LocalSportsJournal.com

PETOSKEY — Ludington trailed by only four points at the half, but ended up losing 52-35 to a red-hot Negaunee girls basketball team Wednesday night in the Division 2 regional final in Petoskey.

The Miners have won 16 straight and improved to 25-1, while the Orioles saw their four-game winning streak snapped and finished 19-8.

In their regional semifinal win over Clare two nights ago, the Orioles got off to a slow start before picking up the pace in the second half and claiming the victory.

But it was a different story against Negaunee.

Elianna Jeruzal knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Orioles a quick 3-0 lead, and Jordyn Anderson followed that up when she put back an offensive rebound to make it 5-0. Ludington extended the early surge to 6-0 as Peyton Welch penetrated the paint for a bucket then added a free throw, and Rylee Stone scored on a baseline drive to give the Orioles a 10-5 lead.

Negaunee shook it off and reeled off an 8-0 run of its own to finish the first quarter with a 13-10 edge.

The Miners extended their streak to 12 straight and boosted their lead to 15-10 at the start of the second quarter.

Jeruzal brought the Orioles back within two with another triple, 17-15. Emma McKinley buried a 3-pointer later in the quarter before the Miners hit the last bucket of the half for a 26-24 edge.

An offensive putback by Jeruzal knotted the score at 26-26 early in the third. But the Miners answered with an 8-0 run and outscored the Orioles 16-7 to build a 13-point lead, 42-29, heading into the fourth quarter.

Ludington battled, but could not get the deficit under 10.

Jeruzal led the Orioles with a game-high 11 points, Welch and Anderson added five each and Stone had four.