MHS Varsity basketball season gets underway

#12 sophomore Lucy Hughes keeps her on the ball as Michigan Lutheran’s Eva Liss brings it down court during the Wildcats season opener, Monday, December 8. The ‘Cats fell to the Titans in a close match, 25-28.   -News Photo

  It’s a new season for the MHS Varsity boys and girls basketball teams.

   On Friday, December 5, the boys played their season opener on the home court of the Hartford Huskies. Three days earlier, Hartford had a tough season opener against Lawton falling to the Blue Devils by 40, 66-26. They avenged that loss against Marcellus defeating the Wildcats, 38-59.

   The ‘Cats held close to the Huskies in the first and second quarters scoring 11 to Hartford’s 13 in the first and seven to the Huskies’ 10 in the second. Hartford dominated Marcellus in the third and fourth, outscoring the ‘Cats, 21-11 and 15-9. 

    Top scorers for Marcellus were junior Javonne Robinson with 10 points and senior Jamarion Robinson with 9. Also scoring were junior Zade Tyszka with 8, sophomore Matt Jansen with 6 and senior Aiden Cadwell with 5.

    Next up for the fellas are home matchups against Cassopolis, Tuesday, December 9 and against Bangor, Thursday, December 11.

   The girls opened their season with a valiant effort against the visiting Titans from Michigan Lutheran High School. However, their efforts were not enough as the Titans went home with a 28-25 win.

   The gals have a young squad this season with three freshman, five sophomores, four of whom played varsity as freshmen last year; one junior and two seniors, one of whom is an exchange student.

   Unfortunately, there was not enough players to field both a JV and Varsity squad this season so there’s a lot of on-the-job training happening on the court. Nevertheless, this writer was impressed by the team’s potential. The greatest challenge the team will face all year is lack of depth on the bench. They may be young and in shape, but they can still run out of gas in the late minutes of the game.

    Leading the scoring for the Wildcats was junior Emma Melendez with 11 points. Her bloody-nose temporary exit during the closing minutes of the game hampered the ‘Cats defense and scoring ability. They need her two years of varsity experience and leadership on the floor.

    The sophomore brigade of Kerrianne O’Donnell, Josie Adams, Emma Caudill and Lucy Hughes also added to the scoring. O’Donnell tossed in 8, Adams added three, Caudill contributed two, and Hughes tossed in a free throw.

   Also seeing action were freshman Nani Ferguson, sophomore Hannah Sharp, and senior exchange student Mayu Uga. 

   They’re young, they’re determined, and they have potential to be a stronger, more efficient team as the season progresses.

   Next up is a home game against the Bangor Vikings, Thursday, December 12. The gals tip-off at 6:00pm and will be followed by the boys varsity. 

###