Neguanee, Mi– February 27th, 2023– The Negaunee Miner Girls faced off against the Westwood Patriots in the first round of the district playoffs. The girl’s fought hard earlier on in the season, earning them a winning streak of fifteen before the match. Carl Leander Johnson was on the scene for Sunny 101.9
The first quarter moved quickly. The Patriots drew first blood with a three pointer. Grace Nardi passed to Cooper Atkins shortly after, evening the score. Ella Mason scored a free throw off the rim as well. Cooper Atkins and Ella Mason continued to score, bringing Negaunee to eight points. Lexi Olson of Westwood fought back, closing the gap down to a point before time ran out. 8-7
The second quarter was intense. Megan Marta of Westwood was first to score, stealing the lead for the Patriots with four free throws. The Patriots continued to climb, reaching a score of thirteen before Ella Mason brought the Miners to double digits. After, Cooper scored again, bringing the Miners to thirteen before Aubrey Johnson scored for her first time of the night. Then, Aubrey retook the lead for the Miners, before the Patriots stole the lead yet again with a two pointer. Ella Mason scored her second three pointer of the night shortly after, bringing the Miners to twenty points. Aubrey Johnson matched Ella Masons three pointer with less than two minutes left in the half. 23-16
Lexi Olson started off the second half with a three pointer. Marta cut the Miners lead down to two shortly after. Madison Pekril scored her first point of the match, bringing the Miners lead back to three. After a few minutes of back and forth, Megan Marta evened the score. Marta scored again shortly after with a two pointer, forcing coach O’Donnell to call a timeout. After the timeout, Ella scored putting the Miners back on top with a three pointer before the buzzer. 28-27
The fourth quarter was crazy. Aubrey Johnson scored a two pointer, before Lexi Olson closed the gap down to a point. Grace Nardi scored a two pointer as well before a timeout was called. After the timeout, Ella Mason scored again bringing the Miners to a lead of six. Another timeout was called, only for Westwood to get into the bonus after the break. Westwood fought back, cutting down the lead to four. Nardi refused to lose, scoring a long two pointer in retaliation immediately after. Isabelle Marta scored her first attempted shot of the match with less than two minutes left in the match, cutting the Miners lead down to four. Lexi Olson scored a three pointer, and was sent to the free throw line but missed the shot. The Miners spent the last fifty-five seconds in the bonus. Grace Nardi scored a shot with a singular dribble after intense back and forth with Lexi Olson. A timeout was called immediately after. After the timeout, Downey scored for Westwood bringing the Patriots within two points. Due to this, another timeout was called with less than thirty seconds left in the match. Cooper Atkins earned two technical foul free throws after the timeout, scoring twice without touching the rim. Ella Mason was sent to the free throw line also, and scored twice as well. Cooper Atkins knocked down two more free throws as well before the buzzer beat.
The Miners won the Quarterfinal match of district playoffs, their sixteenth win in a row. They’re eager to play again so check it out here, on Sunny 101.9!
FINAL SCORE 45-37
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