Munising Mustangs swamp Superior Central in girls basketball, 67-24
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Munising's Crystal Murdock, left, looks for a shot around Superior Central's Jada Johnson on Monday in their MHSAA Division 4 district tournament game played at Rapid RIver. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Justin St. Ours)
The first quarter was about all that was needed to determine the outcome, with the Mustangs rushing to a 24-1 lead.
Daryn Johnson kicked Munising (13-4) off less than a minute in with a free throw. Foul trouble from the Cougars allowed the Mustangs to go 8 for 14 from the free throw line in the period.
The Cougars got their lone point of the first with a free throw by Samantha Thompson with 2:21 left.
Munising's Michaela Werner was on a roll in the opening frame, scoring 12 points, though it was teammate Megan Matson who capped off the quarter with a basket and two free throws in the last minute.
Werner finished with 21 points and a double-double.
"We came out, and we were fouling," Cougars' coach Bobbi Ayotte said. "We were fouling a lot, although kudos to Munising for making their shots off our turnovers tonight. Ours just weren't connecting in the first half. The fouls and turnovers in the first half killed us."
Riley Johnson scored the Cougars' first basket a little over a minute into the second quarter. Johnson scored again another minute later to cut the deficit to 27-5.
Superior Central (0-16) couldn't hang on to any momentum and went 4 of 17 from the field in the period.
The Mustangs went on a 14-3 scoring run for the rest of the half to lead 41-10 at the break.
Johnson was the Cougars' sole scorer in the second quarter.
"Our defensive intensity was great from the get-go," Mustangs' coach Matt Mattson said. "I don't think they had a field goal until the second quarter. Any time you can show up and play with that kind of defensive intensity, you're going to be off to a good start."
Superior Central's Jada Johnson scored in the first minute of the third quarter to make it 41-12.
The Mustangs went on a 17-0 run that was broken by Riley Johnson with 1:25 left. The Mustangs led 61-16 at the end of the third quarter, and they coasted to a win through the final quarter.
"We just wanted to play intense in all four quarters," Mattson said. "I won't say we did that, there were some lapses here and there, but we'll take it."
Riley Johnson led the Cougars with 13 points.
Matson led Munising with 24 points.
Munising faces Rapid River at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.