Westwood's Kaitlyn Ackland, second from left, and teammate Raija Stille, partially obscured second from right, struggle to keep the ball as Negaunee defenders, from left, Jenna Sager, Clara Johnson and Lynsee Dempsey try to gain possession in the fourth quarter of their high school girls basketball game played at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

By Journal Sports Staff

NEGAUNEE — Negaunee puts an exclamation point on its Mid-Peninsula Conference girls basketball season with a 50-33 victory over Westwood at home on Friday night.

With one game left in the regular season, the Miners improved to a perfect 19-0 and finished off the league campaign at 12-0.

“This was Senior Night, and we started five seniors and all of them gave a lot of emotion, a lot of energy out there,” Miners head coach Brandon Sager said. “Then the next group maintained it and kept it going.”

He said all seven seniors were among the nine players who scored, led by Natalie Bartle with 11 points and Clara Johnson with 10.

“Bartle had one of her best games all season, even with just 11 points,” Sager said. “She played under control all game. Her and Clara both, actually. Our backcourt was really solid.”

Bartle added seven rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Johnson had five assists. Another senior, Lynsee Dempsey, shared team rebounding honors as she also pulled in seven rebounds, while yet another senior, Allyson Jacobson, had six rebounds.

“We were just focusing on the game,” Sager said when asked about any pressure about working toward a perfect season. “We start a new season in less than two weeks (with the district tournament), so we just want to come out and play hard.”

For Westwood (12-6, 7-4), sophomore Madelyn Koski led all scorers with 18 points.

“Koski was attacking the basket late in the game,” Sager said. “She’s the type of player who you can’t not know where she is at all times.”

Another Pats’ sophomore, Tessa Leece, had eight points.

Negaunee, which won the JV game 34-25, travels to Marquette on Tuesday while Westwood goes to Houghton on Wednesday.

Munising 65,

Superior Central 30

At Eben, the Mustangs’ (17-1) defense was stifling while MHS senior Kianne Wendt poured in 19 points.

“Defensively, we played very well, keeping them in single digits each quarter, and offensively we had 37 points in the first half,” Munising coach Matt Mattson said. “We still need to clean some things up with the (district) tournament coming up.”

Junior Daryn Johnson added 11 points and junior Michaela Werner 10 to the winning effort, while senior teammate Marissa Ackerman pulled in nine rebounds.

For the Cougars (2-14), senior Emma Rondeau led the way with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Munising, which won the JV game played Thursday, plays at Big Bay de Noc on Monday.

SC hosts Carney-Nadeau on Monday.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.