Caro 52, Cass City 27:
CARO — Defense sparked the Caro girls basketball team Wednesday night in a 52-27 win over Cass City.
Caro led 13-4 after the first quarter and 31-11 at halftime.
“We got off to a quick start, obviously, as we were up by 20 points at halftime,” said Caro coach Jeff Sauser. “Our pressure got to them early. We were able to cause turnovers and convert those into points.”
Melissa Cockerill led the Tigers with 16 points, with Sarah Brown adding nine points and Micaylee Root and Jennifer Gutierrez pitching in with six points apiece.
“Ten of our girls scored tonight so it was a real good team effort,” Sauser said.
Sayge Cuthrell led Cass City with 12 points, while Alliah Riddle added eight.
Kingston 61, Carsonville-Port Sanilac 33:
Kingston Cardinals went on a 14 to nothing run to begin the fourth quarter on their way to a victory over North Central Thumb League rivals Carsonville-Port Sanilac.
Kingston had control the entire game with a 23 to 15 lead heading into halftime, before coming out and outscoring Carsonville-Port Sanilac 18 to 10 in the third quarter.
Jenna Boyl led the way for the Cardinals with 16 points, and Maddie Cofer added 15 points.
Kingston will look for another home win Tuesday against Mayville, while Carsonville-Port Sanilac travels to Deckerville.
Reese 49, Marlette 30: The host Rockets handed Marlette its first loss Thursday night behind Reyna Frost’s 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocked shots and six steals. Emily Fleischmann added 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks for Reese. Haley Cross led Marlette with 14 points.
Saginaw 63, Vassar 43: The Vulcans fell to a tough non-conference opponent Wednesday night at home. Saginaw jumped out to a 34-19 halftime lead, and Tyasia Robinson scored a game-high 21 points to lead Trojans to the win. Jaylee Burnham scored 15 points, and Rebecca Huizar added seven. Vassar (1-3) will open conference play Tuesday night against Cass City (0-4) at home.
Essexville Garber 44, North Branch 40: The Broncos let a 12-halftime lead slip away in their conference opener against the Dukes. After falling behind 24-12 at halftime, Garber came back with a 22-6 run in the third quarter to steal the win from North Branch. Carlie Hepinstall had a game-high 17 points for Garber, while Kelsey Gormley scored 11 for the Broncos. Aeriel Skinner added 10 points for North Branch. The Broncos(1-2,0-1) will be at home Tuesday night against Frankenmuth (3-1,1-0).
Frankenmuth 67, LakeVille 29: Frankenmuth opened the conference schedule with a convincing win over the Falcons. The Eagles jumped out to a 35-16 lead at the half, and played great defense throughout, holding the Falcons to 13 second half points, including only four points in the last quarter. Brayene Benner led the Eagles with 15 points and Madison Wiskur scored 14. Kendra Kujat contirbuted four points, six assists, and five rebounds. Frankenmuth (3-1,1-0) travels to North Branch (1-2, 0-1) Tuesday.
U.S.A. 48 Ubly 23: Great defense and a big game by Marisa Morton led the Patriots to victory over the Bearcats Thursday night. Morton scored 18 points for U.S.A. and the Patriots defense shut down Ubly in the second half, allowing only eight points. Madison Herman added seven points for U.S.A. The Patriots (2-1) will be at home Tuesday against Bad Axe (1-1).
Birch Run 56, Millington 51: The Cardnals dropped their conference opener Thursday night against the Panthers. After falling behind 30-18 at the half, Millington got right back into the game with a 16-6 run in the third quarter. In the fourth quater Birch Run extended its lead to 53-41 with about two minutes to go, before Millington went on a 10-3 run, coming up just short of the comeback victory. Molly Wolfington led the Cardinals with 18 points, and Haley Trickey scored 10. Hailey Murray added nine points for Millington. The Cardinals (0-3, 0-1) will play Caro (2-1, 1-0) Tuesday night.
Owen-Gage 40, Merritt Academy 15: The Bulldogs cruised to a conference victory Friday night against the Mustangs. Owen-Gage controlled the game throughout, outscoring Merritt 24-9 in the first half, and 16-6 in the second. Alyson Witzke led the Bulldogs with 16 points, and Courtney Southgate scored 11. Owen-Gage (3-1,1-0) plays against Deckerville (2-1,1-1) next Thursday at home.
Caro 39, Bridgeport 25: Caro jumped out to a 10-3 first quarter lead, and Melissa Cockerill scored 10 points as the Tigers won their first conference game of the season. Cameryn Brown scored nine points for Caro, and Jennifer Gutierrez added seven. Caro (2-1,1-0) will play at Millington (0-3,0-1) on Tuesday.