The Saints Grace Wheeler is fouled on a first half drive to the hoop during the St. Ignace win over Gaylord Tuesday, December 1. Saints Outlast Blue Devils

In Home Season Opener

St. Ignace and Gaylord battled in a defensive contest for three quarters before the host Saints took control with an 18-5 advantage in the fourth quarter, pulling off a 52-41 non-conference decision over the Blue Devils Tuesday, December 1.

During the Saints season-opening victory, seniors Emily Hepker and Katy LaTour went down with injuries in the final 2:20 of the last quarter.

Hepker suffered an ankle sprain and LaTour a knee injury.

"This was a good win for us, especially against a team with the talent that Gaylord put on the floor, but the injuries to Emily and Katy left a sour taste in our mouths," said Saints Coach Dorene Ingalls. "We have three seniors down with injuries, as Chelsea Swope has been out with a knee injury. When the trio can return, we will be a better team."

Emily Hepker St. Ignace The teams traded field goals early in the first quarter and following five consecutive points by Gaylord for a 11-9 edge, the Saints’ Nicole Elmblad scored nine unanswered points to give St. Ignace a 18-11 lead after the first eight minutes.

Gaylord bounced back for an 11- 4 advantage in the second quarter to send the game into halftime tied at 22 and held a 14-12 scoring edge in the third quarter for a 36-34 margin going into the fourth quarter.

St. Ignace opened the final eight minutes with a 9-0 run for a 43-36 lead at the 2:40 mark as Grace Wheeler scored five and Hepker and Elmblad chipped in two each.

The Blue Devils hit a trey to end the Saints scoring run before Samantha Radecki, Hepker, and LaTour scored two points each to build a 49-39 advantage. Elmblad drained three free throws in the closing 40 seconds to ice the 11-point win.

Katy LaTour St. Ignace Saints statistics: Nicole Elmblad, 27 points, 12 rebounds, four steals; Grace Wheeler, six points, eight rebounds, four assists; Mallory LaLonde, five points; Katy LaTour, four points, 11 rebounds; Emily Hepker, four points, five rebounds; Kristen Olsen, four points; Samantha Radecki, two points.

Saints Split Games

At Petoskey Tourney

The St. Ignace Saints split their two games during the Petoskey Tournament, losing to the highly touted Marquette Redettes 69-59 in the semifinals Friday, December 4, but coming back to down the Tawas Braves 57-44 in the consolation game Saturday, December 5.

"Three players, Anna St. Andrew, Mikaela Kelly, and Sarah Cullip, who had not played a single varsity minute, came through with two outstanding games," said Saints Coach Dorene Ingalls.

Jenna Ledy Pickford In the opener, St. Ignace, competing without three of its injured players, trailed by 19 points after three quarters before the Saints cut the Marquette lead to nine, only to fall to one of the best teams in the Upper Peninsula. The Saints finished the game with only four players on the floor after four players fouled out in the fourth quarter.

"I was proud of the way this group of girls played and never quit," added Ingalls. "Everyone contributed and we handled the pressure from a very good team."

The Redettes led 33-20 at halftime after a 15-9 advantage in the first eight minutes and 18-11 in the second quarter.

Marquette opened a 19-point lead after three quarters with a 21-15 margin before the Saints outscored the Redettes 24-15 in the final eight minutes.

Nicole Melcer DeTour Saints statistics: Nicole Elmblad, 24 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, four assists; Kristen Olsen, 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks; Mallory LaLonde, nine points; Sarah Cullip, six points, two rebounds, one block; Grace Wheeler, five points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, four steals; Mikaela Kelly and Anna St. Andrew, two points.

Redettes top scorers: Emma Powers, 16 points; Jade Ledy, 15 points; Daina Grazulis, 10 points.

Elmblad Scores 33 Points

In Saints’ Win Over Braves

Junior Nicole Elmblad scored 33 points and added 17 rebounds, six steals, and six assists to lead the Saints 2-1 on the season to the win over Tawas.

"Nicole played very well with a double/double [points/rebounds] in both games. She and the rest of the team have stepped up their play after the injuries," said Coach Ingalls.

The Saints led 16-10 after the first quarter and held a 16-15 scoring edge in the second quarter for a 32- 25 halftime lead and completed the game with a 25-19 advantage in the second half against the Braves. Tawas cut the St. Ignace lead to five points with two minutes left in the game, but the Saints bounced back to win by 12 points.

Additional Saints statistics: (Elmblad stats listed above); Mallory LaLonde, 10 points; Grace Wheeler, six points; Kristen Olsen, five points, six assists; Sarah Cullip, two points; Mikaela Kelly, one point.

Saints Drop

JV Game

The St. Ignace Saints fell to the Gaylord Blue Devils 53-30 in the junior varsity game Tuesday, December 1.

Saints statistics: Sarah Cullip, 18 points; Kayla Fulgenzi, four points; Sophie Peters, Samantha Gugin, Ashley Campbell, and Alexa Thibault, two points.

Four Panthers Score in Double Figures; Coach Griffin

Earns First Win

Four players scored in double figures to lift the host Pickford Panthers to a 64-53 non-conference decision over the Newberry Indians and the first win for rookie head coach Paul Griffin Tuesday, December 1.

The victory for the Panthers was a tale of two halves as Pickford held a 12-10 scoring edge after the first eight minutes, but Newberry held a 16-9 advantage in the second quarter for a 26-21 halftime lead.

Pickford bounced back with a strong second half, outscoring the Indians 43-27 that included a 24-16 margin in the third quarter and 19- 11 in the final eight minutes.

"We played much better in the second half, especially on the defensive side of the ball," said Coach Griffin.

Panthers statistics: Jenna Ledy, 22 points; Callie Smith, 13 points; Justine Hatfield, 12 points; Kristen Cline, 10 points; Kelcie Brown, Abbie Andrzejak, Marlee Michalski, two points; Melissa Stevenson, one point.

Indians statistics (double figure scorers): Rachel Marsh, 20 points, Caryn Ducsay, 16 points.

Panthers Fall to Snowbirds

The Pickford Panthers fell to the Gaylord St. Mary Snowbirds 51-43 during a road non-conference game Friday, December 4.

"I was proud of the way the girls came back after being down by 17 points," said Coach Griffin. "We had a sluggish first half and played better in the second half and cut the St. Mary lead to five points, but couldn't get any closer."

The Snowbirds led 10-4 after the first eight minutes and held a 25-12 halftime lead with a 15-8 advantage in the second quarter.

Pickford, 1-1 on the season, held a 14-13 scoring edge in the third quarter and outscored St. Mary 17- 14 in the final eight minutes to cut the final margin to eight points.

Panthers statistics: Jenna Ledy, 11 points; Justine Hatfield, 10 points; Callie Smith, nine points; Kristen Cline, six points; Abbie Andrzejak, three points; Kelcie Brown and Olivia Smith, two points.

Bays Breeze Past

Wildcats, Bulldogs

The Brimley Bays, 2-0 on the season, breezed past the host Wolverine Wildcats 76-13 Tuesday, December 1, and the Rudyard Bulldogs 59-19 in the home opener at the Karl Parker Gymnasium Thursday, December 3.

In the road win, the Bays led 55- 6 at halftime before outscoring the Wildcats 21-7 in the running-clock second half.

Bays statistics vs. Wolverine: Jessica Graham, 25 points, 11 rebounds, six assists; Lynnette Carrick, 19 points, six steals; Sydney Beaune 10 points, six steals; Cassie Wilcox, six points; Whitney Frazier, Stephanie Lynn, four points; Shelby Leapley, Cortney Wilson, three points; Becca Carruthers, two points.

The Bays held a 26-9 halftime lead against the Bulldogs before holding a 36-10 advantage in the second half.

Bays statistics: Jessica Graham, 12 points, 11 rebounds; Whitney Frazier, 12 points, 10 rebounds; Lynnette Carrick, 10 points; Cortney Wilson, eight points; Sydney Beaune, six points, four assists; Shelby Leapley, six points; Cassie Wilcox, four points; Stephanie Lynn, two points, 10 rebounds.

Bulldogs statistics: Leah Jarvie, seven points; Leah Wallis, five points; Emily Jeffreys, four points; Brittany Brown, two points; Crystal Brownlee, one point.

Jeffreys Scores 33;

Bulldogs Down Trojans

Senior Emily Jeffreys scored 33 points to lead the host Rudyard Bulldogs to a 71-35 non-conference win over the Cedarville Trojans Tuesday, December 1.

Rudyard led 30-22 at halftime after leading 15-9 after the first quarter and held a 15-13 scoring edge in the second quarter and outscored the Trojans 41-13 in the second half.

Bulldogs statistics: Emily Jeffreys, 33 points; Leah Wallis, 18 points; Crystal Brownlee, Brittany Brown, six points; Abbie LaPointe, four points; Rebecca Malaski, Lindsie LaPointe, two points.

Trojans statistics: Jillian Collins, 11 points; Holly Jaroche, nine points; Kharizma Labinski, eight points; Mary Eberts, three points; Hope Wittmus, two points.

Raiders Outlast Vikings

The DeTour Raiders outscored the Alanson Vikings in three of four quarters en route to a 39-26 nonconference home win Tuesday, December 1.

The Raiders led 8-2 after the first eight minutes and held a 10-4 margin in the second quarter for an 18- 6-halftime lead.

The Vikings cut the Raiders lead to 26-21 after three quarters with a 15-8 advantage before DeTour outscored Alanson 13-7 in the fourth quarter to post the win.

Raiders statistics: Darci Wilson, 13 points; Nicole Melcer, 12 points; Abby Stocking, five points; Jesse Kelleghan, Kiah Barbeaux, four points; Bailey Miller, two points.

DeTour Downs Vanderbilt The DeTour Raiders, 2-0 on the season, defeated the host Vanderbilt Yellowjackets 41- 36 Friday, December 4.

The Raiders led 10-8 after the first

eight minutes and

the Yellowjackets held a 9-8 scoring edge in the second quarter to cut the DeTour lead to 18-17 at halftime before DeTour outscored Vanderbilt 24-19 in the second half.

Raiders statistics: Kiah Barbeaux, 13 points; Darci Wilson, 11 points; Nicole Melcer, seven points; Abby Stocking, six points; Bailey Miller, four points.

Eagles Defeat Comets

in Season Opener

In the battle between two teams with rookie head coaches, the host Engadine Eagles, under Coach Dave McNeil, defeated the Mackinaw City Comets, coached by Adam Stefanski, 53-9 during a non-conference contest Friday, December 4.

"I was pleased with our defensive effort," said Coach McNeil. "We played much better in the second half."

The Eagles posted a shut out in the first eight minutes with a 12-0 lead and increased the margin to 25- 3 at halftime with a 13-3 advantage in the second quarter. Engadine outscored the Comets 28-6 in the second half to post the win.

The Eagles recorded just 13 turnovers, 30 steals, and 26 total rebounds with 16 on the offensive end.

Eagles statistics: Krista Metcalf, 24 points, nine steals; Morgan MacArthur, nine points; Elisa Hobbs, six points, nine rebounds; Kacie Rutledge, four points, six steals; Lynzee Bigelow and Leah Blanchard, three points; Kayla Miller and Jesse Davis, two points; Katie Hobbs, six rebounds.

Comets statistics: Sarah Rogala, four points; Kristina Heilman, three points; Kim Jaenicke, two points.