Vassar’s Macy Zwerk puts up a jumper against Cass City. Zwerk scored four points in the Vulcans victory.
(photo credit John Cook)
Tom Gilchrist and Mike Gallagher
Advertiser Staff
CASS CITY — Vassar girls basketball coach Brandon Baker may have taught forward Becca Huizar the spin move, but Huizar was putting on the clinic with it here Thursday night.
Huizar, utilizing the move often after halftime, scored 12 of her game-high 15 points in the second half to power Vassar to a 40-28 victory.
“That’s the play we worked on just for her,” Baker said. “She does a real good job of selling it with the head fake.”
Huizar, with the ball, would set up near the left side of the free-throw line, dip her left shoulder to fake left but instead go quickly right, dribbling with her left hand to the basket.
The move worked twice for easy baskets in the third quarter, with Huizar missing a third short shot following the maneuver. Huizar also hit a 3-point shot in that period to help Vassar move to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in the Greater Thumb Conference West Division.
“Becca also had five assists tonight, so she was really looking for the open girl,” Baker said.
Cass City coach Clarke Haire said his Red Hawks played good defense against the Vulcans, but said Huizar did damage.
“She’s a pretty tough egg for us,” Haire said. “She got a couple baskets that went in and I think that rim got a little bit bigger for her. She hurt us at the end.”
Kirsten Walker scored seven points for Vassar while teammate Jaylee Burnham tallied six.
Senior Alliah Riddle led Cass City with 11 points, and hit a 3-point shot to tie the game at 19-19 with 2:26 remaining in the third quarter. Vassar pulled away steadily, though, after that, with junior guard Macy Zwerk hitting a 3-point shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter, giving Vassar a 29-21 lead.
Lauren Scott, a senior, added six points for Cass City while freshman Sayge Cuthrell added five.
“Lauren Scott played her best game of the season,” Haire said. “She has been out sick for a couple weeks and she’s just kind of getting back to health.”
Haire also was thankful for the return of senior Erika Martin, playing her first game this season following surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
“She had that ACL surgery and she was coming back as our leading scorer and as a three-year varsity player,” Haire said. “Tonight was her first game. It’s nice that she got back.”
Vassar’s Walker, who made five steals in the game, made a pair of free throws with 2:53 left in the contest to give Vassar its biggest lead at 38-26.
Millington 47, Caro 39: Sydney Olmstead scored 14 points and Hailey Murray added 12 to power the Cardinals to a road win over the Tigers on Thursday night. Millington outscored Caro 18-13 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Murray also grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cardinals, while Molly Wolfington added 11 points. Caro’s Melissa Cockerill scored 18 points while Sarah Brown added 11.
Reese 52, Sandusky 41: Two of the state’s Class C powers dueled in Reese on Wednesday night, with the 13th-ranked Rockets defeating the second-ranked Redskins. Reese’s Reyna Frost and Emily Fleischmann were a one-two punch, with Frost scoring 20 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Fleischmann tallied 17 points and collected 17 rebounds. Frost also blocked seven shots for the Rockets, who outscored the Redskins 28-19 in the second half. Madison Jansen and Haley Nelson each scored 11 points for Sandusky.
Kingston 56, Mayville 20: The Cardinals raced to a 25-4 lead after one quarter en route to the win Thursday night at Mayville. Jenna Boyl scored a game-high 19 points for Kingston, while Sarah Savage added 12 and Madison Cofer registered 11 for the Cardinals. Cassidy MacGuire scored nine for Kingston. Mayville was led by Miranda Zaremba with eight points.
Akron-Fairgrove’s Emily Wagner puts up a shot in a game played earlier this season. Wagner scored 17 points in the Vikings victory Friday night.
Frankenmuth 57, North Branch 20: The Eagles earned a bounce-back victory Thursday night knocking off the Broncos at home. Frankenmuth used a balanced scoring attack to jump out to a 30-10 halftime lead before outscoring North Branch 27-10 in the second half. Kendra Kujat led Frankenmuth with a game-high 15 points, and had five assists. Guard Elizabeth Laux had five assists and seven steals, while three Eagles scored nine points: Lindsey Mertz, Madison Walter, and Madison Wiskur. Calla McNulty led the Broncos with 10 points. Frankenmuth (12-2, 9-0) plays Ithaca Thursday in Tri-Valley Conference crossover action, and North Branch (2-10, 2-7) visits Carrollton on Thursday.
USA 55, Bad Axe 32: The Patriots used a strong first-half defensive effort en route to a Greater Thumb Conference West Division victory over the Hatchets on Thursday night. USA held Bad Axe to eight points in the first half, and led 30-8 at intermission. Sam Ewald led the Patriots with 13 points, and Kayla Gremel scored nine points, while Morgan Thomas chipped in seven. Kaitlyn Kociba led Bad Axe with 11 points. USA (8-3, 5-1) hosts Cass City on Thursday.
Akron-Fairgrove 41, International Academy of Flint 24: The Vikings picked up a Michigan Summit League road victory over the Phoenix on Friday. Akron-Fairgrove built a 15-4 lead after the first quarter, and led 25-11 at the half. Emily Wagner paced the Vikings with a game-high 17 points, and Ally Reif contributed eight points and five rebounds. Akron-Fairgrove (4-7, 2-3) visits Vassar on Monday in a non-conference game.