Sault Sainte Marie, MI – March 9, 2023 – The Negaunee Miner Girls matched up against the Elk Rapids Elks for the Regional Finals on Thursday night. Carl Leander Johnson was on the scene for Sunny 101.9.
The Elks started the game strong by winning the tip-off and instantly scoring the first two points of the night. The Miners were up one with four minutes left in the first. Cooper Atkins got a steal that set up Ella Mason to gain two points for Negaunee. The Elks hit a three and tied up the game. A great effort from both teams sent them into the second quarter 9-9.
Negaunee:9 Elk Rapids:9
A great defensive effort from both teams made it tough to score. The Elks put a stop to the scoring drought by getting two points. The Miners answered right back and got a basket of their own. The Elks took a six point lead with two minutes to go in the second quarter. Elk Rapids ran down the clock at the end of the quarter and hit a three pointer. At halftime, the Miners found themselves trailing by eight.
Negaunee:12 Elk Rapids:20
The Miners pulled themselves back in by six to start the third quarter. Ella Mason hit a shot in efforts to continue narrowing the scoring gap. Mason scored six straight points and got the Miners back within one. Miners were down by five with one minute left. Negaunee finished off the quarter down by four.
Negaunee:22 Elk Rapids:26
Ella Mason hit her second three point of the night and cut the Elks lead in half. Aubrey Johnson hit a free throw, the Miners were down by two. 31-28 with three minutes left, the Elk were on top. Aubrey Johnson hit a shot and the Miners were down by three. Ella Mason hit a big three, the team still trailed by two with 15 seconds left. The Elks got themselves to the free throw line and went up by four. The Negaunee girls were unable to make a comeback, resulting in a victory for the Elks.
FINAL SCORE 42-36
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