Senior Pair's Decision to Play Makes for Memorable Mackinaw City Season
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
March 13, 2026
Mackinaw City gave all of its girls basketball opponents the “friends & family” treatment this season.
And it certainly wasn’t a discount.
But the Comets did sport a discounted roster with just seven players, made up of three sisters and four close friends. And the roster could have been even smaller.
As the Mackinaw City volleyball season ended and the basketball opener was a few weeks away, Jake Huffman – the Comets volleyball and girls basketball coach – was facing the possibility of coaching this basketball season with just five girls on his roster.
Perhaps worse yet, Huffman was visualizing a roster with no seniors and one eighth grader. Kerry-Ann Ming, the Northern Lakes Conference volleyball Player of the Year, was not planning to play her senior season, instead intending to focus on her volleyball game during the offseason. She had been on the Comets’ basketball team the three previous seasons.
Ming’s friend and fellow senior Liz Kruczynski had never played on the Comets’ basketball team. And, in fact, she hadn’t been on any basketball team since she was a second grader.
But that all changed one November day when Ming and Kruczynski were shooting baskets during lunch break in the school’s gymnasium.
“And a lot of our friends were trying to convince both of us to do it, and word got to Mr. Huffman that we were indeed playing basketball and he came walking in and said, ‘Kerry, Liz! You're playing?’ and it was just like, let's go, we’re going to have a sweat season,” recalled Kruczynski. “Coach said, ‘It'll be great,’ and he was jumping up and down.”
And great it was. The Comets went 15-7 and earned a postseason win over Mackinac Island.
“I am so thrilled that both of these ladies played because they did provide some nice solid senior leadership for us, and they were really huge contributors for our team in what they gave to the team and how they worked with their teammates,” said Huffman. “Early in the year, we dropped some of those 50/50 games and towards the end of the season, we were starting to win those. The girls played hard and grew a ton as a team.”
Kruczynski, a forward, and Ming, the team’s center, were keys to that success. Kruczynski averaged better than two rebounds a game while playing great defense and significant minutes.
The pair also helped the Comets battle foul trouble and finish all 22 contests. Mackinaw City did end a few games with fewer than five eligible players due to fouling out or illness.
“Liz is a really good athlete, and for somebody who's never played basketball, she's got a pretty nice shot,” Huffman pointed out. “I'm so glad that she decided to play this year. She was a huge asset.”
Kruczynski chose to play basketball for her friends Ming, Rian Esper and Kenzlie Currie. She also did it for the chance to play a season with her sisters Emily, a freshman, and Ella, an eighth grader.
“There was only seven of us, and I think that a lot of people don't understand how much of like a family it really was with all the girls,” Kruczynski noted. “We're all extremely close, and the bonds go outside of the sport.”
Last summer, thinking of the possibility of playing basketball for the Comets, she put in a lot of work learning the game.
“I knew it would be my last high school sport together with Kerry, and it's one more sport with my friends and my sisters so I just did it,” Kruczynski said. “I took a lot of positive criticism and help from my siblings that have played for years and my friends as well. My siblings were a big part of the reason I enjoyed basketball so much.”
The Comets seniors leaders credit Currie’s passion, Esper’s hard-working mindset and Poppy Wallace’s dedication for a good portion of Mackinaw City’s success on the hardcourt.
But Ming can’t avoid getting the biggest share of the credit.
“Kerry was a very busy young lady this winter between school and basketball and volleyball,” Huffman acknowledged. “She managed to juggle it all.”
Ming led the team with more than 10 rebounds and three steals per game. She also added two blocks and nearly two assists per contest. She finished her career as the school’s second-leading shot blocker and third on the all-time rebounding list. She also set the school single-season rebounding record at 304 as a junior.
“I knew I was going to miss it and regret in the end if I didn’t play (this season),” Ming admitted. “My parents and God were there to support my decision, and my parents cheered me on every game.”
Ming will continue playing volleyball after graduation. She’s signed a letter of intent to play middle hitter for Kirtland Community College.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Mackinaw City’s Kerry-Ann Ming pushes the ball upcourt, and at right, teammate Liz Kruczynski considers her options on offense. (Middle) Comets coach Jake Huffman talks things over with his team. (Ming photo by Billy Mac Photos. Kruczynski photo by Heather Huffman. Team huddle photo courtesy of the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.)
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 2
December 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Calendar year 2018 is drawing to a close, but anticipation is just starting to ramp up as girls basketball teams head into the holidays.
For many, there won’t be much of a break as they prep to play in a number of showcase events around the state.
Saturday saw the Best of Michigan Classic at Detroit Edison and a number of top Division 1 and 2 teams compete – we highlighted a few of those below. Similar events will follow over the next three weeks, before the schedule shifts to league competition and taking the next steps toward playing meaningful games at the end of February and into March.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Renaissance 61, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 38 – The Phoenix bounced back from an opening loss to Harper Woods Chandler Park to down Division 3 contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at the Best of Michigan Classic at Detroit Edison.
2. Columbus Africentric Early College (Ohio) 65, Detroit Edison 60 – We don’t usually highlight a Michigan team’s out-of-state loss, but falling by only five to an Ohio power with a University of Tennessee recruit featured by Sports Illustrated last month is still quite a showing.
3. East Lansing 45, DeWitt 41 – With the first of two regular-season meetings this close, it’s a good bet these two will determine a league champion and possibly more again this winter.
4. Southfield Arts & Technology 68, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 55 – A&T is a two-point loss to Saginaw Heritage from a 4-0 start, and Carman-Ainsworth is another well-respected team from Division 1.
5. Corunna 54, Goodrich 53 – Last week was an early indication this could be a special season for the 4-0 Cavaliers. In addition to beating the always-contending Martians, Corunna finished with an overtime win over Flint Hamady.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Brighton (3-0) – After three straight 14-win seasons, the Bulldogs could be candidates to take another step and enter Kensington Lakes Activities Association West play as one of three unbeaten teams. Brighton opened with a two-point win over Marquette at Petoskey and has followed with two double-digit wins including a 23-pointer over Okemos last week.
• Wayne Memorial (2-0) – The Zebras graduated a Miss Basketball finalist from last season’s Class A semifinalist team but haven’t missed a beat. They opened last week nearly doubling up Division 2 hopeful Williamston and then beat Illinois power Chicago Whitney Young 71-56 at the Best of Michigan Classic.
DIVISION 2
• Comstock (3-0) – The Colts have one of the state’s sharpest shooters in 1,000-point scorer Daisy Ansel and should have high aspirations after last season’s 19-2 run. Comstock is looking to first three-peat in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red and finished its week with a 58-31 win over reigning league runner-up Niles Brandywine.
• Edwardsburg (4-0) – The Eddies haven’t lost a league game the last two seasons and earned their first Wolverine Conference South win this winter against Three Rivers on Friday. Edwardsburg, coming off a 22-2 run, has three wins by 20 or more points so far – with the fourth victory a three-pointer over Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West co-leader Portage Central.
DIVISION 3
• Adrian Madison (4-0) – Last season saw the end of Madison’s six-season hold on the Tri-County Conference title; the Trojans finished second. But they bounced back into league play last week with a big win over Sand Creek coming off solid nonconference showings versus Blissfield and Hudson.
• Ishpeming Westwood (5-0) – The Patriots opened with an overtime win over Menominee and have just kept rolling. Last week’s 66-40 win over rival Ishpeming avenged last season’s District loss, and at this rate Westwood soon should be circling Jan. 18 and Feb. 15 dates with also-unbeaten Negaunee.
DIVISION 4
• Martin (3-0) – The Clippers improved five wins last season to 13-11 and tied for fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore. Over this season’s first two weeks, Martin has beaten Saugatuck – the other fourth-place team from last winter – and avenged two losses to last season’s runner-up Coloma with a 46-40 victory.
• Onaway (3-0) – The Cardinals are making their move early after finishing 10-10 last season. They beat Posen by 10 in their opener after losing twice to the Vikings last winter, and last week’s 40-26 win over Central Lake further avenged an early 2017-18 defeat.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Plymouth (3-0) at Brighton (3-0) – These two look early like possible favorites in the KLAA West; Plymouth was second in the former Black and Brighton third in the Gold last season.
Thursday – Macomb Dakota (4-0) at Grosse Pointe North (3-1) – These two shared the Macomb Area Red title last season before North won their Regional meeting by two on the way to making the Class A Semifinals.
Friday – Freeland (3-1) at Saginaw Heritage (3-0) – Heritage is, of course, the reigning Class A champion, and Freeland is always one of the best from the Saginaw area as well.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (3-1) vs. Detroit Country Day (1-2) at Lawrence Tech – Country Day won Class B last season, and Edison won C and could be the Yellowjackets’ biggest obstacle in the new Division 2.
Saturday – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (4-1) at Muskegon Oakridge (3-0) – The Gators’ tour of the state’s best heads west, where Oakridge is yet to have a game closer than 17 after going 22-4 a year ago.
Second Half’s weekly “Countdown to Calvin” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Ishpeming Westwood's Madelyn Koski (10) drives to the basket last week with Ishpeming's Emma Poirier (2) defending. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)