Mackinac Island Sweeps Grand Marias in Weekend Series
By David Latva

Marie Bunker

Mackinac Island Lakers girls and boys basketball teams swept Northern Lights League (NLL) opponent Grand Marais Polar Bears during the home four-game series Friday, January 4, and Saturday, January 5.

Lakers Offense Explodes

With Girls Victories Mackinac Island Lakers offense exploded in both games, defeating Grand Marais 81- 7 Friday evening and 72-8 Saturday morning.

During the opener, the Lakers led 53-3 at halftime and outscored the Polar Bears 28-4 in the second half.

Lakers statistics: Marie Bunker, 25 points; Jane Finkel, Morgan Bordeur-Bunker, 18 points; Zhane Nash, 10 points; Shelby Mosley, eight points; Maggie Chambers, two points.

On Saturday, Mackinac Island, 3-6 on the season and 2-3 in the NLL, led 37-6 halftime and held a 35-2 advantage in the second half.

Lakers statisitics: Marie Bunker, 18 points; Jane Finkel, Morgan Brodeur-Bunker, 17 points; Zhane Nash, 14 points; Shelby Mosley, six points.

"We are starting to play true team basketball with improvement on our passing," said Lakers Coach Mary Patay. "This is our best performance, and during the holiday break we put in a new defense that worked well against Grand Marais."

Tyler McLean

Balanced Scoring Lifts Lakers Over

Polar Bears

Mackinac Island Lakers boys players used a balanced scoring effort to down Grand Marais 79- 33 Friday and 86- 25 Saturday morning.

The Lakers led 42-16 at halftime in the opener and outscored the Polar Bears 37- 17 in the second half.

Lakers statistics: Woody Beardsley, 26 points, 20 rebounds; Michael Gamble, 18 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds; Tyler McLean, 11 points, four assists; Riley Chaffee, 10 points, 13 rebounds, Robert Chambers, 10 points, five steals; Thomas Rilenge, Anthony Rickley, two points.

Mackinac Island held a 61-9 halftime lead in the morning contest before a 25-16 advantage in the second half.

Lakers statistics: Woody Beardsley, 19 points, 15 rebounds; Robert Chambers, 18 points, five rebounds, four assists; Michael Gamble, 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists; Tyler Mc- Lean, nine points, eight steals, five assists; Anthony Rickley, Thomas Rilenge, six points; Paul Fisher, two points.

Mackinac Island will host Hannahville Friday, January 11, and Saturday, January 12, in a NLL weekend series.