KINGSLEY — Thursday wasn’t necessarily a must-win game for Kingsley and Onekama, but it was definitely a wanna-win game for the two Northwest varsity girls basketball squads hoping to stay in the race for the conference championship.
Both the Stags and Portagers came in off of losses in the Northwest, with Kingsley dropping their last two to Glen Lake and Frankfort while Onekama fell to Benzie Central.
The victory went to the Stags as Kingsley came out on top against Onekama in a 69-58 final to continue their chase of the Northwest-leading Lakers. Kingsley is now 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the NWC, and Onekama is 5-3 with a 3-2 mark in the Northwest as well.
The Lakers took care of business on the road against Buckley with a 54-49 win to improve to 7-2 overall and remain undefeated in the Northwest Conference at 5-0. Benzie Central stayed in the hunt as well with a victory over Leland for second place in the NWC at 3-1.
“We probably overachieved in December, going 5-1, but we just could not get back in the flow at Glen Lake and Frankfort,” Kingsley head coach Matt Schelich said. “We know (the conference) is a little out of our hands; but from what I’ve seen, there’s a helluva lot of balance in the Northwest.”
The Stags threw the first several haymakers in a hard-fought game, running out to a 10-0 lead and forcing Onekama head coach Tracy Bennett to call a timeout less than three minutes into the contest. Heather Zielinski responded for the Portagers with a 3-pointer to get them on the board, but Onekama would be fighting from the bottom for the entire game.
“We’ve got to play our game,” Bennett said. “I’m always proud when they give me their best effort, and I can tell you they gave their best effort. They never stop playing. Isn’t that a lot to be said for such a young team? I have athletes, and they do not quit.”
Emilee Robinson picked up the hoop and the harm on an and-1 layup to push the Kingsley lead back to 10 points at 13-3. The fast-paced quarter would end with the Stags holding a nine-point cushion over the Portagers, 23-14, as Robinson scored 10 of her 12 points in the game’s first eight minutes.
Onekama picked up the defense in the second quarter as the offense responded behind a pair of triples from Addy Zeller and eight points from Ava Mauntler to cut into the Stags’ lead. The Portagers trailed by as many as 12 points and got to within three at 34-31 on a Mauntler layup, but the Stags got the final basket of the first half to lead by five at the break.
Kingsley sophomore Annie Strang was clutch for the Stags in the third quarter. She tallied 13 of her team- and game-high 18 points to fend off Onekama’s persistent charge that once again saw the Portagers get to within three before Grace Merchant and Strang connected from long distance on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back to nine — which is where it stayed at 59-50 after three quarters of play.
“First half, we were all right. Second half, we came out pretty strong,” Strang said. “It was a good effort by both teams. Every day at practice, we just come back and work harder.”
The Stags were content to control the ball in the final eight minutes, which kept the Portagers in a bit of a rush when they got possession. Onekama got back-to-back treys from Zeller and Mauntler to get within five at 61-56, but that was as close as the Portagers would get before Kingsley played it out to the 11-point win.
“The hard work hasn’t been missing,” Schelich said. “They’ve been working hard, and they had better energy tonight. We knew we’d need it because we’d have our hands full with Onekama.”
Kingsley freshman Delaney Case also finished in double figures along with Strang and Robinson, scoring 10 points. For Onekema, Mauntler tied Strang’s effort with 18 points. Zielinski was the second-highest scorer for the Portagers with nine.
“We were down 10-0. We lost by 11,” Bennett said. “With a young team, that comes with the package. We got floored. It’s like, ‘Oh, my god. What’s happening?’ when I’ve got an eighth-grader, three freshmen and a sophomore out there.”
Both the Stags and Portagers are rife with youth on their rosters.
Kingsley’s Chrissy Whims and Grace Lewis are the only seniors along with three juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen. Onekama’s young varsity roster features just one senior and one junior along with three sophomores, four freshmen and eighth-grader Callie Sinke.
“A big thing coaching this young of a team is the mental part of it,” Bennett said. “This is a really physical game — especially for my eighth-grader jumping all the way up to varsity — but I just tell them to bring it back and play their game. They respond and do so well.”
Both the Stags and Portagers get a break from their conference slates as Kingsley travels to Petoskey on Tuesday and Onekama hosts Mackinac Island on Monday.