Mackinaw City outlasts Cedarville to capture D4 district title

MACKINAW CITY – Facing off against a scrappy and dangerous Cedarville team on Friday night, Mackinaw City’s mental toughness was put to the test several times.

But each time the Lady Comets faced some sort of adversity, they responded magnificently.

And one year after a heartbreaking district final loss to Pickford on their home court, things were different this time around for the Comets.

Behind one more terrific team effort, the Comets claimed their fourth MHSAA Division 4 district girls basketball championship in five seasons by holding off the Islanders in a 59-46 victory in Mackinaw City.

When the Comets lost to the Panthers last March, Larissa Huffman watched a lot of it from the bench after fouling out well before the end of the contest. On Friday, it was a different feeling for the Mackinaw City senior guard, who was the last player with the ball in her hands as the Comets ran out the clock and celebrated.

“This feels amazing, I’m so happy, finally getting a good win in our district,” said Larissa, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists. “Our other district (titles) kind of felt a little easy, and this one was well deserved. I’m so happy I wasn’t on the bench, fouled out, because that stressed me out last year, and I was a little scared about that this year, but I’m so happy for my team, I’m happy for everyone. We did have a little bit of foul trouble, but we were able to pull through and get the (win).”

While the Comets (23-1) held a 30-23 halftime lead, senior guard Taylor Williams and the Islanders (16-5) delivered an early third-quarter punch, going on a 10-2 run and taking a 33-32 lead. During the stretch, Williams connected on a pair of 3-pointers to help the Islanders go in front.

However, the Comets countered again with a 9-0 run and built a 41-33 advantage. The spurt was capped off when senior guard Marlie Postula converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. After three, the Comets held a 43-37 lead.

“(The third-quarter run) was a huge pivotal moment,” said Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman. “We came out with our game plan and (Cedarville) hit four straight shots, went on that 10-2 run and took the lead at 33-32, and I told the girls, ‘We’ve got to dig down and we’ve got to clean this up,’ and they did a great job of cleaning up defensively, we went down and got some clutch baskets and were able to get back out in front and play from ahead, because I really felt coming in – as good as (Lily) Plowman and (Taylor) Williams shoot free throws – we had to have the lead going into the fourth, because we couldn’t be chasing from behind.”

Williams and the Islanders refused to quit, trimming their deficit to five a couple different times during the fourth, but the Comets received stellar free throw shooting down the stretch to seal the win.

“We really had to fight through that and that was a tough battle,” Huffman said. “What do you expect? It’s March with two ranked basketball teams going at each other. Cedarville’s got a really nice team and it’s a shame that one of us had to lose this ballgame tonight, because that’s a good, quality basketball team that’s got a lot of talent and a lot of players – and it was hard fought.

“It was two good teams going at it, trading baskets, making plays. The girls really had to battle to get this one.”

In a difficult district that featured both the Comets and Islanders, as well as St. Ignace and Pickford, Mackinaw City was more than relieved to emerge as the victors.

“This one was definitely the hardest (to win),” said Mackinaw City senior forward Madison Smith, who tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocks. “All four of us – St. Ignace, Cedarville, Pickford and us – could’ve won here, went onto regionals or the quarterfinals, so it’s a really good accomplishment. I’m hoping we can win a regional. I’ve been waiting for it for about five years now. Hopefully we get there.”

Scoring a team-high 16 points for the Comets was senior guard Marlie Postula, who also finished with seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Despite sitting out much of the fourth quarter due to foul trouble, senior Julia Sullivan recorded 10 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block, while junior guard Gracie Beauchamp added eight points, seven assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block. Sophomore Abby Brown, who went in for Sullivan, gave the Comets quality minutes as well, recording one rebound and one steal.

Williams, who made five 3-pointers, finished with a game-high 23 points for the Islanders, who received 12 points from Plowman and 10 from Lily Fisher.

The victory sends the Comets to the regional semifinals, where they’ll take on Brimley (12-11) in a 7 p.m. matchup at Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday. The Bays captured a 51-39 victory over Engadine in their final on Friday.

It also marked the third district crown in four seasons for the Comets under Huffman, who said Friday night’s triumph was the sweetest of the bunch.

“We really lost a hard fought game very similar to this a year ago, where we’re tied with two-and-a-half minutes left and we ended up losing,” Huffman said. “Pickford closed us out, got a huge 3-pointer and closed us out on free throws, and we missed some shots, and to turn around and beat a quality, equally-good basketball team in Cedarville speaks a lot to all the work the girls put in this past summer, and all the work and commitment they did to fight through a tough schedule this year. So proud of them for this effort to dig down.

“We did a great job closing it out tonight, and we ended up on the top end of it.”

Despite falling behind 4-0 to start the contest, the Comets used an 8-0 spurt later in the first to take a 13-9 lead into the second quarter. In the second, Williams drilled a three to tie the game at 17, but the Comets answered with a 7-0 run to go up 26-19. Before the end of the half, Larissa Huffman put the Comets back up seven after taking a pass from Smith and scoring a layup.

For Larissa Huffman and the rest of the Comet players, they had plenty of respect for a Cedarville team that pushed them to the limit.

“It was close for a real long time until the very end. That tells something about how good they are,” Larissa Huffman said. “Taylor Williams is an amazing player. I don’t know how she makes those threes. It’s crazy, especially when they’re from so deep. She’s amazing, they have a good team, and it feels amazing to win this.”

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Mackinaw City outlasts Cedarville to capture D4 district title