Click here for digital edition

Boys/Girls Basketball

LaSalle High School seniors Chelsea Swope and Dan St. Onge were crowned courtwarming queen and king Friday, January 29. Free throws made the difference as the visiting Rudyard Bulldogs defeated the St. Ignace Saints 87-79 during a Straits Area Conference (SAC) overtime thriller before a standing-room-only crowd at LaSalle High School Friday, January 29.

Rudyard converted on seven of 10 from the charity stripe in the fourminute overtime period, while St. Ignace made just two of eight in the final 30 seconds of the regulation game and the extra quarter.

During the first three quarters, the Saints’ largest lead was nine points. The Bulldogs held a ninepoint advantage before the final 12 minutes.

Rudyard led 57-54 at the 5:55 mark of the fourth quarter before the Saints went on a 9-2 run as Evan Everson, who scored a career high 18 points, tallied six points and Gerrit Mortensen chipped in three for a 63-59 lead with 4:19 left in regulation.

Arik Hesselink (23) scored team high 26 points in the Bulldogs SAC win over the Saints. St. Ignace held a 71-65 margin with 2:00 on the clock before Davin Salo hit a short jumper and Ryan Hendrickson answered from outside the three-point line with 49 seconds left to cut the Saints lead to 71-70.

Everson made two free throws and Austin St. Louis added one charity shot for the Saints. Hendrickson converted one for a 74-71 St. Ignace lead with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Senior Ben Harter drained a huge triple for Rudyard to tie the score at 74 with 16.9 seconds left in regulation play.

St. Ignace called time out with 5.7 on the clock and could have iced the game there, but the Saints missed two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Rudyard took control with free throws and outscored the Saints 11- 5 to post the league win. The Bulldogs remain one game behind Cheboygan in the race for first place in the SAC.

Chelsea Swope takes this outside shot for the Saints during the St. Ignace win over Pickford Tuesday, January 26. "This was a win we needed to stay in the hunt for the league title," said Bulldogs Coach Grant Ross. "St. Ignace is tough and it showed with the two great games we had with them.”

St. Ignace, 3-3 in the league and 7-4 overall, led 19-16 after the first eight minutes and held a 16-14-scoring edge in the second quarter for 35-30-halftime advantage. Mortensen, who led the Saints with 31 points, scored 19 in the first half. Arik Hesselink of the Bulldogs, who scored team high 26 points, answered with 10 points in the first two quarters.

The Bulldogs, 5-1 in the SAC and 9-1 overall, took the first step toward their comeback when they outscored the Saints 24-17 to take a 54-54 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Saints’ Evan Everson (24) scored a career high 18 points against Rudyard Friday, January 29. Bulldogs statistics: Arik Hesselink, 26 points, 13 rebounds; Drew Otten, 18 points, five rebounds; Davin Salo, 16 points, three steals; Scott Coffey, 13 points; Ryan Hendrickson, nine points, seven assists, five rebounds; Ben Harter, three points, seven rebounds.

Saints statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, 31 points, six assists, five steals, four rebounds, two blocked shots; Evan Everson, 18 points, four rebounds, two steals, two assists; Austin St. Louis, 17 points, four rebounds, three steals; Grant Simmons, six points, 10 rebounds; Kevin Guillard, three points; four rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot; Cole Christiansen, two points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals; Landon Marshall, two points.

Mckinley Portice (22) scored 32 points for the Panthers during the game at LaSalle High School. Bulldogs Down Saints

In JV Contest

The Rudyard Bulldogs defeated the St. Ignace Saints 62-52 Friday, January 29.

Bulldogs statistics: Caleb Salo, 22 points; Tyler Wilson, 20 points; Garrett Laponsie, five points; Andy Alstrom, four points; Jared Meehan and Cody Mesnard, three points; Jacob Harrison and Scott Smith, two points.

Saints statistics: John Eby, 20 points; Eric Hepker, 13 points; Parker Simmons, 10 points; Brennan Danielson, five points; Nate Montie, two points.

The Saints will travel to Rogers City to face the Hurons Friday, February 5, and to Brimley Tuesday, February 9. Rudyard entertains Newberry Friday, February 5, and DeTour Monday, February 8. The Bulldogs will face Cheboygan in a key SAC match-up at home Friday, February 12.

Mortensen Scores 39, Portice 32;

Saints Down Panthers in Non-

League Action

Two of the top players in the Upper Peninsula put on a scoring exhibition as seniors Gerrit Mortensen of St. Ignace scored 39 points and Mckinley Portice of Pickford answered with 32 points in an offensive shootout as the Saints posted a 73-61 non-conference home win over the Panthers Wednesday, January 27.

Mortensen scored 12 field goals, three triples, and 12 of 14 free throws and Portice made 15 field goals, one trey, and one of two from the charity stripe.

Pickford raced out to a 12-0 lead at the 4:00 mark as Portice scored nine before Mortensen tallied 15 points and the Saints cut the Panthers lead to 18-17 after the first eight minutes.

St. Ignace held an 18-13 offensive margin in the second quarter for a 35-31 halftime lead as Mortensen scored eight and Evan Everson chipped in five.

The Saints outscored the Panthers 38-30 in the second half that included 19-4 in the third quarter and 19- 16 in the final eight minutes. Portice scored 19 points in the second half and 13 in the fourth quarter. Mortensen notched 16 in the second half, 11 in the final eight minutes.

The Saints scored 23 field goals, five triples, and 22 of 27 (81%) from the free throw line. The Panthers made 26 field goals, three treys, and six of 13 from the charity stripe.

Saints remaining statistics: Gerrit Mortensen, eight steals, seven assists, five rebounds; Austin St. Louis, 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals; Evan Everson, nine points, four steals, two rebounds; Cole Christiansen, five points, five rebounds, two steals; Grant Simmons, three points; Kevin Guillard, two points, two rebounds, two steals; Curtis St. Louis, two points.

Panthers remaining statistics: Josh Reid, eight points; Dylan Rye and Paul Morrison, six points; Jacob Eddy, five points; Nathan Gregg and Jordan LaVigne, two points.

Saints JV Down Panthers

The St. Ignace Saints defeated the Pickford Panthers junior varsity 61- 48 Wednesday, January 27.

Saints statistics: Parker Simmons, 16 points; Eric Hepker, 15 points; John Eby, 11 points; Nate Montie, eight points; Kurt King, five points; Xan Belonga, Brennan Danielson, and Kris Gustafson, two points.

Panthers statistics: Dennis Wondergem, 15 points; Jake Robinson, eight points; A.J. Brooks, seven points; Brandon Hickman and Jared Bush, six points; Phillip Coullard and Elijah Leach, two points.

Girls Basketball

Saints Down Panthers

In Inter-league Contest

The inter-league battle between St. Ignace of the Straits Area Conference and Pickford of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference came down to a game that saw all 10 players scoring for the Saints en route to a 77-50 road win over the Panthers in Pickford Tuesday, January 26.

Both teams are undefeated in their respective leagues. The Saints’ pressure defense worked well with the team’s offense, especially in the first half with a 41-18 halftime advantage following an 18-10 margin in the first eight minutes. Nicole Elmblad scored 16 points and Kristen Olsen added 12 for St. Ignace in the first half.

St. Ignace continued the strong defensive effort. The team established a 22-11 margin in the third quarter to increase the lead to 63-29 as six players scored for the Saints.

Pickford didn't quit, playing tough basketball until the final buzzer, outscoring St. Ignace 21-14 in the final eight minutes as Callie Smith and Justine Hatfield scored seven points each for the Panthers.

Saints statistics: Nicole Elmblad, 26 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals; Kristen Olsen, 15 points, five rebounds, four assists; Grace Wheeler, 15 points, four rebounds, four steals, three assists; Mallory Lalonde, six points; three steals; Mikaela Kelly, four points, two rebounds; Chelsea Swope, three points, five rebounds; Samantha Radecki, two points, six rebounds; Anna St. Andrew, two points, five rebounds; Katy LaTour and Emily Hepker, two points, two rebounds.

Panthers statistics: Callie Smith, 13 points; Jenna Ledy, 11 points; Justine Hatfield, 10 points; Kristen Cline, seven points; Kelsie Brown, four points; Olivia Smith, three points; Abbie Andrzejak, two points.

Panthers JV Team Defeats Saints

The Pickford Panthers defeated the St. Ignace Saints 45-43 in the junior varsity game Tuesday, January 26.

Panthers statistics: Amber Colosky, 19 points; Jessie Barras, seven points; Kristi Gough and Stacey Beard, five points; Miranda Schwab, four points; Victoria Cusick, three points; Katie Keller, two points.

Saints statistics: Sarah Cullip, 18 points; Lauren Goldthorpe, eight points; Taylor Becker, five points; Brooklyn Chambers, four points; Sophie Peters, three points; Alexa Thibault, Lori Luepnitz, and Samantha Gugin, two points.

Saints Ranked Sixth

By Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press prep rankings by Mick McCabe from Monday, January 25, in Class C has a look of familiarity for the St. Ignace Saints, recalling the 1999 to 2002 seasons.

The Sandusky Redskins, ranked number one in Class C, were defeated by the Saints in the 1999 championship game. Niles Brandywine Bobcats, number four, fell to St. Ignace in the 2000 semifinals and the Saints went on to defeat Detroit Communication and Media Arts Pharaohs for the title that year.

Olivet, rated number seven, defeated St. Ignace in the 2001 semifinals. During the final year the Saints made the trip to the state finals in Mt. Pleasant, they lost to the Inkster Vikings, who are ranked number four in Class A.