CLARE EXTENDS WIN STREAK TO 7 GAMES
They’re on a relative roll, bouncing out win after win.
On Tuesday night the Clare High School girls basketball team rolled and bounced its way to a seventh-straight victory at home, besting Ithaca 51-36 in a non-conference contest.
With the win the Pioneers improve to 7-2 overall while the Jackets fall to 2-5 on the season.
As a collective the Pioneers have been quite an upstart story through the first month and onehalf of the 2023-24 campaign in that no one saw them putting together a lengthy winning streak the likes of seven games and counting.
One season ago Clare went 1410 overall and finished third in the Jack Pine Conference with a 10-4 marker. Moreover, the Pioneers graduated three all-conference players in Megan Gross, Izzy Jones and Ava Crowder while head coach Dave Maxwell also stepped down.
Heading into this season under new varsity head coach Shane Kelly the Pioneers had more question marks than answers initially. After opening the season with two-straight losses to Alma and defending JPC champion Sanford-meridian the Pioneers have since been playing exceptional basketball.
In short those question marks are being or have been answered.
“I knew we were going to struggle at the beginning of the season and I thought it was going to take us a little longer to catch up,”
said Kelly following Tuesday’s victory. “This group believes in one another and they’re doing some good things right now, but we have got to continue to get better every day. That’s our goal.”
Roster-wise the Pioneers are young with only two seniors on the roster in Julia Haggart and Morgan Jones. Juniors Kendra Fouts, Addison Mcmillan and Madison Jones round out the upper classes on a roster that includes four sophomores and three freshmen.
In terms of how the Pioneers have been getting it done, well, they’ve been exceptionally-good on the defensive end as they have allowed on average only 31 points per game. In Tuesday’s victory the Pioneer defense also forced 25 turnovers. Offensively, Clare averages 47 points per game.
Going forward the Pioneers, who are 4-1 in conference action, likely won’t catch Sanford-meridian in the conference race. The Mustangs are one of the best teams in the state this winter and will likely run the table in the JPC.
However, the Pioneers should finish near the top in the JPC. Over the course of the next two weeks Clare will host four games, starting with Friday’s contest against Beaverton (5-3, 3-2 JPC).
In Tuesday’s win Fouts led all scorers with 22 points despite having to sit most of the first half in foul trouble. Madison Jones added in eight points while Morgan Jones and freshman Amelia Ryzyk both had six.
Libby Mauer led Ithaca with 13