Trojans, Saints Come Up Short At Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich.---The Upper Peninsula's final two girls basketball teams came up short Saturday in their bids for a state championship.

In the Class D final, CrystalFalls Forest Park blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 56-53.

In the Class C final, St. Ignace had shooting troubles for a second straight game and lost to Saginaw Nouvel Catholic, 62-40.

FOREST PARK FALLS---Forest Park led for almost all of Saturday's Class D game, leading 18-12 after the first quarter and 27-26 at halftime. The Trojans built a nine-point lead, 49-40, with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the girls could not put the game away.

A big sequense came with just over a minute left in the game and Forest Park holding a 50-45 lead. Sacred Heart's Lexie Methner scored to cut the gap to three, then Riley Terwilliger stole the inbounds pass and scored a lay-up to make it a 50-49 game.

The Trojans were able to set up their offense and killed a few seconds off the clock, but could not get a basket, and the Fighting Irish came back up court with a chance to take the lead. And they converted, as Terwilliger buried a three with 29 seconds left.

That made it 52-50, and the Irish made four free throws in the final seconds as the Trojans had two more empty trips up the floor, including two missed free throws.

The final minute ended up with Sacred Heart going on an 11-0 run, with Forest Park senior Lexi Gussert making a three-pointer with three seconds left to end the game.

“It’s unlike our team, but I think we cracked a little bit at the end,” Trojans coach Jeff Syrjanen said. “These kids are a veteran team, and they played with pressure the last three years. Sometimes things don’t work the way you wanted them to. It’s a really tough loss for us. We thought we could finish the deal this year."

CLICK HERE to see the game's box score, from the MHSAA.
CLICK HERE to see the post-game press conference, via MHSAA.tv.

Gussert had 17 points and 12 rebounds in her final high school game. The 2014 Miss Basketball winner will play college ball at Michigan State University. Kendra Campbell had 16 points for the Trojans, who finish their season with a 26-1 record.

Averi Gamble led Sacred Heart (22-4) with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

SAINTS CAN'T FIND A GROOVE---The Saint Ignace Saints ran into a tough Saginaw Nouvel Catholic team in Saturday's Class C Final...and senior Rachel McInerney.

McInerney scored 22 points and grabbed an incredible 23 rebounds as the Panthers beat the Saints, 62-40. McInerney also blocked five shots in the game.

“She just intimidates,” St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls said.

Laurel Jacqmain scored 23 points to lead Saginaw Nouvel in scoring.

The Saints trailed by just one point at halftime, 23-22. But Saginaw Nouvel outscored St. Ignace, 24-7, in the third quarter, to effectively put the game away.

Margo Brown led the Saints with 16 points. Kelley Wright was held to eight points.

“I don’t take losing very well, and I don’t know how long it will be before I take a look at these last two films,” Ingalls said. “But I wouldn’t want to be up here with another group of kids. It’s not the stuff on the floor. Everyone who meets them, gets to know them when we visit people, they become Saints fans for life. They wear their uniforms from the inside out.”

CLICK HERE to see the game's box score from the MHSAA.
CLICK HERE to see the post-game press conference, via MHSAA.tv.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

3/4	8:00 PM	at Ishpeming Hematites	66 - 30 (W)

3/6	7:00 PM	L'Anse Purple Hornets	81 - 58 (W)

3/11	7:00 PM	McBain High School	54 - 37 (W)

3/13	2:50 PM	Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett	34 - 30 (W)

3/15	4:00 PM	Saginaw Nouvel CC Panthers	40 - 62 (L)

Two U.P. Basketball Teams Advance To State Finals

Thursday March 13, 2014

Saints, Trojans Advance To State Semifinals At MSU

Tuesday March 11, 2014

Saints Grab Big Lead; March Past Hematites, 66-30

Tuesday March 4, 2014