GCC women to host Region 13 final

By JASON JUNO

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Ironwood --- The Gogebic women’s basketball team needs one win to win a NJCAA Division II Region 13 championship and the game’s at home.

The Samsons will host the Region 13 title game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Their opponent was to be determined on Feb. 28 when Dakota College at Bottineau goes to United Tribes for the only Region 13 semifinal.

United Tribes went into the semifinal 11-16 while Dakota College at Bottineau was 14-16. United Tribes won the most recent matchup 76-75 on Feb. 21 while Bottineau took the first two, 75-65 on Nov. 29 and 108-87 on Jan. 29.

Bottineau averages 77.2 points per game and Tribes scores 69.9 a contest. Gogebic averages 59.1 points per game and completed the regular season at 8-14.

“Right now, I would say our Region is wide open,” Gogebic co-coach Denver Sharrow said. “Both teams can really score it, so it will be a tough matchup with whichever team advances.

“Both teams have outstanding offenses and for different reasons. Bottineau likes to press and get layups. UTTC can really shoot it well from deep. So both teams will have their challenges. But for us, we need to take care of the ball first and foremost. That along with hitting shots and rebounding — when we do those things we’re a pretty tough team.”

Four Bottineau players average double figures —- freshman guard Amari Butler at 18.8 points per game, sophomore guard Rozalind Strong and freshman center Hanna Plumbtree at 15.8 and freshman guard Kiara Comeaux at 13.2. Plumbtree is their top rebounder at 9.9 a game. Comeaux leads at 5 assists per game and Strong is close behind at 4.4.

Sophomore guard Myona Dauphinais leads United Tribes with 19.2 points per game, sophomore guard Tyleigh Brady is at 16 a game and freshman forward Alionna Lawrence 10.6. Brady leads the team with 4.1 assists a game and Lawrence leads with 6 rebounds per game.

Sophomore wing Kylee Hewitt of Hurley has set the tone for the Samsons all season. She leads them with 19.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

“Kylee has had so much success because she doesn’t get outworked,” Sharrow said. “She doesn’t take plays off and it’s a huge part of her game. She spent countless hours in the gym expanding her range and becoming a better finisher around the rim.”

Freshman guard Kate Borseth, a Ewen-Trout Creek graduate, has been scoring it well after a slow start, she averages 13.9 points and 3.1 assists per game. She hit 20 points five times with a high of 27 in a win at Vermilion on Feb. 21. Freshman guard Annabelle Besonen of Watersmeet leads at 3.2 assists a game.

“Kate has made huge strides throughout the season,” Sharrow said. “She’s our most skilled offensive player. She can handle it, shoot it and sees the floor extremely well. But our offense kind of goes through both Kate and Kylee. They’ve developed into a great 1-2 punch for us.”

Gogebic went 2-7 in 2023 but has played better in 2024 when they’ve gone 6-7.

“Our team has come so far in such a short amount of time,” Sharrow said. “Having a third or fourth player to lean on when things aren’t going for our main scorers is huge. We’ve been lucky to have multiple players step up and get comfortable in those types of roles.”