The Leelanau News Blog
leelanau county news • traverse city news • michigan news

March 12

The Record-Eagle has a feature on  Leland's 72-45 loss at the hands of Muskegon West Michigan Christian in the Class D quarterfinal:

"I thought we were playing some of our best ball as of late, but we just did not get it going tonight. I give West Michigan Christian credit. They took us out of our game. We had a hard time shooting it over the top. We had a hard time getting it inside. They're a fine basketball team."

Marcus Whittaker paced Leland with 22 points.

"They played great defense," Whittaker said. "Defensively, they were prepared

Congratulations on a great year, Comets!

March 10

The Record-Eagle has a cool feature titled Links to the past that compares Leland's team with the Northport team that Leland coach Jason Stowe played on:

"I was joking with the kids about the unheralded guy hitting that last second shot," Stowe said, "because 20 years ago on the exact same court, the exact same basket, I got the chance to do the exact same thing."

Stowe's buzzer-beater in 1988 propelled Northport to a 67-65 win over Glen Lake in a Class D district final at Central a victory the Wildcats used as a springboard to winning a state championship.

March 6

The Record-Eagle reports that Leland Comets (21-4) pulled out a 48-46 thriller over Bellaire to win the Regional championship. Leland will face Muskegon West Michigan Christian Tuesday's quarterfinal at Traverse City West at 6 PM. Check out Larsen lifts Leland to regional title for more (including photos).

March 4

Leland survived a charge by Mio and went on to a 83-59 victory in the first round of Regionals last night. They will meet Bellaire (who managed to hold off a tough Posen club 67-60) on Wednesday at 7 PM at Traverse City Central.

March 3

Leland captured the District title on Friday night at Northport, handling St. Marys 76-28 to become the last team standing in the 2008 high school basketball tournament.

Leland faces Mio tonight in the Regional opener at Traverse City Central at 7:30 PM with the regional final on Wednesday.

For a nice preview of the tournament road ahead for the Comets, check out Boys' Class D District survivor going to T-C in the Leelanau Enterprise.

(updated Thursday, Feb 28)

Glen Lake pulled off a hat trick by beating Suttons Bay for the third time this year with a 56-50 victory on Monday (see Record-Eagle story). Last night against Charlevoix the Lakers lost a 74-73 thriller (story coming soon we hope!).

In Class D action Leland followed up a 72-31 victory over Northport on Monday with a 79-42 defeat of Beaver Island. Lake Leelanau St Mary likewise rolled into Friday's final with a 79-24 victory over Leelanau School on Monday and 69-16 triumph over Grand Traverse Academy.

Our 2008 Tournament coverage continues...

Iron Mountain became the first Upper Peninsula team to earn a trip to the Class C state semifinals by battling past Suttons Bay 27-25, 25-14, 14-25, 20-25, 15-10. Suttons Bay coach Mike Kelly said. "I'm proud of my girls. They went down 2-0 and played like champions. The last game they played their hearts out, they just got beat by the better team." Suttons Bay finished with a record of 54-13-2. Read Prep Volleyball: Iron Mountain topples Norse in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
In Class D regional hoops action last night, Leland fell to undefeated Bellaire 67-47. The Comets had won 15 out of their last 16 games and started strong but fell victim to turnovers. Leland coach Jason Stowe remained upbeat: "We had a very good season. I just told the seniors they've got a lot to be proud of. They got the (Cherryland) conference trophy back. They got the district trophy back." Read a recap in the Record-Eagle.

The Suttons Bay volleyball team captured the regional volleyball trophy for the 3rd year in a row. They beat Rogers City 25-10, 25-16, 12-25, 25-23 in the semifinal and then bounced back after losing the opener to Kingsley 20-25 to take the match 25-15, 25-13, 25-10. They take a 54-12-2 record into a Tuesday quarterfinal meeting at Kalkaska at 6 PM vs. Iron Mountain (30-1). Read Prep Volleyball Roundup: Norse claim 3rd straight region in the Record-Eagle.

The defending State Champion Leland volleyball team didn't fare quite as well. The Comets started strong with a sweep of Central Lake but fell to a tough Marion squad in 5 games. They finished with a record of 47-16-1, and you can read more and see some photos from the Record-Eagle.

In boys basketball action, the lone county team playing, Leland, crushed Traverse City Christian 80-32 to capture the district crown (RE article). The Comets play Tuesday night at 6 PM at Traverse City Central vs. #3 Bellaire.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that Suttons Bay fell to Kalkaska by a score of 55-44 and then Kingsley defeated Glen Lake 59-40 in Class C District action.

In the Class D district opener at Leland, the host Comets turned it on in the 4th quarter to defeat two-time defending district champion Northport 62-50. According to One and undone: Comets foil district jinx in the TCRE, Leland coach (and Northport alum) Jason Stowe said:

"Northport's won it the last two years and we never got a chance to play them. The last two years we've been out in the first round. To get a win tonight was pretty important, to kind of get that little monkey off our backs a little bit."

Lake Leelanau St. Mary fell 56-50 to Traverse City Christian last night in a hard-fought game. Leland meets TC Christian on Friday.

Girls Volleyball

In the Class D District Draw for volleyball, Leland will play Northport in first round action starting @ 11 AM this Saturday (March 3rd). Championship match will be after the first game with the winner playing TC Christian for the District Crown.

In Class C at Kalkaska, Suttons Bay faces Kalkaska in the opening game at 10 AM.
Boys Basketball

District play for Boys Basketball will start Monday March 5th at Leland with Leland taking on Northport @ 7 PM. On Wednesday St Mary’s and TC Christian will play and Friday will be the championship game @ 7 pm.

In Class C action at Kalkaska, Suttons Bay faces Kingsley at 6 PM on March 5 and Glen Lake follows at 8 PM vs Kalkaska. If victorious, Suttons Bay would face Traverse City-St Francis and Glen Lake, Forest Area on Wednesday with finals Friday.

Glen Lake & Suttons Bay squared off in Class C action at Kalkaska Monday night, and the Lady Norseman emerged with a 46-32 victory. On Wednesday night, they powered past Fife Lake-Forest Area 51-29. On Friday, Northwest Conference rival Kingsley downed Suttons Bay 65-41 in the Class C district basketball final. Read the Record-Eagle story.
The Class D district tournament opened Tuesday night at Traverse City Christian. Lake Leelanau St. Mary's fell to the TC Christian Sabres 68-33 in the opener. In the 2nd game, Leland topped Northport 55-30. Read Sabres, Comets advance to district final in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

In the district final, TC Christian defeated Leland 56-32, giving Christian its first Class D district basketball title since 2001 and only its second overall. More in Prep Basketball: TC Christian claims district in the Record-Eagle.

Updated at 3:23 PM
Shimek traded to Houston
In what is becoming a crazy day for Liz Shimek, the Phoenix Mercury have traded Shimek (18th pick) and Mistie Williams (21st pick) to Houston for the (15th pick) Ann Strother.

====================

Updated at 2:30 PM
Phoenix drafts Shimek in 2nd round
The Phoenix Mercury drafted Glen Lake grad Liz Shimek with the 18th pick overall (2nd round) of the 2006 WNBA draft. Congrats to Liz as she joins a young team that includes former UConn star Diana Taurasi and center Kamila Vodichkova.

See the entire draft board.

====================

Liz Shimek has had amazing high school and college careers and now looks to add a pro basketball career to her resume. The 2006 WNBA Draft is set for 1 PM today and Shimek is expected to go in the late first round. Shimek scored 9 points and grabbed 6 boards in 20 minutes of action at the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp on Monday.

Follow the 2006 WNBA Draft at WNBA.com
Read Liz Shimek's Draft Profile at WNBA.com
Read Shimek awaits draft call in the Record Eagle

Shimek also was named an honorable mention All-American for the second straight year.

Read Liz Shimek Earns Honorable Mention All-America Honors at MSUSpartans.com

Last night the Northport Wildcats were defeated 85-55 by a very tough Bay City All Saints squad. Drew Mitchell, a 6-3 junior, paced the Wildcats (14-9) with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks. Cody Brown added 13, all in the first half. Congratulations on a solid year, Northport!
Read Wildcats knocked off by All Saints