Sandusky Takes District Title in Vassar; Wins Regional over Montrose
[ Story written on 3-12-24. The Lady Wolves are now set to play Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in Port Huron Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m., the game will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, tickets are $10 and are available on gofan.co. For photos of the District and Regional Finals, visit us on Facebook. Regional story will be updated next week.]
The Sandusky Lady Wolves opened up District play Wednesday night in Vassar for the early game against the Reese Rockets. Sandusky showed why their lockdown defense is so feared, holding Reese scoreless in the first quarter, and giving up just 7 points in the second quarter. Sandusky took a 25-7 lead into halftime. The Rockets’ shots finally started finding the net in the second half, gunning for 13 third quarter points and 7 fourth quarter points. Sandusky managed to keep Reese at arm’s length and take the win 42-25. Grace Guibord led all scorers with 18 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Caroline Reinke added 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Helena Long had 5 points and 5 rebounds. Maggy Keinath had 4 points, 3 steals and 2 assists. Lilly Betts had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Adalee Kaufman had 3 points and 6 rebounds. Rylan Anton had 2 points.
The Sandusky Lady Wolves headed back to Vassar Friday night for the District Championship against the Caro Lady Tigers. The Tigers gave the Wolves a run for their money, keeping things close through the first three and a half quarters. The lead changed hands half a dozen times by halftime.
The Tigers held a 2-point lead at the half. Sandusky charged back thanks to a Grace Guibord three pointer to take a one-point lead. Caro answered back and the teams traded buckets until Sandusky trailed by one point with 2:30 left to go in the third. Helena Long came up with the steal and took it coast to coast, finishing through contact and making the free throw to give Sandusky a 25-23 lead. Fast forward to the final three minutes of the fourth and Sandusky now leads by five. Caro knocks down a three to shrink the deficit to two points with 2:25 left in the game. Helena Long hits a layup to make it a two-possession game again with two minutes to go. Caro answered back again and with 1:30 to go, Sandusky led by just three points. Grace Guibord drove the lane and took a hard foul, stepping up to the charity stripe and knocking down both to make it a five-point game.
Sandusky’s defense took center stage once again, keeping Caro from the basket for the remainder, giving up only a few points on free throws. The Tigers were forced to foul as Sandusky circled up to run the clock out. Caroline Reinke had the ball in her hands for most of the final seconds, stepping up to the line and missing two but chasing down the rebound. Caro was forced to foul again and this time Reinke stepped to the line and knocked down both. Sandusky went 9/12 in the fourth quarter to cement their win and earn their 30th District championship since 1985. Caroline Reinke was integral in the win, protecting the ball and forcing some key turnovers. Coach Al Demott pulled all of his starters in the final minute of the game save for Caroline Reinke, who only got to rest after picking up her fifth foul on the defensive end. Reinke had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in the win. Helena Long added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals. Grace Guibord added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Adalee Kaufman had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. Maggy Keinath added 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Lilly Betts added a point for the Wolves.
The Wolves had just a couple days’ rest before their Regional Semi-Final matchup against Cass City in Otisville-Lakeville Monday night. The Wolves took a minute to get their offense rolling, but their defense proved to be the deciding factor again. Sandusky held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and, after holding Cass City to just two points in the second quarter, led the Red Hawks 15-9 at halftime. Sandusky’s offense started hitting their stride in the second, putting up 27 points on the Red Hawks while holding them to 16 points, taking the win 42-25.
Sandusky’s offense was led by Helena Long with a team and career high 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Caroline Reinke scored all ten of her points from the free throw line, knocking down a perfect 10/10. Reinke also had 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Maggy Keinath had 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Adalee Kaufman had 2 points and 3 rebounds. Grace Guibord had 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Lilly Betts and Angelina Franzel each chipped in 2 points in the win. The Wolves kept their win streak alive, extending the spree to 19 straight wins after the win over Cass City.
Sandusky will head back to Otisville-Lakeville Wednesday night for the Regional Final against Montrose. A win against Montrose will mean a trip to SC4 for the girls from Sandusky. The winner of the Region 24 Final Wednesday night will take on the winner of RH Lutheran Northwest and GPW University Liggett on March 19th at 7pm at SC4. The game will also be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv.
