Tip of the iceberg
Redettes hit seven treys in win over Westwood
ISHPEMING — Amber Huebner is continuing to show the Upper Peninsula basketball fans, coaches and players why she’s one of the best guards in the Great Northern Conference.
Huebner’s 14 points helped Marquette to take a 55-26 nonconference win at Westwood on Thursday night.
Smith credited seven baskets from beyond the arc to the success for Marquette, which improved to 13-1 and has been ranked No. 4 for multiple weeks in the U.P. Class ABC girls basketball poll.
“(Huebner) led us, but we shot the ball well as a whole team,” Smith said. “Any time you can make seven baskets from long range, it’s going to get you on the right path most nights.
“We saw great contributions from the entire team, and every girl played a crucial role in the win.”
With six points coming from Huebner, the Redettes raced to a 21-4 lead.
But the Patriots’ offense had a bit of a surge to end the first half, starting with a steal and layup by Madelyn Koski to restart their stalled offense.
By halftime, WHS had pulled to within 28-10.
“Our defense picked it up a bit at the end of the second quarter,” Westwood head coach Kurt Corcoran said.
“We had some nice steals to help turn into baskets, but it wasn’t enough.”
Smith said the opening half was a nearly perfect execution of their game plan.
“We knew we wanted to put some pressure on their guards,” Smith said. “We wanted to avoid their set defense. (Westwood) did a good (job) getting back into transition, but we did a good job starting the second half and built off it from there.”
Marquette opened the third quarter with triples from Izabelle Peterson and Huebner to extend its lead to 34-10.
Huebner continued her contributions to the offense in the second half with nine points, which included five free throws. And the Redettes finished having eight of the nine girls who saw playing time make at least one basket.
The lone Redette playing who didn’t make a shot, Sara Iwanicki, still managed to tie Huebner with a team-high seven rebounds.
The opposite has to be said for the Patriots, according to their coach.
“We are in a shooting slump,” Corcoran said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. We’re a good shooting team, but girls are shooting air balls on layups. We’re preparing well, but it’s hard to watch it unfold like this.”
Westwood made 11 of 31 from the field with Madelyn Koski leading the way with 10 points.
While Westwood (7-7) gets a bit of a break when it hosts struggling Iron Mountain in its next game on Tuesday, Marquette (13-1) may face it toughest challenge of the season on Monday night when the Redettes travel to Houghton, the U.P.’s No. 1 Class ABC team.
“Houghton is going to bring energy and effort on every possession,” Smith said.
“We need to match their intensity and it will come down to execution.
“If we go there and aren’t ready to compete, it’s a wasted trip. We need to understand they’re a pretty good team, but we are, too, and we can match their intensity and plays.”
Ray Bressette can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251. His email address is rbressette@miningjournal.net.