Sault Ste. Marie girls basketball improves to 2-0, rolls Alpena
SAULT STE. MARIE – The Sault Blue Devils were off and running on Thursday night as they took care of business against the Alpena Wildcats, winning 52-30 in the non-conference affair.
The Devils literally set the tone from the opening tip as Laura Innerebner tipped the jump ball to Claire Erickson, who then whipped a cross-court pass to a streaking Hannah Maurer for a 2-0 lead with just three ticks off the clock. Seconds later, Erickson notched another assist as she hit a cutting Kenzie Bell from the wing for a layup and a 4-0 advantage.
“I thought we came out and played with a lot more energy tonight,” Sault coach Pat Bennin said. “Especially in the first four minutes. We were able to get into a little bit of a rhythm and carry that through.”
Things kept rolling for the Devils as Bell took a pass in the corner on an out of bounds play and knocked down a corner three-pointer for a 14-3 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter. Bell then got into the assist game as she fired a laser pass through the Alpena zone defense to find Laura Innerebner under the basket for a layup and a 16-3 lead. The Sault finished the first quarter with a 16-7 lead.
The Sault maintained its hot start in the second quarter as Alpena mistakenly thought it could lob the ball into the post over the taller defenders of the Sault. Time and time again, the Blue Devil defenders got hands on the ball and created turnovers.
“I thought our defensive energy was a lot better tonight as well,” Bennin said of his team's effort. “We challenged them after the good start to maintain that level of intensity and I thought we did that. I thought Hannah Maurer really played well on the defensive end and gave us some energy.”
Offensively, the Sault continued to share the ball and get open looks. Bell hit Erickson for a corner three with 5:09 left in the first half, and then a fast break with Bell hitting Ella Marchand, who in turn, hit Innerebner cutting to the basket for another layup and a 24-7 cushion.
The Wildcats never got any closer in the game than at that point and it allowed Bennin to get his reserves meaningful minutes in game situations.
“It was nice to be able to get those girls some experience,” he said. “Down the road, we are going to have to count on those girls to contribute. Every time we can get them some meaningful minutes, the better off we are going to be.”
Erickson and Bell led the way for the Sault with 12 points each, while Laura Innerebner was also in double figures with 10. Maurer added seven.
For Alpena, Avery Dubey was the only Wildcat in double figures. She finished with 13 points.
The Sault, 2-0, will travel to Escanaba on Monday to take on the 3-0 Eskymos.
In the JV game, the Sault dropped a close game, falling 29-26. Annabelle Fazzari led the Sault with nine points, while Natalie Maychen led the Wildcats with 12.
The freshmen moved to 2-0, beating the Wildcats 27-19. Gracie Akridge led the Sault with 12 points, while Claire Chambers added eight.
ALPENA 7 4 9 10 – 30SAULT 16 14 13 19 – 52
ALPENA – Dragiewicz 4, Precord 3, Prue 2, M. Wisniewski 2, R. Wisniewski 3, Dubey 13, Alberts 1, Fitzpatrick 1, Kalisch 1. FT: 9-19; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3PFG: 3 (Dragiewicz 1, Dubey 2).
SAULT – Bell 12, Marchand 2, Fazzari 2, Innerebner 10, Maurer 7, Erickson 12, Bergeron 3, Kabelman 4. FT: 6-13, F: 20; Fouled out: None; 3PFG: 6 Bell 2, Erickson 2, Maurer 1, Bergeron 1)
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault Ste. Marie girls basketball improves to 2-0, rolls Alpena
