–The Munising Mustangs Girls play on 1400am GTO Good Time Oldies and WQXO.com with Mike James!
03/10/2015 Kingsford High School, Kingsford, MI – It was a gorgeous, warm spring day when the Munising Mustang girls basketball team took on the Bark River-Harris Broncos in divisional playoff action. Mustangs’ announcer Mike James was there to bring all the action to you live on 1400am GTO Good Time Oldies and WQXO.com. The Mustangs had just come off of a big win against the Rapid River Rockets the previous week, and as Munising progressed further in the playoffs, the action was sure to get more and more exciting! Munising had a record of 19 wins and one loss during the regular season, and the Bark River-Harris broncos came into the night with a regular season record of 18 wins and three losses. Both teams’ records indicated that this would be a hard-fought battle. The opening tip-off was won by the Munising Mustangs’ own Marissa Immel, but they were unable to fight through the tough Bronco defense to score any points. On the Broncos’ very next possession, they were able to score on a fast break lay-up for the first two points of the game. The Munising Mustangs found themselves up against a tough Bark River-Harris defense, which kept Munising’s scoring to a minimum in the first half of the first quarter. With a few minutes left in the first, and a score of six to one in favor of the Broncos, the Mustangs looked to retake control of the game by relying on their own strong defense. With under two minutes left, Munising had fought their way back to a score of eight to five, but the score was still in favor of the Broncos. With one minute left in the quarter, Munising managed to tie the score at eight to eight, and this brought some life back into the Mustangs’ fans. With seconds left in the quarter, Frankie Mattson was able to steal the ball from a Broncos player right under their basket, but she was open-court fouled immediately before the quarter ended.
First Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 10
Bark River-Harris Broncos: 8
Second quarter action started with the Munising Mustangs in control of the ball, however, they were unable to score on their first possession of the quarter. On their next possession, Kianne Wendt helped the Mustangs to score two points, but the Broncos answered back right away to make the score 12-12, two minutes into the second quarter. The referees made it apparent that the game would be closely watched, as was made obvious by the numerous fouls called on each team. With four minutes left in the first half, the Munising Mustangs found themselves behind by a score of 15-16, which they were not used to seeing. The next play saw Bailey Downs feed her teammate for a quick lay-up to take the lead back for the Mustangs, but only by one point by a score of 19-18. As the first half wound to a close, Marissa Immel went “coast to coast” for a lay-up and two big points.
Second Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 24
Bark River-Harris Broncos: 18
The Second half of the game started with the Munising Mustangs in control of the in-bounds pass, but they turned the ball over to the Bark River-Harris Broncos’ full-court press. The very next play saw the Broncos again steal the ball from Munising, and this allowed them to tie the score at 24-24, only just over a minute into the second half. Fouls continued to be a problem for both teams, and the Mustangs’ Marissa Immel was in foul trouble with three fouls late in the third quarter. A scrum for the ball resulted in the Bark River-Harris Broncos having control of the ball with one minute left in the quarter, as they fought to stay ahead of the Mustangs buy a small, three-point lead. With fifty seconds left, Bailey Downs scored two points to bring the Mustangs closer to the Broncos as the game approached its final quarter.
Third Quarter Score:
Munising Mustangs: 30
Bark River-Harris Broncos: 33
The Munising Mustangs started the final quarter of play by scoring four quick points to take the lead by a score of 34-33. As the action heated-up, the referees continued to do their best to keep the game under their control, calling several fouls despite the audible disapproval from the crowd. Frankie Mattson had played the entire game foul-free, but in the fourth quarter, that came to an end. With a lead of 39-34 and just over five minutes left in the game, the Munising Mustangs finally began to put some distance between themselves and the Bark River-Harris Broncos. Melissa Ackerman had to take a seat with three minutes left in the game due to her fouls, and the Mustangs did their best to not let the loss affect their play. Both teams had players in foul trouble, but that was just a sign of the tough game that both teams had played. With two minutes left in the game, the Mustangs had accumulated a six-point lead over the Broncos, and as the score clock wound down, the Broncos’ play became more and more frantic, as they realized that their season would soon come to a close. Both teams played a great game, and that was evident due to the fact that these two teams had displayed great sportsmanship throughout the entire game, despite the tough play. With two point two seconds, Marissa Immel was flagrantly fouled for two free throw attempts, and this sealed the game for the Munising Mustangs.
Final Game Score:
Munising Mustangs: 48
Bark River-Harris Broncos: 45
