The Hancock Central High School girls varsity basketball team poses with the Wing Ding trophy after defeating Houghton 52-45 on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, in Houghton, Mich. (Eddie O’Neill/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — It was a packed house Thursday night at the Houghton High School gym as the hometown Gremlins boys’ and girls’ basketball teams welcomed the Hancock Bulldogs for the annual Wing Ding game.

Both schools claimed victory as the Hancock girls won 52-45 in the opener, and the Houghton boys kept the trophy with the 58-29 win in the night cap.

In the first game, the Hancock (13-3) girls came out strong and tenacious and never looked back. That was by design according to their head coach Ward Helakoski.

“We came out and played every possession like it was really important,”he said. “I thought the girls moved the ball well, and our cuts and screens were good.”

Persistent defense and good rebounding pushed the Bulldogs out to a 15-9 lead after one. That six-point lead moved to a 10-point lead early in the second at 21-11 and 24-14. Thanks to back-to-back triples by Houghton’s Paige Sleeman, the Gremlins made the score 24-20 with around three minutes left in the second. It was a 28-23 Hancock tilt at halftime.

Houghton’s (14-2) best stretch came at the opening of the third quarter. A triple by Annika Peterson and a bucket by Stella Wickstrom put the Gremlins even at 28-28. Peterson then sunk another three for the Gremlins to take a brief 31-28 lead but that was as a good as it got for the hometown team.

“Overall, I thought we did not play well,” said Houghton head coach Julie Filpus. “Our poor play was the result of their aggressiveness. While we took the lead there briefly, you could tell Hancock wanted this one more.”

According to Helakoski, the game changer came just after the tie at 28. Kaisa Salani and Kalli Chynoweth hit back-to-back threes and put the Bulldogs up by seven.

“You could tell the momentum switched after that,” he said.

The Bulldogs then led by eight after three quarters and maintained that lead till the end. Chynoweth led the scoring for Hancock with 17 points which included four three pointes. Salani followed with 16 points. For the Gremlins, Wickstrom led the scoring with 15 points. Sleeman had 13.

“This was a big win for us,” said Helakoski. “The girls gave it their all, and I was very pleased for them.”

HCHS 15 13 15 9 — 52

HHS 9 14 12 10 — 45

HANCOCK (52): Chynoweth 17, Pietila 5, Salani 16, Driscoll 6, Hebert 7, Koskela 1. 3-pointers: Chynoweth 4, Pietila 1, Salani 3. FT: 4-12.

HOUGHTON (45): Peterson 12, Sleeman 13, Wickstrom 15, Trewhella 1. 3-pointers: Sleeman 3, Trewhella 1. FT: 6-9.

Boys: Houghton 58, Hancock 29

In the boys’ Wing Ding matchup, the Houghton Gremlins (7-7) proved to be once again too much for the Hancock Bulldogs as they earned a 58-29 victory. This was Houghton’s seventh Wing Ding victory since this rival game was established eight years ago. The Bulldogs won the trophy just once, and that was in 2017.

According to Houghton’s head coach Jared Lawson, Thursday’s win had another important implication, and that was the fact that the victory sealed his team a first-place spot in the Copper Division in the WestPAC Conference.

“That is big for us,” said Lawson. “We always have winning the division as a team goal at the start of each season.”

‘He said that he was pleased with his team’s senior leadership on Thursday night.

“I had my seniors out there to start the game and the second half,” he said. “They brought the energy that is needed in a big game like this, and that was great to see.”

They also brought the points as they posted a 13-0 lead in the first opening minutes of the game and as a whole held the Bulldogs to 10 points and under throughout the four quarters.

The Gremlins shared the scoring with everyone getting at least a bucket except for one player. Tucker Ryynanen led the scoring with 13 points which included three threes.

“We are playing well,” said Lawson. “The guys are coming around, and we are playing some very good basketball these days.”

HCHS 8 10 6 5 — 29

HHS 19 16 14 9 — 58

HANCOCK (29): Jacques 14, Larson 3, Sebbas 3, Pietila 5, Lewis 4. 3-pointers: Jacques 2, Sebbas 1, Pietila 1. FT: 3-11.

HOUGHTON (58): Lawson 3, Hill 1, Kiernan 2, K. Primeau 7, Salmi 9, Ryynanen 13, Pugh 2, D. Primeau 7, Guidas 5. 3 pointers: Lawson 1, Salmi 3, Ryynanen 3, D. Primeau 1. FT: 4-7.