Lockdown Defense Setting Tone Again as Negaunee Moves Into Regional Round
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 9, 2026
NEGAUNEE — Playing tight man-to-man defense has been a Negaunee basketball tradition for many years.
The Negaunee girls did just that Friday night, and it resulted in a 47-30 triumph over Gladstone in a Division 2 District Final.
The victory enabled the Miners to improve to 23-1 and advance to the Regional Semifinal at Manistique, where they’ll face Petoskey (20-3) tonight at 7.
Negaunee is giving up only 30.9 points per game this season. The Miners have held opponents to 27 or fewer points 10 times and allowed more than 39 in only five games.
“I think that allows us to speed up our offense,” Miners’ junior Greta Johnson said of the team’s defensive dominance. “I think it also tends to keep other teams off balance.”
Friday’s victory served as redemption for the Miners, who dropped a 50-47 decision to Gladstone in last year’s District Final.
“You never forget something like that,” sophomore Paige O’Donnell said. “This definitely feels better than last year. We decided we were going to do it for each other.”
The Miners were 22-0 before dropping the District Final last season. This year their only loss was a 51-39 decision at Ishpeming on Feb. 6.
“I think the loss at Ishpeming was good for us," Johnson said. "We realized we had to focus on getting better in every game. You always have to be ready to play.”
This season, Negaunee won the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference and shared the Mid-Peninsula Conference title with Ishpeming.
“Having been able to win the West PAC and share the M-PC title was huge,” coach Mike O’Donnell said. “We try to keep them focused by splitting the season in tiers. Our first tier includes the early-season games, then we have the mid-season and late-season. We had two big battles with Ishpeming, which I think prepared us.
“This is a quick turn-around. There’s a lot to digest in two days. It’s always challenging to play a team which you don’t know like the back of your hand. We’ve got to be focused and ready to go.”
The winner tonight advances to the championship game at Gaylord, where it will face Clare (18-6) or Big Rapids (19-4) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Negaunee is only two seasons removed from reaching the Division 2 Semifinals.
Johnson led the Miners with 17 points and five assists in the District Final. Paige O’Donnell added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Keira Waterman chipped in eight points and seven boards, and classmate Sadie Rogers had four steals.
Wisconsin-Green Bay recruit Lillie Johnson scored 11 points for Gladstone but missed part of the third and fourth quarters with an ankle injury.
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.
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming Westwood's Eliisa Doney collides with Negaunee's Keira Waterman as she drives toward the basket during their game Jan. 16, with Clare O'Donnell (44) also defending. (Middle) Negaunee's head coach Mike O'Donnell talks to his team during a timeout Dec. 19. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Standout Juniors Pace Portland's Historic Finish
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
April 9, 2021
EAST LANSING – Through almost three quarters Friday, only three Portland players had scored in the Division 2 girls basketball championship game.
But the work of juniors Alivia Densmore, Ava Guilford and Ashley Bower was enough to carry the offense as the Raiders (20-2) racked up a 52-32 victory over Newaygo at the Breslin Center.
Bower led Portland with 20 points, while Guilford and Densmore chipped in 12 each. Earlier this season, Bower went over 1,000 points for her career and set the school scoring record.
“This whole season has been fun,’’ she said.
Friday’s Final matched a Raiders team making its first championship game appearance and a Newaygo team playing for its first title since 1985. It also was a rematch from Feb. 24, when Portland defeated Newaygo 38-33.
Portland coach Jason Haid recalled Friday how his team had a cancellation during the season and “we wanted to find a team that would test us. Newaygo came down during the middle of the week.
“Having played them helped. The number one thing we had on our minds going into this game was defense and defending ball screens. We know everything they were going to do would come off ball screens. The Longs (sisters Jaylee and Jaxi) are tough, and we knew we had to get out on them.’’
The Raiders trio combined for 40 points through three quarters as Portland built a 42-25 lead against the offensively-struggling Lions (21-2), who didn’t have a player reach double figures scoring.
Portland increased its advantage to 21, 48-27, on two free throws from Ava Gruber with 5:54 to play.
“It wasn’t our night,’’ Newaygo coach Nate Thomasma said. “They took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do. It wasn’t for a lack of effort. That was the sum of the story.’’
After Bower scored the first four points of the game, the Lions went on an 8-0 run. But Densmore hit a floater in the lane as the first quarter ended to give the Raiders a 9-8 lead. Neither team shot better than 23 percent from the field over the first eight minutes.
Portland started hitting an offensive stride and outscored Newago 9-3 to open up an 18-11 lead during the second quarter. Densmore, along with Bower and Guilford, combined for all 18 points.
Densmore, just like she did in the first quarter, hit a buzzer beater to send the Raiders to the locker room with a 20-12 cushion.
Starting the second half, the Raiders got a triple from Guilford – the team’s sparkplug – a three-point play from Bower and another triple from Guilford to push the lead to 29-12.
Said Guilford: “My teammates were able to find me. Ashley is always unselfish, and it was important for us to stay confident and relaxed.’’
Newaygo got offensive life when senior guard Anna Brummel hit consecutive 3-pointers and Jaylee Long added a third to trim the deficit to 35-24 with 3:11 to play in the third quarter. But the Lions would get no closer.
Junior forward Emmerson Goodin led Newaygo with eight points and nine rebounds, and Jaylee Long and Brummel also both scored eight. Jaxi Long had seven rebounds and four assists.
Bower was 8 of 16 from the field and also had four assists. Densmore hit 6 of 11 shots and had three blocked shots. Portland finished the game making 42 percent of its shots from the field, while Newaygo connected on just 21 percent of its attempts.
PHOTOS: (Top) Portland’s Alivia Densmore works for an opening during Friday’s Division 2 Final at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Raiders' Ashley Bower makes a move at the rim with Newaygo players walling her off. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)