becky Talaske?s running hook as time expired capped a six-point quarter for her. She also nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key and a left-handed scoop shot inside the lane. The game marked the first time the Lady Hurons had led so late in a game so far this season. ?It is so disheartening to lose but they played a good game,? O?Bryant said. ?When we play 20- and 30-point losses we don?t know how to play at the end of the game. We don?t know when to foul. We don?t know when to not make that long pass, so those are things we are picking up and will have to learn on the run now.?
Rogers City trailed 13-4 after the first quarter as Schook drained nine of her game high 17 points in the frame. Hillman led 15-10 at halftime. Talaske had 13 points and 12 rebounds to pace the scoring attack while Rebecca Meredith added nine points. ?We had some chances and we are certainly improving. That was the first game where we gave four quarters of hard basketball. We have played hard, but we haven?t given four quarters of hard basketball,? the coach said. Rogers City committed a season-low 21 turnovers while connecting on 12-of-50 from the field. In the junior varsity contest, Rogers City took a 38-22 win over Hillman. Brooklyn Idalski led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points while Courtney Streich added nine. The Hurons host Newberry Friday and play at Alcona Tuesday.