Basketball

Boys

Mid Pen at Stephenson

STEPHENSON — The Mid Peninsula Wolverines (1-8) took a 68-21 loss against the Stephenson Eagles (4-3) Monday night in Stephenson.

“Well, it was right out of the gate they went up on us 25-6,” said Wolverines coach Mark Branstrom. “After that, bottom line, there wasn’t too much to do but stop bleeding. We just tried to be positive, move on and make sure the boys learn something.”

Branstrom mentioned one of the biggest positives of the game was getting everyone playing time.

“Everybody got a chance to play,” he said. “There is a lot that came out of this.”

The Wolverines play Superior Central tonight in Eben.

Stephenson 25 18 16 9 — 68

Mid Peninsula 6 2 7 6 — 21

Mid Peninsula — Van Damme 8, McNally 6, Lofquist 4, Constantino 3; F: 6; FT: 5-7; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Constantino, Van Damme.

Girls

Mid Pen at Stephenson

STEPHENSON — The Mid Peninsula girls basketball team came out hot but cooled down in the second and couldn’t overcome the deficit. The Wolverines fell 41-38 to Stephenson Monday at Stephenson.

Mid Pen outscored the Eagles 10-3 in the first quarter but was disrupted in the second and trailed 17-14 at the half.

“They came out hot in the second quarter, and we came out cold,” Mid Pen coach Phil Croasdell said. “The last two quarters, we played an even half. We went into the half down by three and ended up down by three.”

The two teams tied in the third and fourth to let the Eagles edge out the Wolverines.

“We just gave up too many weak-side rebounds,” Croasdell said. “Our defense was good. We stopped shots. We kept Paige Cappaert in check, but there were a couple times we dropped it. It was just a couple times that were good basketball fundamentals on Stephenson’s part.”

Landry Koski led the Wolverines with 12 points, while Daisy Englund collected 11.

The Eagles were led by Morgan Anderson with 13. Peyton Cole also chipped in 11.

Mid Peninsula, which won the JV game 41-18, travels to North Dickinson Wednesday.

Mid Peninsula 10 4 14 10 — 38

Stephenson 3 14 14 10 — 41

Mid Peninsula — Johnson 6, Englund 11, Koski 12, Lampinen 9; F: 9; Fouled out: none; FT: 2-4; 3-point field goals: Johnson 2, Englund 2, Koski 1, Lampinen 3.

Gladstone at Kingsford

KINGSFORD — The Gladstone girls basketball team clamped down on defense in the second quarter to lead 26-18 at halftime and ride that cushion to a 54-33 over Kingsford Monday at Kingsford.

“Oustanding defensive effort as a team,” Braves coach Andy Cretens said. “We can always improve on the defensive side, but today was a big step forward for us. (I was) so proud of their energy and commitment to our principles.”

Megan Crow led the Braves (5-1, 2-1 GNC) with a double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds along with eight blocks. She was followed by Alaina Trudeau with 15 points and Claire Van Ginhoven with 11.

“Kingsford did a great job taking Crow away in the first half, but they struggled to contain her in the second half inside,” Cretens said. “Crow showed more of her versatility.

“Alaina Trudeau stepped up for us tonight in a big way. (She) did a lot of little things for us that had a large impact on the game.

“Chloe Hanson did another great job on Wallis for the second time this season, holding her to zero points in the second half tonight.”

Gladstone hosts Marquette Thursday. Kingsford visits Marquette today.

Gladstone 10 16 18 10 — 54

Kingsford 12 6 10 5 — 33

Gladstone — Crow 20, Trudeau 15, Van Ginhoven 11, Hanson 4, Larson 4; F: 14; Fouled out: none; FT: 3-5; 3-point field goals: Van Ginhoven 1.

Rapid River at Superior Central

EBEN — Riley Johnson scored 14 points and Emma Rutter added 11, leading the Superior Central girls to a 42-37 basketball triumph over the Rapid River Rockets.

Shania Poore hit 13 and Natalie Belanger had 10 for the Rockets in the Skyline Central Conference contest.

“It was pretty much back and forth,” said Rockets’ coach Scott Goodacre. “They played pretty good defense on us. They double and tripled-teamed Natalie in the low post. Hats off to them. We gave it our best run, but came up a little short tonight.”

The Cougars (2-6), who also won the jayvee game, are idle until March 10 when they host Munising. The Rockets (2-6) host Stephenson Wednesday.

Gymnastics

Escanaba, Jackson at Western

PARMA — The Escanaba gymnastics team earned another qualifying score despite coming in third in its meet at Western High School in Parma Saturday.

Jackson earned top spot with 138.375, Western second with 128.875 and Esky earned 121.33 to round out the teams.

“These girls continue to give up 110%, and the result was that they scored 121.33 for a qualifying score for regionals,” Esky coach Theresa Pascoe said. “We still need two more (scores) to go to regionals as a team.”

The Eskymos Lizzy Sliva earned fourth in all-around with 31.75 and was followed by Bridget Bichler at sixth with 30.80.

Esky’s Caitlyn Davenport notched a fifth-place tie on floor with 8.550.

“We started out a bit rocky on bars with a lot of stops and extra swings,” Pascoe said. “We work on connections at every practice, but sometimes, we have meet jitters and our routines just don’t get performed the way they should.

“I’m so proud of these girls for the time and effort they have been putting into each routine and the extra practice that they have asked to have to get better.”

Escanaba hosts Negaunee Wednesday.