Photos by Billy Mann | CatchMark
MONTAGUE — Round 3 of the Montague vs. Whitehall 2022-23 girls basketball series is set and this is a big one.
Some hardware is on the line.
Montague (16-7) and Whitehall (12-10) will be vying for a Division 2 district championship trophy. The district final is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Montague. The Wildcats swept the Vikings in two regular-season matchups, 44-34 and 51-27, in West Michigan Conference Lakes Division play.
CatchMark SportsNet will be presenting a free, live audio stream of the Montague vs. Whitehall game on our YouTube channel.
“Playing Montague in the final is fitting,” Whitehall coach Brian Milliron said. “These girls have played together from youth basketball, are friends, and know each other very well. It is only apt that they play each other for a third time and that it is in the district finals.”
In Wednesday’s district semifinals, Whitehall edged Grant (33-32) and Montague got past Fremont (34-22).
CatchMark presented audio streams of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Montague. You can go back and listen to those here:
In the first game Wednesday at Montague, Whitehall eked out a tight victory over a solid Grant squad (14-8).
Senior Onnyka Dempsey set the tone for Whitehall on both ends of the floor and she was a catalyst in the victory, according to Milliron. Dempsey led the way with 11 points, while senior Ashley TenBrink had 10 points. Senior Hailey Carnes and sophomore Lexi Daggett added five points apiece for Whitehall.
Julie Ashbaugh paced Grant with 14 points after she poured in 31 against Whitehall in the Tigers’ 53-43 victory over the Vikings in the second game of the season.
Photos by Billy Mann | CatchMark
In the second game Wednesday, Montague jumped out to a 14-5 first-quarter lead over Fremont (9-15). The Packers pulled within 18-12 by halftime, but the Wildcats used an 11-5 third-quarter scoring advantage to create a little more separation.
Senior point guard Emma Peterson paced Montague with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. Sophomores Amanda Cederquist and Addison Pranger each added four points and five rebounds for the Wildcats, who won the rubber match against the Packers after splitting two regular-season games against them.
Fremont coach Wes Zerlaut said that Montague’s pressure defense was the difference in the game Wednesday. The Packers finished with 27 turnovers.
Juniors Olivia Hansen and Jessica Bennett paced Fremont with seven points apiece, while junior Lily VandenBerg had six points.
The winner of Friday’s Montague/Whitehall game advances to next week’s Division 2 regional at Frankenmuth and will face the Saginaw Arthur Hill/Freeland winner in the 7 p.m. regional semifinal.
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