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Houghton girls make statement; local rankings

Bryce Derouin/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton’s Kara Pietila goes up for a layup over Calumet’s Niina Anderson Tuesday in Houghton.

It was supposed to be a battle between two of the top girls teams in the area Tuesday. Instead, the West-PAC battle between the Houghton Gremlins and Calumet Copper Kings was an exhibition of Houghton’s dominance. The Gremlins combined their size, athleticism and talent on the perimeter to win 56-40 and show why they’re deserving of the No. 1 ranking by the UPSSA.

The quick 18-5 advantage after eight minutes was a sneak peek into just how good the Gremlins can be. However, the second quarter was a lull for Houghton. The Gremlins could have put the game’s outcome to bed early on, but instead, shot just 3 of 15 and allowed Calumet to get back into the game. If Houghton wants to make a deep run in March, they’ll have to eliminate those bad stretches — and they know it.

“On the one hand, we’re very happy with where we’re at and I feel like we’re making forward progress,” Houghton head coach Julie Filpus said. “On the other side of the coin, we have the fast break, our offense and our defense, and we have not seen a game where all three of those have excelled.”

Still, it’s hard to argue with the 10-0 start. And if the Gremlins have more performances like Tuesday’s first quarter in the future — well, watch out.

– – –

The newcomers on Calumet got their first taste of what the atmosphere will be like in March. Besides senior Hailey Wickstrom and junior Lea Bjorn, the Copper Kings have no tournament experience returning from last year’s team, and Tuesday had the feel of a district game in March.

It was noticeable Calumet didn’t appear entirely comfortable, and that’s to be expected. Houghton looked the same way against the veteran Calumet squad last season and look at them now. It’s a growing process each player has to go through and Calumet had its first lesson. It might not seem like it now, but it’ll pay off in March.

– – –

When the Munising Mustangs moved to Class C, my first thought was how it directly affected the Class C girls regional, most notably Calumet and the Hancock Bulldogs — who are the favorites to come out of the local district. But what I didn’t consider was how it opened up the Class D regional in Kingsford.

We all know how the local Class D district is ridiculously competitive with the Baraga Vikings, Jeffers Jets and defending champion Chassell Panthers. The winner of that district has the legitimate possibility to win the regional, and here’s why:

• Munising is gone.

If they were in Class D, they would win that regional going away. Some people feel they’re the best girls team in the U.P. For comparison’s sake, they beat Houghton in a summer game in Marquette. The Mustangs’ closest game was a 67-45 win over the Bark River-Harris Broncos on Tuesday. They’re winning games by an average of 38, which includes a 72-5 win over the Carney-Nadeau Wolves on Friday.

• It’s up for grabs

Last year’s regional champion, the Stephenson Eagles, are 0-9 this season, so they probably won’t make it out of districts. Forest Park may be considered the favorite, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not as if this year’s Trojans are a super team like in years past. This leaves the region up for the taking, meaning it’s not hard to fathom a team from the Copper Country making a run.

– – –

Local rankings

Last week’s ranking in parenthesis

Girls

1. Houghton 10-0 (1)

Last year’s Calumet squad was the best girls team I’ve covered or seen during my time in the U.P., and I believe Houghton can be just as good this season.

2. Calumet 5-4 (2)

Against local teams, they’re 4-1 with wins over Jeffers, Hancock, L’Anse and Ontonagon. Monday’s matchup with Chassell could be another difficult contest.

3. Baraga 8-1 (3)

They should be No. 1 in the UPSSA, but instead, some people dropped Baraga after the Vikings beat Chassell, 42-33, and Bessemer, 42-24, in favor of of a Forest Park team who didn’t play at all last week.

Friday the Vikings host Jeffers in a key conference matchup.

4. Chassell 7-2 (5)

I would have liked to have covered Chassell’s 44-37 win over Jeffers on Monday, but no one told us they moved the game from Tuesday to Monday. Regardless, the conference win shows they’re trending in the right direction.

5. Hancock 5-3 (NR)

Hancock has won three in a row, but the biggest thing for them is seeing other players step up to help senior Maija Sebbas. Against Jeffers on Friday, freshman D’Andra Kero scored 18 points, and versus Ontonagon on Tuesday, freshman Taylor Sebbas finished with 25 points.

Boys

1. Calumet 7-2 (1)

The 42-38 loss to the West Iron County Wykons on Monday was perplexing. When you see that score, you figure it’s the perfect type of gritty game Calumet would persevere in — especially after they led 17-6 at halftime.

They have a tough stretch coming up: Hancock tonight, then Jeffers, Houghton, Negaunee, Chassell and a rematch with West Iron County.

2. Dollar Bay 5-2 (4)

The Blue Bolts have Jaden Janke and Devin Schmitz who can shoulder the offensive load on any night. Schmitz scored 29 in a 71-65 victory over Hancock, and Janke had 18 in a 42-24 win over Wakefield-Marenisco on Tuesday.

3. Ewen-Trout Creek 5-3 (5)

If you’re not going to a Tech game tonight, or any other local game, then you should go to Chassell tonight to watch E-TC.

It’s one of the few times residents of Houghton County will be able to watch the 6-foot-7 Jake Witt. Here are Witt’s stat lines the last two games:

Watersmeet: 34 points, 22 rebounds, seven blocks, 14 of 17 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3.

L’Anse: 33 points, 16 rebounds, eight blocks.

Simply unreal.

That’s 67 points, 38 rebounds and 15 blocks in a two-game period. That’s a solid 10-game span for most players.

4. Hancock 6-3 (3)

Hancock was in a stretch where they lost three of four before a gritty 60-52 win over Jeffers on Monday.

Now, they host rival Calumet in the first West-PAC contest between the two teams.

5. Jeffers 6-3 (2)

They’re too good of a team to turn it over 30 times — like they did against Lake Linden-Hubbell on Thursday. Heck, they’re too good to turn it over 30 times in two games combined.

Jeffers is on a two-game losing streak but has the talent to turn it around, which they’ll look to do tonight against Ontonagon.

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