North Girls, Boys Win 24th Annual Upper Peninsula Hoops All-Star Classic

Representing the Eastern Upper Peninsula on the U.P. All-Star South team are (from left) Lauren MacArthur of Engadine, Amanda Coveyou of St. Ignace, Coach Dorene Ingalls of St. Ignace, Jessica Duncan of Cedarville, and Ashley Sweeney of Cedarville. Despite the 17-point effort that included five triples by Jessica Duncan of Cedarville, and the combined 36 points of her teammates, the South girls suffered a 74-53 setback at the hands of the North squad and the North boys posted an 84-82 comeback during the 24th Annual Upper Peninsula All-Star Basketball Classic at Escanaba Saturday, June 27.

In the girls matchup, both teams scored 16 points in the first 10 minutes before the North outscored the South 23-9 in the second quarter for a 39-25 halftime lead. The South went more than four minutes without scoring a single point.

The teams enjoyed a strong offensive effort in the third quarter, but the North held a 22-19 scoring edge to increase the margin to 61- 44 and closed out the game with a 13-9 advantage in the final 10 minutes.

The Eastern Upper Peninsula representatives on the U.P. All-Star North team include (from left) C.J. Paquin of Cedarville, Mickael Cantin of Pickford, Chastin McKelvie of Rudyard, and Taylor Smith of Cedarville. Team statistic follow:

South Girls Offense: Jessica Duncan-Cedarville, 17 points; Kelsey Roberts-Kingsford, 10 points; Amanda Coveyou-St. Ignace and Kristen Derusha-Bark River/Harris, six points; Ashley Sweeney-Cedarville and Brooke Grandquist-North Central, 10 points; Lauren MacArthur-Engadine, Kayla LaMuth-Manistique, and Jordan Zeni-Kingsford, two points.

North Girls Offense: Alyssa Erspamer (Most Valuable Player)- Marquette, 12 points; Elisa Reynolds-Baraga, 12 points; Becky Mayo-Gladstone, 10 points; Helen Richards-Houghton, nine points; Brittany Turin-Ontonagon, eight points; Hailey Gervais- Hancock, and Taylor Watters- Westwood, seven points; Miranda Aho-Jeffers, six points, Erin Connor-L'Anse, three points.

The North Boys trailed 25-19 after the first 10 minutes and 46-37 at halftime before outscoring the South 47-36 in the second half for the come-from-behind win.

North Boys Offense: Joe Simon (Most Valuable Player)-Marquette, 20 points; Tony LaPlant-Ewen/ Trout Creek, 11 points; Taylor Smith-Cedarville, nine points; Chastin McKelvie-Rudyard, six points; C.J. Paquin-Cedarville, five points; Mickael Cantin- Pickford, four points.

South Boys Offense: Brett Beland-Menominee, 14 points (the only statistics available).

Special Events: Erin Connor of L'Anse won the three-point shooting contest and Alyssa Erspamer of Marquette the free throw shooting for the girls. For the boys, Erik Powers of Marquette slammed home the win in the dunking contest and B.J. Scalcucci of West Iron County won the three-point shootout.