UP Sports Weekend Recap: Feb. 8-11

12 Feb 2024

UpperMichigansSource.com

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - It was a busy weekend in high school and college U.P. sports. Below you can find a breakdown of Friday Night Fever and the college basketball sweeps from both Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.

High School Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball:

A Friday night matchup between Ishpeming and Negaunee girls’ basketball saw Jenna Maki open up the scoring with Kadie Kaukola following with a bucket of her own. Ella Mason came to play though for the Miners as she slipped passed Hematite defenders for a two-pointer from the free throw line. Ella Mason is back at it again with the raining buckets as she earns a total of 30 points for the night. Negaunee ends the game with handing Ishpeming their first loss of the season with a final score of 65-56. Both teams now stand at 16-1 for the season.

Another Negaunee and Ishpeming matchup on Friday night for the boys’ team. Gavin Saunders slips the ball to Baron Heslip, and it’s sent back to Saunders for a triple, putting the Miners on top in the second quarter with a score of 19-7. The Hematites came close to matching the Miners in the third as Caden Luoma drives it in for two. Miners continue to lead in the fourth as Saunders makes more triples beyond the arc and leads to a final score of 68-59 for a Negaunee sweep.

The Marquette Sentinels Girl’s team hosted the Kingsford Flivvers on Friday night for a tight game. Flivver’s Addisyn Kriegl found the ball late into the first quarter and earned a triple for a four-point lead at 6-2. Fast forward to the second quarter with Sentinels in control of the ball for an Audree Blackburn jumper. The home team still down by four but still have a shot to turn the score around. A send off from Alaina Kowalski to Anna Bortolini for a layup adds another two points to the Flivver’s score. A similar cycle is made but this time Bortolini passes it off to Kowalski for a triple beyond the arc. Kingsford finds the win with six points at 40-34 and prepare to host Menominee on Monday night.

The Marquette Boys’ team hosted the St. Ignace Saints on Friday in hopes of continuing their 11-win streak. Halfway through the first quarter, we see Jaxon Jurmu making his way down the court for a jumper, but Saints’ Jonny Ingalls pushes his way past Sentinel defenders for his own two points. A little back and forth between Trevor Visnaw and Ethan Mclean is had before the ball is back in Visnaw’s hands and being sent for a triple from the corner. After tying it up at 75 points and wandering into overtime, the Sentinels earn their 12th straight win at 93-88. Marquette will host Houghton at home Tuesday.

Men’s and Women’s College Basketball:

The Northern Michigan Women’s Basketball team took on the Parkside Rangers on Thursday. Makaylee Kuhn led the ‘Cats with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Kuhn and Jacy Weisbrod put 10 points each on the scoreboard in the second quarter before hitting halftime with a one-point advantage at 34-33. 21 The team found their second win in a row against the Rangers at 71-60. The ‘Cats hit the Berry on Saturday once again for a contest against Purdue Northwest. After a tie at 30 apiece heading into halftime, the home team made their name known with Kuhn posting 20 points and Weisbrod with 15 to finalize the score at 73-62. They now hold an overall record of 15-7 and 9-4 in the GLIAC as they prepare for a contest at Michigan Tech on Feb. 17 at 1 p.m.

The Northern Michigan Men’s basketball team returned to the hardwood with a vengeance after losing their last game to Lake Superior State and tying the program winning streak of 13 games. It was a toe-to-toe contest against the Rangers with the Wildcats pulling in forward a little after the first half. Dylan Kuehl and Max Weisbrod scored 17 total points to earn the conference win at 81-67. Another tight match was had on Saturday between the ‘Cats and the Purdue Northwest Pride. The away team led 66-61 with two minutes left in the game before Weisbrod found an opening for a triple and a patch of free throws by Kuehl pushed them past the Pride for a 69-66 victory. The Wildcats are nationally ranked at No. 16 with an overall record of 19-6 and 12-1 in the conference. They prepare for a contest at Michigan Tech on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.

The Michigan Tech basketball teams had similar matchups this weekend as they hosted Purdue Northwest on Thursday and Parkside on Saturday. A slim win was made by the Women’s team against the Pride on Thursday through seven points at 67-60. Isabella Lenz led the Huskies with a total of 15 points while Sara Dax was close behind with nine of her own. As for their game against Parkside, Emma Anderson was able to record a career-high of 14 points Saturday afternoon to help take the win of 74-68. The Huskies now sit 12-9 overall and 7-6 in the GLIAC.

The Michigan Tech Men’s Basketball team also saw a career-high made this weekend with Dan Gherezgher topping out at 26 points, along with 10 rebounds for a double-double to contribute to the 77-61 victory against the Pride. A weekend sweep was made after the team won their matchup against the Parkside Rangers on Saturday at 74-52. Marcus Tomashek led in the points department with 22 and registered a team high in assists with four. The team now move on with an overall record of 8-10 and a conference record of 5-8.

College Hockey:

It was a tough weekend for the Northern Michigan University hockey team after falling 4-2 to the Bemidji State Beavers on Friday night. Goals made by Kevin Marx Noren and Grant Slukynsky in the second period. Three goals were made one after the other by the Beavers before a fourth point was made off of a power play with six minutes left in the final period. Saturday night started to look up for the Wildcats but ended regulation with a tie of three points. No points were made in overtime, leading the teams to head to a shootout where Bemidji State found the extra CCHA point. The Wildcats stand with an overall record of 9-14-5 and 7-10-3 in the CCHA as they get ready to take on Ferris State in Big Rapids from Feb. 23-24.

The Michigan Tech Hockey team hit the ground running this weekend against the Minnesota State Mavericks for the annual Winter Carnival. Ryland Mosley opened the scoring only a minute into the game and recorded the only goal in the first period. The Mavs caught up in the second period, but it didn’t last long before the Nick Williams passed the puck off to Logan Pietila for another point. With nine seconds left in the game, Jed Pietila posted his first goal of the season through an empty net to finish out the night win a 3-1 win. The second night was a different story with the Mavericks finding an early lead halfway into the first period. The Huskies matched their opponent’s efforts with a Tyler Bronte goal. Fast forward to the second period for a pair of goals made by Minnesota State and earned a 3-1 lead. With three seconds left in the game, Mav’s Kaden Bohlsen scored an empty net goal and split the weekend with a final score of 4-2. The Huskies will have an off weekend before they head down to Ohio to take on Bowling Green State University for a two-day contest from Feb. 23-24.

Women’s College Lacrosse:

It was an exciting weekend opener for the NMU’s Women’s Lacrosse team in the Superior Dome. Minnie Bittell recorded her 150th career goal this season within the first 10 minutes of the match against Aquinas College. She proceeded to score five more goals to contribute to freshman Josie Lakosky’s three and Kaitlyn Bridger’s lone goal. The Wildcats finished out the game with a 21-point win at 24-5.