Cougars overcome Big Bay, move on
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EBEN -- The Superior Central Cougars utilized home court advantage Wednesday night to defeat the Big Bay de Noc Black Bears 42-36 in Eben and qualify for the MHSAA Division 4 District 100 Championship game.
The Friday night title game -- against the Munising Mustangs, will also be played in the Cougars' (13-7) home gymnasium.
While they were able to get the win, Cougars coach Skip Rutter noted his team's off night of shooting.
"Definitely a little rough tonight, we definitely weren't knocking down shots," coach Rutter said. "I felt like we got some decent looks. A lot of what we were running got us some good looks, but we just could not knock them down tonight.
"Hats off to Big Bay, though. From the first time we played them, they are much, much better."
A shot from Emma Rutter with 1:37 left in the first quarter gave the Cougars the lead 8-7 after a back and forth battle in the opening minutes of the game. Charlotte Charlebois followed that up with two big triples for Superior Central to give her team the 14-7 lead to end the first quarter.
Though the Black Bears made a final run at things in the fourth quarter to close the deficit to six points, the Cougars held on to the lead the rest of the way. Coach Rutter commented on both of their performances plus Riley Johnson's job defending against Big Bay's top scorer Alix Bleau.
"Charlotte definitely hit some big shots, and Rutter hit some mid-range jumpers for us," said coach Rutter. "Charlotte had a great game. (Riley) Johnson didn't score a lot of points tonight, but she had a great defensive game. Her assignment was (Bleau), and she did a pretty nice job on her."
Emma Rutter led the Cougars in scoring with 11 points while Charlebois and Riley Johnson had 8. Sam Johnson (5), Maggie Rondeau (4) and Maddie Begovac (3) also scored for Superior Central.
With Munising -- who the Cougars split game wins within the regular season -- standing between the Cougars and a district championship, coach Rutter noted the Cougars will have to play "crisper and be better Friday for sure." However, he is ready for the challenge.
"These two teams know each other pretty darn well, and we'll try and add a few new things," he said. "But, it's just going to come down to who wants it more. It's going to be physical. It's going to be scrappy. I can't wait. It's going to be good stuff."
The Big Bay de Noc Black Bears season comes to a close with the loss. They finish the year with a record of 9-10.
Bleau led the team in scoring with 10 points, while Piper Jones had 9, Big Bay's sole senior Kaitlin Massengill had 7, Camryn Pederson 6 and both Ellie Nedeau and Lila Morris two.
A few missing players and early foul trouble put the Black Bears behind the eight ball, said coach Bob Pederson.
"We started the game with one starter missing and our backup point guard out," Pederson said. "Then we get Cam -- our point guard -- in foul trouble and Alix. It really changed the way we had to go about things. We had some young girls step up and do a nice job. We were just trying to maintain, at that point, until we got to the second half and I think they did a great job teamwise, girls that normally don't play in that situation out there, and they did a really good job in handling that."
The 2021-22 season was a battle from the beginning for the Black Bears but they fought through, said coach Pederson.
"It was a tough season," he said. "Last year, basically, we had a nice season, and this year we thought, with everybody coming back, we would take that next step forward. We started slow, we had some non-conference games against tougher opponents. We started 0-5, and the girls got down, but we kept battling all year. We had sickness like everybody else, but they kept battling.
"To be honest, those tough non-conference games kind of helped us toward the end of the year. It was a roller coaster of a year, but they always are."
As Massengill departs the Black Bears, her young teammates will return next year to do it all again.
"Kaitlin did a nice job in the post," said coach Pederson. "It was an emotional night for her because it was the last game. So, she came out ready to play, and she did a nice job."
Superior Central faces off in the Division 4 District 100 Championship Game tonight at 7:00 in Eben.
Big Bay de Noc 7 7 10 12 -- 36
Superior Central 14 8 14 6 -- 42
Big Bay -- Bleau 10, Jones 9, Massengill 7, Pederson 6, Nedeau 2, Morris 2; FT: 10-25; Fouled out: None.
Superior Central -- Rutter 14, Charlebois 8, Riley Johnson 8, Sam Johnson 5, Rondeau 4, Begovac 3; FT: 7-13; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Charlebois 2, Rutter.