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Tuesday April 30, 2024
Mustangs Ride Swarming Defense To District Title

MUNISING---Before the Rapid River Rockets faced the Munising Mustangs Friday night, Rockets Coach Jennifer King was worried about the aggressive Munising defense.

She had every right to be worried. The Mustangs caused numerous turnovers with a full-court press and half-court trap, and downed the Rockets, 72-28, in the Class D District Championship game in Munising. The Mustangs scored the first 13 points of the game, led 23-5 after the first quarter, and ended the game on the mercy rule's running clock.

"They are great defenders," King said. "They are good players. They know where the ball is all the time. That's a well-coached team. Credit to my girls. They hung in there. They didn't give up. They played the whole game. But (Munising) is tough. I hope they go far."

"We base everything off of our defense," Munising Coach Matt Mattson said. "Obviously, we're shooting a lot of lay-ups because of the turnovers we create. Not many people can handle the pressure we put out there."

"Tonight, we played really well. I give Rapid credit. They've been playing great down the stretch and we weren't taking anything for granted."

Marissa Immel scored 18 points to lead the Mustangs, who improved to 19-3 on the season. Frankie Mattson scored 16 points and Kelsea Ackerman chipped in 14 points.

Rapid River (7-16) got 13 points from Hannah Kanyuh and Erica Rubick added eight.

Despite the loss, King was pleased with the progress the Rocket program has seen in her two years in charge. She took over a team that had lost 48 straight games, but now, the Rockets have made the district championship game two years in a row.

"We'll go back to the drawing board, and I'll be busy all summer getting ready for next season," King said. "I want to lift that trophy up really soon."

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais, and to hear post-game interviews.









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