Experience Pays for Veteran Saints
March 14, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Senior Sarah Cullip and junior Kelley Wright learned a few things during their previous trips to Breslin Center that surely came to mind during Thursday’s Class D Semifinal against Climax-Scotts.
And with neither team able to find the back of the net, both had to call on those lessons to lift the top-ranked and undefeated Saints back to a familiar spot among those who will play on the final day of the season.
Wright made only 6 of 20 shots from the field, but connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:54 left in regulation. Cullip missed more than half the game because of foul trouble, but made two free throws with her team up only three and 25 seconds to play as the Saints held on for a 42-36 victory.
St. Ignace (26-0) will face three-time reigning champion Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes at 10 a.m. Saturday to try to earn a second MHSAA championship in three seasons. The Saints fell in last season’s Class C Semifinals, but won Class C in 2011 and finished runner-up in 2010.
“I think it was really crucial that I’d been here and played in this gym multiple times before, to know I have to calm down in a pressure situation,” said Cullip, who has been on the floor during all four of her team’s Breslin trips. “It’s just another free throw. It could be the first play of the game or the play that saves the game.”
The Saints have proven plenty this season that they can win big. Their first and only game closer than 10 points before Thursday came in the Regional Final, a 74-68 win over No. 6 Posen. St. Ignace has scored more than 80 points six times this season and more than 90 on three occasions.
But unranked Climax-Scotts (20-6) didn’t allow the Saints to get into their usual rhythm.
The Panthers finished with more field goals, 17-15, and the same number of rebounds. They actually shot better from the floor, 38 percent to 32. But Climax-Scotts got to the free throw line for only two attempts and had 20 turnovers. St. Ignace made 10 of 20 free throw tries and turned the ball over only 10 times.
The trip to Breslin was Climax-Scotts’ first to Finals weekend since finishing Class D runner-up in 1986.
“I can’t be prouder of my girls. They took on the number one ranked team in the state – number one from the get-go – and gave them probably the best game they’ve played all year,” Climax-Scotts coach Dana Perrin said. “I told the girls after the game they had nothing to hang their heads about, be sad about.”
St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls, meanwhile, recalled some of the tears in her players’ eyes after they fell during last season’s Class C Semifinals to eventual champion Morley-Stanwood – and how those likely paid off in extra resolve this time around.
Senior guard Brook Chambers could play only seven minutes Thursday because of an ankle sprain she re-aggravated during the Quarterfinal. Cullip, the team’s second-leading scorer and best defender, played only 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
“It obviously wasn’t the prettiest of games,” Ingalls said. “But at this state of the game, if you can win ugly, it’s a good thing."
Senior center Fallon Froberg led Climax-Scotts with 14 points and seven rebounds, but she had nearly half of her team’s 17 field goals. “Just them making chaos is the toughest thing,” Climax-Scotts senior guard Janae Langs said of the Saints’ defensive pressure.
Wright finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Abbey Ostman grabbed 13 rebounds for the Saints.
Click for a full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace three-year starter Kelley Wright pushes the ball up court during Thursday's Semifinal. (Middle) Wright defends Climax-Scotts' Destiny Froberg (10). (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Carney-Nadeau Starts Strong, Building Toward Big Finish
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2021
CARNEY — This basketball season has been well worth the wait for the Carney-Nadeau girls as they’re off to an 11-0 start.
The Wolves continued to roll Tuesday night in a 67-22 win at Crystal Falls Forest Park.
C-N is led by 6-foot-3 junior center Tessa Wagner, who averages 22 points and 17 rebounds a game.
She collected 22 points, 15 boards and four blocked shots in Tuesday's contest, three days after scoring a career-high 27 points in a 64-24 victory over Munising.
"The fact that we're 11-0 is special," said coach Ken Linder. "Our ability to shut other teams down is also special.
“This is as good a team (as) I've been around. … It's hard to believe we're already more than halfway done."
Tuesday's triumph also enabled the Wolves to improve to 8-0 in the Skyline Central Conference.
"This is really awesome," senior point guard Haley Ernest said after Monday's 61-42 victory over Felch North Dickinson. "We're super happy with our season. We're a well-balanced team. When one is having an off night, another is ready to step up. It's hard to go an entire season without having an off night, especially with games packed in."
Due to the condensed season, the Wolves are playing or practicing 6-7 days a week.
"When we don't have a Saturday game, we take that day off," said Ernest. "Otherwise, we're playing or practicing every day. Sunday is game film day. After we're done with that, we have a shoot-around which is part of the easiest practice all week."
The Wolves, like other teams, had to endure numerous delays due to COVID-19.
"We're just happy to be playing,” Wagner said. “I actually love wearing the mask. I also have a little mouthpiece to keep from sucking it in."
Wagner says Coach Linder often reminds them to stay focused. The Wolves have been especially impressive defensively, as C-N is giving up only 28.6 points per game.
"He tells us not to look at the scoreboard and play the game," she added. "Our defense has definitely been a key, and I think we have good ball movement. We're definitely a fast team."
Sophomore forward Shae Linder also noted a variety of reasons why the Wolves are successful.
"We work together," she said. "We're like a machine out there. Our defensive intensity is a key, and our guards have good court awareness. Tessa is an amazing player. We know she's going to play hard overtime and she works for every rebound. A lot of people focus on her.
"Nobody is selfish on our team. We don't care who's putting up the points, just as long as somebody is putting them up. Our opponents have nothing to lose, and we have everything to lose. We're going to give it our all overtime. I think Haley is our (floor) leader. She brings our defense together and runs our offense."
Shae Linder said the Wolves decided to stay committed despite the extensions.
"We were looking forward to our first game," she added. "We agreed we were going to work hard every day (during the extensions). We love the game. All we could do was keep getting better and hope for the best. We were real excited when we found out we could start playing. We felt we had a pretty good chance to start 11-0.
The Wolves resume at home against Stephenson on Saturday.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO: Carney-Nadeau's Tessa Wagner, here last season against Rock Mid Peninsula, is averaging 22 points and 17 rebounds per game. (Photo courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)