Lady Pirates reign supreme in 1A-1

JASPER 46, KINGSTON 45

ALPENA — With 18.3 seconds left to play, Jasper coach Jeff Lewis implored his huddled team to get a basket, and he called a set play. His team trailed 45-44 after giving up the lead seconds before, and the Lady Pirates ran the risk of losing to their conference rival Kingston. The play didn’t work out the way it was drawn up, but Jasper still managed to get the score it needed to secure a 46-45 victory and a 1A- Region 1 championship Saturday.

“We talked about an inbounds play we were gonna run and what we were gonna do if it wasn’t open,” Lewis said. “We weren’t gonna force anything.”

On the play, Kingston came out to contest Jasper senior guard Leah Shellnut and left the low block completely open. Shellnut found junior guard Sierra Johnson, who dropped in an easy layup to put her team back up.

“It wasn’t necessarily the play that we drew up, and I just remembered us talking about going to the open spot,” Johnson said. “You’ve gotta work with what the defense gives you. I just tried to focus and put it in, and we were able to get back up.”

With 8.1 seconds left on the clock, the Lady Yellowjackets called up a play to get a shot for their best scorer, junior guard Breanna Emitt. Shellnut’s lockdown defense forced an awkward shot, and as the buzzer sounded, the Jasper bench exploded with cheers and jubilation.

“This is the fourth straight time we’ve played Kingston in the finals, and we’ve been fortunate to come out on top three years in a row,” Lewis said. “It’s a rivalry game. We just made the last play on both ends, and we’re happy to get out of here with a win.”

Shellnut finished with 15 points to lead the Lady Pirates. She also had three rebounds and an assist on the night. Her aggressive defense forced Kingston into a number of turnovers in the second half.

“We just had to get stops,” Shellnut said. “Kingston is a very good offensive team. They know how to score, and they know how to make plays happen. I just had to back off and play good, solid defense.”

Johnson scored 11 of her own to help her team get the win. She also hauled in five rebounds and made her presence felt on the low block.

“I was sore and I was tired the whole game, and my coach kept telling me, ‘You’ve gotta dig, you’ve gotta dig,’” Johnson said. “I don’t believe I necessarily had the best game I could’ve had, but I just kept trying to have that mindset that we could win this and take this title.”

In the third-place game, Alpena defeated Lead Hill, 56-45.

BOYS KINGSTON 46, DEER 45

It was a back- and- forth affair between Kingston and Deer in the 1A-Region 1 championship game Saturday, but a game-winning jumper proved to be the difference in a 46-45 victory for the Yellowjackets.

After the Antlers scored a layup to regain the lead with 16.3 seconds left, Kingston called a timeout to draw up a scoring play. The ball rotated around the perimeter until it ended up in the hands of junior guard Dylan Merrell on the right wing. The junior pulled up for a jumpshot and drilled it before pumping his fist in excitement.

Kingston was led by senior guard Cooper Riley, who finished with 12 points on the night. Merrell added 10 in the winning effort.

In the third-place game, Western Grove defeated Omaha, 60-54.