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Despite the disappointing loss, Mishler thinks a lot of good came from his team's post-season experiences this past week.

"We had been playing well leading up to the districts, and I think we did a lot of growing up this week as a result of our experiences in the tournament," said Mishler, whose team notched wins over Sanford-Meridian and St. Louis earlier in the week. "We have a lot of players coming back who will benefit from having played in big games like tonight's and I think, overall, our performance this week bodes well for the future."

St. Charles struggled on offense with its shot for much of the evening against Merrill, especially in the first half, as the Lady 'Dawgs trailed by a 21-17 count at intermission. St. Charles was still in the hunt at the end of the third quarter as it hung around with a 30-25 deficit. Merrill eventually pulled away to a 10 point advantage with just three minutes remaining in the game, but a triple by Jade Tribfelner, a pair of free throws by sophomore Ashley Fiting, and another trey from Kaleigh Bashans brought St. Charles to within 41-39 with 45 seconds to go in the game. But Merrill responded with a basket just 10 seconds later and after a Megan McSweyn free throw, the Lady 'Dawgs were forced to foul, where Merrill finally put the game away at the line.

Bashans led St. Charles with 11 points and 4 steals. McSweyn tallied 10 markers and 10 rebounds. Tribfelner hit a pair of treys to account for all six of her points. She also had four rebounds. Jordan Mishler finished with five points and five boards while Jessy Gonzalez tallied four markers, four steals and a pair of boards. Braley and Fiting each scored two points for St. Charles, which finishes the season with an overall record of 6-17.

"We played good defense tonight, but struggled a bit on offense at times," said Mishler, whose team only connected on 11 of 37 shots for a 30% average. "You have to give credit to Merrill's defense, but at the same time, give our kids credit, because they buckled down during the stretch when a lot of teams might have given up. I'm very proud of them."

Hornet barrage buries Ashley, 83-15

NL sinks 12 treys to win district crown

NEW LOTHROP - A ballhawking defense and a barrage of long-range bombs carried New Lothrop's varsity girls basketball team to a district championship last Friday night on its own court.

Tom Kohlmann's team forced an over-matched Ashley squad into 13 turnovers in the first quarter alone, and the Hornets buried a dozen treys in an easy 83-15 triumph.

Kayla Knieper sank three triples in the early going to propel the Hornets to a 13-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest and NL never looked back as it raced to a 45-9 halftime advantage. A three-point basket just 2:10 into the third quarter gave the Hornets a 50-9 lead and invoked the running-clock rule. The Hornets outscored Ashley, 38-6, in the second half.

Kayla Gross amassed 21 points in the contest, despite sitting out much of the lopsided game. Knieper collected 13 points and Amber Sammons was the third Hornet to reach double figures with 11. Kayla Krupp scored nine points while Gracie Theodore and Kayla Henige tallied eight and six points, respectively.

Despite the convincing waltz through district opposition, Kohlmann says his team took nothing for granted.

"I must admit that our girls have set their sights on a state title, but from Day One, our motto has been 'One game at a time'" stated Kohlmann. "Our kids have done a good job of focusing on the next game at hand, and our seniors have proven themselves to be great leaders. Our seniors are the ones who can take a lot of credit for what we have accomplished so far and they will be the ones to keep us on track for any future success we might gain."

The Hornets, who have won 22 straight games since a season-opening loss at Clare, now turn their sights to the Weberville Regionals, where they will take on Adrian Lenawee Christian in a semi-final match this Tuesday.

NL bowlers lose to Bendle

New Lothrop's girls lost a 15-15 bowling match to Bendle by tiebreaker rule and the guys fell to the Tigers by a 21-9 count in the final match of the GAC season on Saturday, February 16.

Winners for the NL girls were Amanda Lacy (137 and 150), Ali Kelbey (158), Andrea Garcia (115) and Alexis Alexander (113).

For the guys, who lost all 10 Baker points, four Hornets won single games. Andy Lutze (192), Casey Wendling (161), Zach Warner (146) and Kyle Patterson (143) each won an individual contest.

With the losses, the boys end the season at 3-6 in the GAC and the girls also finish at 3-6.

Andy Lutze and Ali Kelbey were each named to the GAC All-Conference team at the end of the season.

Montrose guys win, girls lose as regular season ends for Ram bowlers

Corky Hickmott's 256 score highlighted the final bowling match of the regular season for Montrose on Saturday, February 16 as the guys trounced Genesee, 25-5. The Lady Rams weren't as fortunate as dropped a tight 16-14 decision to the Wolves.

Hickmott's 256 set the tone for the boys, but a pair of Snyders, Scott and Mark, also shined for the Rams. Scott Snyder won both of his games with scores of 232 and 171 while Mark Snyder posted 231 and 190 games. Montrose won all 10 Baker points to coast to victory. The Rams finish the season with a 4-5 record in the GAC.

Meanwhile, the Lady Rams lost by just two points despite winning all 10 Baker jpoints. Beth Campbell was the only girl to win both of her individual games, rolling scores of 149 and 159. Miranda Cox and Jessica Jajey each won their first matches with 125 and 114 scores, respectively.

The girls also finish the season with a 4-5 mark.

Hickmott was named to the GAC All-Conference team recently. He is the only Ram to earn the prestigious honor.

Ram guys finish regular season tied for second in GAC

MONTROSE - It was a roller-coaster final week of the regular season for Montrose's varsity boys basketball team as the Rams won their fourth straight and clinched at least a tie for second place in the GAC-Red on Tuesday before taking a sound beating by Goodrich in a regular-season finale on Thursday.

Montrose's thrilling 65-59 overtime win over Durand at home was followed by a lackluster 77-31 drubbing two days later at the hands of the Martians. Both games were played at home by the Rams.

Montrose and Durand fought to a 29-29 tie at halftime before the visiting Railroaders took a 40-37 lead into the final quarter. The Rams rallied to take the lead, however, and it took a 25-foot bomb by Durand's Cory Burrow with four seconds left to send the game into overtime. Montrose had established a 49-46 lead, courtesy of a basket and free throw from Cory Hargraves with 47 seconds left in regulation to set up Burrow's dramatic shot.

The Rams only made two of four shots from the floor in the extra session, but Rick Ustishen's squad sank a whopping 12 free throws in 16 attempts during the extra session to capture the win.

Cody Groulx led Montrose with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Hargraves contributed 16 points, 10 boards and a pair of blocked shots. Preston Taylor added 14 markers and Adam Campbell continued his strong overall play by registering six points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Brandon Rose finished with four points and four assists.

Thursday's loss to Goodrich lacked any measurable Ram highlights as Montrose endured a dismal second quarter in which it was outscored by a 20-2 margin and entered intermission, down 44-12.

No Ram reached double figures in the scoring column as Taylor and Campbell sharing top honors with seven points each. Groulx had five points, six rebounds and blocked four shots while Hargraves and Rose each scored three points. Hargraves also blocked three shots. Ricky Genson finished with two points and four boards.

The Rams shot a miserable 28% from the floor against the GAC-Red champion Martians, connecting on just 11 of 40 field goal attempts.

Montrose finishes the regular season with a 9-8 record in the league, good enough for a second-place tie with Lake Fenton. The Rams are 10-10 overall, heading into next week's district play.

Second half surge earns Tribe season-ending victory

THOMAS TOWNSHIP - Chesaning's varsity boys basketball team assured itself of a winning season by rallying for an impressive 57-48 win at Swan Valley last Thursday in the final game of the regular season.

"We accomplished one of our major goals with this victory, securing a winning season," remarked Tribe coach Jason Danek, whose squad ends the regular season at 11-8. "The whole team deserves credit for accepting their roles and staying positive in all of the situations we've faced this season. I'm extremely proud of all of our players."

The first half didn't bode well for the Indians as they trailed the host Vikings by a 29-24 count at intermission. But Chesaning found its shooting touch in the third quarter, scoring 22 points to overtake SV, 46-40. From there, the Indians went on to outscore the Vikings by an 11-8 margin in the fourth and secure the victory.

Joe Devota hit three triples as part of an 18-point outing to lead the offense. Joe Bitterman added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals while Cal Bishop tallied 10 points, 5 boards, 6 steals and 6 assists. Chuck Harris finished with nine markers and seven rebounds and Cody Stoddard scored five points and committed only two turnovers while filling in at point guard for injured Andrew Guzdial.

The Indians sank 22 of 49 field goals in the game, but sizzled in the second half when they connected on 12 of 20 shots for a torrid 60% average. The Tribe committed just six turnovers as a team after intermission.

"The second half was the key. We handled the ball much better and we made some shots. Our defense was solid most of the night and we showed poise in the second half when we did get a lead," concluded Danek.

Double OT loss in districts ends remarkable Tribe girls season

THOMAS TOWNSHIP - Chesaning's remarkable girls basketball season came to a disappointing conclusion last Wednesday as the Indians were unable to hold on to a 13-point halftime lead and lost to a physical Corunna squad in two overtimes, 63-57.

"We are a finesse team and we did not handle the rough play by Corunna," commented Tribe mentor Wayne Scanlon. "Their style of play really wore us down physically and mentally."

The Indians appeared to be in good shape early on as they steadily pulled away from a cold-shooting Cavaliers squad to take a 23-10 lead at intermission. Corunna clicked for 20 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Indians by a 20-10 margin, to narrow the gap to 33-30. But the Cavaliers continued to pile up fouls in the process, racking up 10 personals before the end of the quarter. Despite losing most of its lead, Chesaning seemed poised to start capitalizing at the charity stripe in the fourth stanza, something the Indians had done throughout most of their highly-successful regular-season..

But with a 33-30 lead and a 10 to 2 advantage in fouls against an aggressive opponent, the whistles began to blow in a decidedly different direction. Of the final 21 fouls of the contest, only eight of the calls went against the still-aggressive Cavaliers as they caught the Indians at the end of regulation, 47-all.

The two teams played to a 5-5 stand-off in the first overtime before Corunna won the game by outscoring Chesaning, 11-5, in the second extra session.

"All season long, we have averaged almost twice as many free throw attempts as our opponents, and it appeared the same thing would happen tonight until they decided to even up the fouls, I guess," said Scanlon. "The kids saw the game was slipping away and tightened up even more."

Brooke Jastrzembowski completed her remarkable career by scoring 25 points. Sydney Pacek had a dozen points and Whitney Pacek chipped in with nine markers. Brooke Beckman finished with four points while Katie Vincke and Megan Newton added three points each.

The eighth-ranked Indians complete their season with a sterling 18-3 record.

"These nine girls were like sisters and loved to play basketball," concluded Scanlon. "Hopefully, they have not only learned about basketball, but have learned important life skills along the way. I love all of these players and this was a fantastic group to coach."

Roosa leads 'Dawgs to 67-60 win over Merrill

ST. CHARLES - Dugan Roosa scorched the nets with 28 points to lead St. Charles' varsity boys basketball team to an impressive 67-60 win over visiting Merrill last Thursday.

The win for the Bulldogs avenges a 15-point loss to Merrill earlier in the season and sets up a rubber-match showdown on Monday between the two teams in the first round of district play at Merrill.

Roosa hit three triples and converted 7 of 10 free throws as part of his huge offensive output. He also hauled down five rebounds and grabbed five steals. Matt Schalow also enjoyed a productive night with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals. Marshall Davenport contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Tyler Nieman scored five points as part of a strong floor game in which he dished out eight assists and nabbed five steals.

St. Charles, which scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to break a 44-all tie, connected on 23 of 57 shots from the floor for a 40% average. The Bulldogs capitalized at the free throw line, where they made 15 out of 22 attempts.

The win gives the Bulldogs a final regular-season mark of 5-9 in the league and 6-14 overall heading into Monday's district contest at Merrill. Game time is 7:30 PM.

St. Charles gal bowlers finish second in TVC-West

ALMA - St. Charles' girls bowling team split a pair of league contests on February 14 to finish second in the conference.

The Lady 'Dawgs beat Hemlock, 27-3, but lost to Ithaca by a 21-9 score.

Jacki Cooper and Kristie Showalter won both of their individual matches. Cooper rolled games of 117 and 139 while Showalter posted scores of 189 and 148. Single game winners for St. Charles were Nicole Apsey (174), Kathy Hart (156) and Lora Yuchasz (152).The Lady Bulldogs took all Baker points with games of 154 and 191.

Against Ithaca, single game winners were Yuchasz (180), Apsey (174) and Hart (160).

The girls finish the season with a 9-3 record.

The All-League TVC-West teams were recently announced with Kristie Showalter earning First Team honors for the girls' team. Nicole Apsey garnered Second Team notice and Lora Yuchasz was accorded Honorable Mention.

For the league champion boys' team, Andy Cradit, Dugan Roosa and Garrett Alvarez were all named to the Second Team. Luke Hart and Joe Anderson earned Honorable Mention.

The two squads now head into Regional competition on Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1 at Candlelite Lanes in Bridgeport. Friday start time is 11 AM and competition on Saturday begins at 8 AM.