Rudyard holds off Lady Chiefs in physical battle
CHEBOYGAN — If you've watched the Cheboygan Lady Chiefs play Rudyard in recent years, the games have been physical.
Very physical, with lots of fouls.
Thursday was no different for the Chiefs, who found themselves playing catch-up for much of the night. While the Chiefs stayed within striking distance for a solid portion of the game, it was the Bulldogs leaving Cheboygan with a 44-32 victory.
"It's so hard to get into a rhythm when a game is played or called like that," said Cheboygan coach Barry Salter. "That type of game is just difficult to get into any type of rhythm. Offensively, we had some open shots, didn't knock them down. At the end there we were fouling (Rudyard) to give them 44, but it was a tough game."
The Bulldogs maintained five-point leads both after the first quarter, at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, but the Chiefs (8-9, 2-4 Straits Area Conference) fought back to cut their deficit to one point thanks to a basket from senior Mabel Styburski. After the Bulldogs went back up three, Cheboygan senior Jordan Young scored a tough inside bucket and was fouled, trimming the Rudyard lead to one again.
However, the Bulldogs finished the game on a 12-3 run to seal the win over the Chiefs, who struggled to make shots late.
"Rudyard's a solid team," Salter said. "We did the same thing in the first half, we got down eight. I don't know if we tied it or cut it to one or two, then we turned around and did it in the second (half), so I was happy to see the fight in us. We got a few injuries that I hope are not too serious. We're coming back on Monday against Gaylord, who's No. 1 in the Big North (Conference) right now, so we'll see what happens. With a couple weeks left, we're just going to keep battling."
Young led Cheboygan with nine points, while junior Kenzie Burt scored seven and Styburski added six. Olivia Chamberlain scored four. Kaitlyn Penfield, CJ Salter and Maggie Chasse had two apiece.
"I thought Mabel Styburski played really well today, she (rebounded) excellent," Salter said. "I thought Kenzie (Burt) did a nice job of taking care of the basketball. We did some good things, but we just came up short tonight."
Tristin Smith's game-high 22 points fueled the Bulldogs, who also received 11 points from Brooklynn Besteman.
Next week will be a difficult one for Cheboygan, which begins with a home game against Gaylord on Monday. Cheboygan travels to Sault Ste. Marie later in the week.
"The last four games, I'm not sure anybody in Northern Michigan has a tougher schedule than we do with the Sault and St. Ignace and Gaylord and Rudyard," Salter said. "In the last four games, we're hoping it prepares us for districts."
Earlier in the week, the Chiefs captured a 40-38 victory at Rogers City.
Burt led Cheboygan with 10 points, while Cassidy Jewell and Salter both tallied eight. Chasse scored four and Chamberlain netted two.
In junior varsity action, Cheboygan suffered a 51-27 loss to St. Ignace on Thursday.
Bella Ecker led the Chiefs with 13 points, Cheyanne Friday scored 10, and Dakota Friday and Miriah Ayotte each had two.
In a 22-20 loss at Rogers City earlier in the week, Ecker led the JV Chiefs with nine points. Jordan Ashley had four, Addyson Baldwin netted three, and Ciara Ramsby and Dakota Friday both scored two.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan girls basketball beaten by Rudyard in physical game
