The first half of the Jack Pine Conference girls’ basketball season is in the books, and Gladwin is in the middle of a storybook campaign.
The Flying G’s beat host Beaverton, 55-49, in a battle of unbeaten, to sit alone atop the standings, with a perfect 7-0 mark.
Gladwin had rolled over its first six conference opponents by an average of about 40 points per game, but the defending champions did not slip down into second place without a fight.
The Flying G’s led just 14-13 at the end of the first quarter and 31-25 at the half before the Beavers rallied in the third quarter and even took the lead at one point. Then, Carley Cote hit a couple key 3-pointers down the stretch, and the visitors took home a hard-fought win.
“Beaverton always brings it when they play us,” said Gladwin coach Emily Cote. “A rivalry game like that can go either way, and we didn’t go in there taking anything for granted. We were just glad to come out on the winning end, especially at their place.”
Carley Cote led the winners with 21 points. Carley Hickey had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks.
The Beavers were led by Alicia Aldrich, who had a huge night, with a game-high 25 points.
“Alicia was strong for them,” said Coach Cote, “but we got contributions from quite a few different people at key times, and the three-pointers Carley made toward the end kind of propelled us to the win.”
The Flying G’s are enjoying the strong start, but it’s not like someone is going to hand them half a trophy at the end of the year if they don’t finish the job the second time through the league campaign.
“Beaverton, Clare, and Gladwin are the three strongest teams, and the rest of our league is down a bit this year,” said Cote, “but any of the rest of the games can be dangerous if we are not ready to play, because the people we beat pretty badly the first time are going to be coming after us.”
A mixture of veterans and younger contributors has been key to the success.
“We’re having a good year, and we’re having fun,” said Cote. “We’re getting good senior leadership, and the younger girls are playing well.
“We know the league is ours for the taking, but we can’t take that lightly. We need to be confident, but not cocky, and there is a big difference. Nothing is going to be given to us. We still have to earn it.”
The G’s may be flying high these days, but they are not a fly-by-night organization. Cote is in her sixth year at the helm of the varsity, and she is building the program from the bottom up for the long haul. “I figured it would take five years to turn this program around,” she said, “and we’ve been able to do that with some great assistant coaches and the people in our feeder program who are making it happen.
“It’s nice to win right now, but I never stop thinking about what is going on with the second, third,and fourth grade teams. That’s how you build a program, and it can’t be done in a hurry. It’s a lot of work, but I am passionate about it, and I am willing to do it.”
Carly Cote led Gladwin in scoring with a 14.5 points per game average at the midway point. Lauren Mose averaged 10, and Dayna Fennell 8.
Aldrich was the league’s top scorer with a 16.4 average for the Beavers. Natalee Kunse averaged 15 per game to lead Clare, while Houghton Lake’s Hailee Akin averaged 12.