Girls Basketball

Feature

Tessa Leece's unassuming rise to the top

12/5/2019 | Feature | By Eden Laase

Wes Leece can remember his daughter Tessa’s first 3-pointer perfectly. It wasn’t in a Westwood uniform, rather a homemade jersey for a 3-on-3 team called “The Pink Polka Dots.” He’s not sure if the 3-point line was legit, or if it was moved in. Tessa was in just second grade, so shooting from that distance wasn’t exactly a high-percentage shot....

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Feature

With Hill, Norman returning, O'Donnell takes over Negaunee girls program

Features

With Hill, Norman returning, O'Donnell takes over Negaunee girls program

12/3/2019 | By Bryce Derouin

Feature

2019-20 Girls Top 25 Rankings

12/3/2019 | By Staff

With Hill, Norman returning, O'Donnell takes over Negaunee girls program

12/3/2019 | Feature | By Bryce Derouin |

All around Negaunee, it’s the question Mike O’Donnell has gotten most: “What’s it like coaching girls compared to boys?” It’s fair to ask, considering it’s all he’s coached at the high school and Division III college level. The temperaments of...

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2019-20 Girls Top 25 Rankings

12/3/2019 | Feature | By Staff |

For the second year in a row, Upbeat conducted a preseason player rankings poll to rate the top 25 boys and girls basketball players in the UP. Five coaches and Bryce Derouin and Eden Laase of Upbeat ranked the girls...

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Feature

My first year: L'Anse's Chad Rice

5/20/2020 | Feature | By Bryce Derouin |

First-year coaches may meet some of the unexpected challenges high school basketball presents. So this offseason, Upbeat will check in with head coaches to have them reflect on their first varsity basketball head coaching experience and discuss how they will use that to shape the program going forward. We continue this series with Chad Rice, who led the L’Anse girls...

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Feature

How Lexi Gussert is exploring her passion for coaching

5/13/2020 | Feature | By Keith Shelton |

Here is everything you need to know about Lexi Gussert. It's not the miles of accolades, the power moves, the lighting up of scoreboards all across the Upper Peninsula, or the small-town kid who played D-1 basketball at Michigan State. It's that on a late Friday afternoon in Crystal Falls, Gussert, who just completed her Master's degree, was working with...

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Feature

Anderson's versatility keyed her to POY honors

4/17/2020 | Feature | By Eden Laase |

When Emma Anderson steps onto a basketball court, she’s hard to miss. Her appearance alone is striking: She’s 6-1 with white-blonde hair that stands out against her Maroon colored jersey.

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Column

Our snubs: All-UP Girls Basketball teams

4/14/2020 | Column | By Staff |

As is tradition, debates ensue in the wake of the All-UP announcements. Players’ skill sets are compared, resumes are discussed and any oversights one may feel are typically brought to attention. It’s the natural result of a subjective voting system that normally includes over 20 voters. This year, selecting the teams was less of an exact science than for previous...

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Podcast: Recapping the All-UP Girls Basketball teams

4/10/2020 | Feature | By Staff

Bryce and Eden recap the All-UP Girls Basketball teams and discuss the deep field of talent this year.

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Feature

2019-20 All-UP Girls Basketball teams

4/6/2020 | Feature | By Staff

The 2019-20 All-UP Teams as chosen by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. The UPSSA selected the teams through an online balloting system.

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