Posen defeats Harbor Light to advance to regional finals Thursday at RCHS

MARCH 9, 2022-Posen (21-1) will play for a regional championship after stopping Harbor Light Christian (HL) 67-25 in the regional semifinals at Rogers City Tuesday. The Vikings will take on the Pickford Panthers, winners over Engadine, Thursday, (March 10) at 7 p.m. at Rogers City. 

Elizabeth Romel made a steal and sent a Harbor Light guard crashing to the floor on this play.

The Vikings had a strong sustained effort Tuesday, going on several long runs while playing great defense and sharing the ball on the offensive side.

Tight Posen defense forced HL into a habit of launching 3-point attempts in the first quarter, all but one missing the mark. Meanwhile, Posen went out to a 13-7 lead, powered by six points from Romel on drives and four from Szatkowski on short jumpers. 

In the second quarter, Posen pushed the lead to 23-11 as Kamyszek, who scored 40 points in Posen’s district championship win, nailed her only field goal of the first half. She was set up by a crisp pass through the lane by junior point guard Faith Cousins at the 3:18 mark of the quarter. 

Romel’s clever steal of an inbounds pass and layup with seven seconds left in the half gave Posen a 26-14 halftime lead.

Ella Szatkowski puts in a jumper for Posen in the Vikings’ regional win. (Photos by Richard Lamb)

HL’s slight chances at an upset disappeared in the second half. With the score 30-18, after a 3-pointer by HL at the 4:33 point of the third quarter Szatkowski started a 20-0 run that carried over into the fourth quarter. Posen held HL off the scoreboard for nearly six minutes while expanding its lead to 50-18. 

“We started a little slow, but we had a lot of shots blocked inside. In the second half we settled down, took some 17-footers and hit some shots from the outside and it made it a lot easier on us,” said coach Karl Momrik after the game. 

Posen’s Makayla Kamyszek had 26 points in the regional tournament win over Harbor Light Tuesday.

Kamysz

ek, who had four points in the first half, scored 22 in the second half to lead Posen with 26 points. Szatkowski scored 12, Romel had 10 while Cousins and Ava Wesner each scored six. 

The winner of Thursday’s regional will take on the winner of the Baraga vs. Carney Nadeau game at a site to be determined, but likely in the Upper Peninsula. 

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Watch PIAdvance.com and our Facebook page for details on that game to be played Tuesday, March 15