Dec. 19: Blue Water basketball roundup
From blowouts to buzzer beaters, last week was a big one in Blue Water Area basketball.
Let’s take a look at how the local teams did as they began conference play.
BWAC Girls
Imlay City returns as the defending conference champion and is on the hunt for its fourth straight title. So far, things are looking good for the Spartans.
They now stand 7-0 on the season after picking up two conference wins this week over Armada and Almont by an average margin of 24 points. Junior Lexa Forti led the team in both of its wins with 20 points on Tuesday and 22 on Thursday.
North Branch, however, may prove to be a challenge. After finishing fourth in the league last year, the Broncos return their entire roster and are currently 5-1 on the year, and their only loss came by two points against Oxford.
They defeated last year’s runner-up Yale Thursday night on the road, 48-28, led by senior Bailey Gormley with 18 points. She’s averaging 12.8 points per game.
Croswell-Lexington, after finishing seventh in the league last season, is proving its potential as the area’s most-improved team. The Pioneers are currently 3-2 after splitting their conference games this week. They won over Algonac 41-19 before falling to Armada on the road, 36-29.
Junior Isabella Edwards and sophomores MacKenzy Dennison and Emma Noll averaged seven points in each of the league games to lead the Pioneers' well-balanced offense.
See full BWAC standings and scores.
BWAC Boys
The high-scoring Armada offense should not be taken lightly this year. After averaging 70 points in their first three games, the Tigers hosted Cros-Lex in their conference opener Thursday night. They took the Pioneers–who haven’t lost a league game since 2019–to overtime, falling 54-51.
Senior Andrew Sniesak led Armada in the loss with 15 points and fellow seniors Camden Khon and Justin Schapman each had 13. Cros-Lex was led by seniors Zachary Kroestch (19) and Trey Kolakovich (15).
Richmond defeated Algonac 78-26 on the road in its conference opener while Yale hosted North Branch and won 55-39. Both teams are now 3-0 on the season.
And on Friday, Almont traveled to Imlay City for a rivalry matchup that came down to the final second as senior Beau Hund made a layup with 1.2 seconds to go, securing the Spartans' 49-47 victory. He totaled 13 points on the game while fellow senior JD Trout added 12. Almont senior Clay Roszczewski had a game-high 17 points.
See full BWAC standings and scores.
MAC Girls
The Marysville Vikings made their debut within the MAC-Blue Friday night with a 58-40 victory over South Lake on the road. They were led by senior Kara Miller with an impressive 23-point performance that included five triples. Junior Avery Wolters added 12 points and senior Ava Grant had 11.
St. Clair and Marine City both dominated their way through their respective MAC-Gold openers as the Saints defeated Roseville 54-19 and the Mariners won over Clawson 58-7. Senior Erin Seros had 18 points to lead St. Clair, while Marine City was led by junior Jade Blanchard (12) and Josalyn Dietlin (11).
Marysville, St. Clair, and Marine City are all now 3-2 on the season.
Port Huron High’s first MAC-Red game against Grosse Pointe South was postponed to Feb. 6, and Port Huron Northern dropped its first MAC-White game to Ford II 60-32.
Port Huron and Northern will meet up on Dec. 22 in the annual Jim Whymer Holiday Tournament at 5:30 in Marysville. The Vikings will follow against St. Clair at 7 p.m.
Looking ahead:
Conference play will pause until the new year, but there are plenty of showcases, tournaments, and fun local matchups to follow over the next two weeks.
As mentioned, the Jim Whymer Holiday Tournament starts Thursday in Marysville and SC4 will be hosting its Holiday Showcase Dec. 28-30.
The Port Huron Northern boys, Imlay City boys, Port Huron girls, Yale girls, and Marysville girls will be playing in the Motor City Roundball Classic on Dec. 27-30.
And in local boys basketball matchups: Marysville hosts Yale Dec. 20, Cros-Lex hosts Port Huron Dec. 21, and Cardinal Mooney hosts St. Clair Dec. 22.
For a full look at the December games, click here.
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For in-game updates and other news, follow Calli on Twitter @ newberry_calli
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