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.)
Performance: Muskegon's Mardrekia Cook
January 27, 2016
Mardrekia Cook
Muskegon senior – Basketball
During her four seasons at Muskegon, Cook has contributed at every position and in a variety of ways. Her variety of skills and strength as a leader, in addition to elite talent, all were on display last week during one of the most statistically impressive two-game stretches of a memorable career – earning her the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Cook, a 6-foot point guard who also has played on the wing and in the post for the Big Reds, had 26 points and 22 rebounds as Muskegon came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat East Kentwood 50-47 on Jan. 19. She finished the week with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists Friday in a 72-27 win over Grand Rapids Union. Muskegon is 8-2 this winter and tied for second in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black, and 52-28 over her four seasons with two league and one District championship.
She averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game as a junior, when she went over 1,000 points for her career. This winter, she’s taken those contributions to another level, averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds per contest. After earning all-state honorable mention as a freshman and sophomore, Cook made the first team last season and is a likely frontrunner for the Miss Basketball Award, which will be given to the state’s top senior in March after a vote by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. Cook has signed to continue her career at Michigan State University and carries a 3.3 grade-point average. She is considering studying sports administration or sports medicine.
Coach Rodney Walker said: “She has taken the needed approach to learning on and off the court. She has accepted the responsibility of being a role model in the community and for future Lady Reds. She has learned how to play all five positions, and that has helped her understand the game. She has owned the responsibility of running our team as the primary point guard. … Mardrekia is one of the most caring, unselfish, and complimentary players for her teammates. And fans watching her play may not understand anything about her humble spirit! I truly believe that she has so much more room to grow. She has not reached her full potential yet. Once she attends Michigan State University, and matures, she will begin to transform into one of the most unbelievable players that we have ever seen in the girls game.”
Performance Point: “I just go out with the mindset of winning, willing to do anything to help my team win. I never really go into a game with a gameplan like, ‘Mardrekia, these games you could drop 50 points.’ A lot of people want me to make a statement and drop 50 – but if you can have 20 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists, I’ll take that over 50 points. Scoring just shows you can score; that shows you’re an all-around player. I didn’t have any idea that number (of rebounds against East Kentwood) was that high. After the game, our stat keeper came up to me and said I had a monster game. I just like to be all over the place (and) I love to rebound.”
Complete player: Walker noted how Cook combines strong ball handling skills with the ability to get to the basket, but also see the floor and get all of her teammates involved – products of a high basketball IQ. Cook’s favorites of her many skills are her ability to penetrate and rebound. “I’ve always had the strength of going to the hole and finding gaps. And rebounding, I can jump. I don’t even think I boxed out (against East Kentwood). I just out-jumped everybody. I can probably put my wrist over the rim; I’ve gotten a dunk down before.”
Watching and learning: “When you watch basketball, you observe all the spots. You have to have a high IQ, see the whole floor at times. Stephen Curry, Maya Moore, Kevin Durant … I just love them. I love that Stephen Curry isn’t that big – he’s actually really small – but he’s got so much heart, the definition of heart. Kevin Durant is an all-around player. He can push the point, he can shoot, play inside. And Maya Moore is not human for a girl; she can do everything and she’s won at every level.”
Spartans will: “I just love it there. A lot of people talk about family, but they don’t really mean it. But when I went (to visit MSU) around summer time, everybody – football players, volleyball players, basically every sport – was in the weight room mixed up, pushing together, wanting every sport to dominate.”
Big Reds rising: “I’ve never been so confident in my players. I see us going really far and I would love to play on Michigan State’s floor before I get there. Definitely my goal is to get there. We still have work to do, but I see us getting pretty far.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook finishes a drive against Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. (Below) Cook directs the Big Reds’ offense as point guard, but has played on the wing and post as well during her high school career. (Photos courtesy of the Muskegon girls basketball program.)