PRESS CONTACT:
Irene Borak
Director of Public Relations
10775 N. St. Helen Road
Roscommon, MI 48653
(989) 275-5000 ext. 242
ROSCOMMON – In what Kirtland’s head coach called a real “heartbreaker,” the Lady Firebirds lost 89-87 to Mott Community College in Flint on Saturday, Feb. 4.
“This was probably the hardest coaching loss I have had to take,” said second-year coach Teresa Stuck about her Kirtland team. “We played tremendously and really deserved to win this game.”
In fact, the Lady Firebirds were up by 13 points with three and one-half minutes to go in the game.
“Then we lost our heads, and lost our second game in a row by 2 points,” she said. “Our last three losses have now been by a combined 8 points.”
Even the fans will attest to the heart the Lady Firebirds have been showing on the court; they make it a real pleasure to be in the stands. But that heart isn’t reflected in their 11-14 overall record (4-7 in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association).
Mott is now 16-6 overall and shares second place in the MCCAA (6-2) with Schoolcraft College behind the conference leaders, Delta College.
Rena Barnett (freshman, LeRoy) was top scorer in the contest for the Firebirds with 23 points, followed by Lizz Stempki (freshman, St. Ignace) with 20 points, Emily Henion (freshman, Frederic) with 18 and Chelsey Williams (freshman, Houghton Lake) with 12.
“Chelsey played really well,” Stuck noted. “Some calls went against her that led to foul trouble but she was really a force in the paint and finished her shots very well. Rena was also very aggressive tonight in looking for her shot and Emily Henion also did the same. These two are becoming quite the complementary back court!”
Stuck continued her praise.
“Ashley Andrews (sophomore, West Branch) also played some key minutes in handling the pressure imposed by Mott and Shekira Knowles (freshman, Bahamas) also played a nice role for us in this game,” she said.
“I attribute tonight’s loss to our youth, but we are learning how to win as a team and especially with eight freshmen,” Stuck said. “We are going to get over that hump soon, I can feel it. Our confidence is growing but it’s still just shy of assuring us some victories. But we have five more games before regionals to continue to work on that and I truly believe that when regionals roll around in March, we are going to get Kirtland’s first regional victory.”
The first of those five games is Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Port Huron where the Lady Firebirds will take on St. Clair County CC. Then they’re back home, this time playing at the Houghton Lake High School gymnasium, on Saturday, Feb. 11, hosting Delta College. Game time on Saturday is 1 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 3 p.m.