Area teams maintain positions in U.P. basketball polls

Rob Roos, The Sault News
·4 min read
EJ Suggitt of Rudyard gets into the post during a game against Sault High this season. Rudyard continues as the No. 2 ranked team in the U.P. Division 4 boys basketball poll.
EJ Suggitt of Rudyard gets into the post during a game against Sault High this season. Rudyard continues as the No. 2 ranked team in the U.P. Division 4 boys basketball poll.

Several area teams maintained their positions, and two moved up in the second Upper Peninsula basketball polls of the season, released Tuesday.

The Rudyard Bulldogs (3-0) remain No. 2 in the U.P. Division 4 boys basketball poll. The Bulldogs are now tied for second, as the North Central Jets (8-0) moved up from No. 3 to a tie with the Bulldogs with 15 poll points. Both teams received one first-place vote from the panel of U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters.

The Bulldogs were not able to get any games in last week, with a scheduled contest at Brimley having to be postponed. Meanwhile, the Jets won twice last week and also secured another victory Monday night after poll voting was already conducted.

Ewen-Trout Creek (5-0) held onto the No. 1 spot in the U.P. Division 4 poll. The Panthers remained unbeaten and collected two first-place votes from the panel. Munising (4-0) is also unbeaten and stayed at No. 4. Cedarville-DeTour (2-1) moves up from honorable mention to No. 5 in Division 4 this week.

In the U.P. Division 1-3 boys poll, Menominee (5-1) takes over sole possession of the No. 1 ranking. The Maroons shot down Escanaba 77-44 last Friday night in a matchup between teams that were tied for No. 1 in the poll. The Maroons scorched the nets against Esky, hitting 15-of-24 3-point shots in the lopsided win. Aidan Bellisle led four players in double figures with 24 points for the Maroons.

Escanaba (6-2) dipped just one spot, coming in at No. 2 in this week’s U.P. Division 1-3 poll. The rest of the D 1-3 poll is the same as last week, as Kingsford (3-1) is No. 3, followed by Westwood (4-1) and Jeffers (5-0).

Rudyard girls still 2nd

Rudyard (3-1) is ranked No. 2 for a second straight week in the U.P. Division 4 girls basketball poll. The Bulldogs collected 15 poll points, again ranking second behind No. 1 Carney-Nadeau (6-0) which is a unanimous No. 1.

The Bulldogs won their only game last week, a 63-45 triumph over Cheboygan. Brooklynn Besteman notched a double-double 18 points and 20 rebounds, while Emily Kopitz added 16 points and seven rebounds, Karlee Mayer had 14 points and Tristin Smith added nine for the Bulldogs.

Rudyard stayed unbeaten in both the Straits Area and Eastern UP Conferences, and has one game in each league coming up this week. The Bulldogs visit Cedarville-DeTour on Wednesday and travel to St. Ignace on Friday.

Baraga (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season, 59-48 against Houghton, but held at No. 3 in the U.P. Division 4 girls poll. Pickford (4-0) moved up one spot to No. 4, while Ewen-Trout Creek fell one position to No. 5. Cedarville-DeTour (5-2) remained in the honorable mention category.

Pickford won two games last week, beating Ellsworth 75-15 and Engadine 65-47. Panthers’ senior Kennedy Guild closed in on the 1,000 points career milestone, pushing her scoring total to 993. Pickford plays host to Newberry this Wednesday and also has a home game against Cedarville-DeTour Friday.

All five teams remain the same this week in the U.P. Division 1-3 girls poll. Calumet (5-0) is a unanimous No. 1, followed by Houghton (7-0), Sault High (6-3), St. Ignace (4-2) and Westwood (4-0).

Sault High started 2022 with a win, taking a hard-fought 49-39 decision at Petoskey last week. Junior Claire Erickson posted some career-high numbers with 28 points and 15 rebounds, while Laura Innerebner added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Blue Devils. Sault High improved to 3-0 against Big North Conference teams this season and had another game against a BNC opponent with a scheduled home contest against Alpena Tuesday night.

St. Ignace also won its only game last week, cruising past Newberry 77-4. Saints’ senior Ally Schultz passed 1,000 career points in the win.

U.P. Poll

Boys

Division 1-3

School 1sts Rec. Pts.

1. Menominee (4) 5-1 20

2. Escanaba 6-2 15

3. Kingsford 3-1 11

4. Westwood 4-1 8

5. Jeffers 5-0 6

Division 4

1. Ewen-TC (2) 5-0 18

2. Rudyard (1) 3-0 15

2. North Central (1) 8-0 15

4. Munising 4-0 8

5. Cedarville-DeTour 2-1 2

Others receiving votes: Dollar Bay (3-2) 1, Wakefield-Marenisco (5-1) 1.

Girls

Division 1-3

School 1sts Rec. Pts.

1. Calumet (4) 5-0 20

2. Houghton 7-0 14

3. Sault Ste. Marie 6-3 13

4. St. Ignace 4-2 9

5. Westwood 4-0 5

Others receiving votes: Hancock (7-1).

Division 4

1. Carney-Nadeau (4) 6-0 20

2. Rudyard 3-1 15

3. Baraga 7-1 11

5. Pickford 4-0 8

4. Ewen-Trout Creek 5-2 5

Others receiving votes: Cedarville-DeTour (5-2) 1.

Contact Sports Editor Rob Roos at rroos@sooeveningnews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @rroosTEN.

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Area teams maintain positions in U.P. basketball polls