MONTAGUE — Nobody ever wants to lose to a rival, especially twice in the same season.
But going into said rival’s gymnasium, exacting a measure of revenge and walking out with a trophy had to feel pretty darn good for Whitehall’s girls basketball team Friday night.
Whitehall lost twice in the regular season to rival Montague, but the Vikings got a little payback in the form of a 36-31 victory in a Division 2 district title game.
With the win, Whitehall (13-10) advances to next Tuesday’s 7 p.m. regional semifinal at Frankenmuth, where the Vikings will face the winner of today’s game between Freeland (18-5) and Saginaw Arthur Hill (11-10).
Montague, which played nearly the entire season without junior standout Kendall Osborne after her knee injury, finishes with a strong 16-8 record.
This is the fourth district title all-time for Whitehall’s girls basketball program. The Vikings also won districdts in 1996, 2002 and 2005.
Here are some details and notables from Friday’s game:
- Whitehall lost twice in the regular season to Montague by double digits: 44-34 on Dec. 8 at Montague and 51-37 on Jan. 27 at Whitehall.
- Whitehall senior Onnyka Dempsey led all scorers with 14 points. She hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter, including a half-court heave as the Vikings outscored the Wildcats 14-8 in the frame.
- Whitehall senior Hailey Carnes scored eight points.
- Whitehall sophomore Lexi Daggett added five points, while senior Autumn Ferris had four points.
- Montague senior Emma Peterson led her team with nine points, three assists and three rebounds.
- Montague senior Lauren Smith had six points and three steals.
- Montague senior Haylee Schwarz and sophomore Braylyn Bultema both added four points and six rebounds.
- Montague returns 10 of 13 players on its roster for next year’s team, including Osborne, who is rehabbing her knee. It was in the first Montague-Whitehall matchup this season, early in the game, when Osborne suffered the injury.
In case you missed it, listen to the audio stream of the game presented by CatchMark SportsNet:
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