PIB Panther Girls Take 4th Great Lakes Islands Tournament Basketball Championship
The Put-in-Bay Panther Lady Basketball Team came out on top for the fourth time in a row playing in Great Lakes Islands Tournaments. This year they beat the Islanders from Washington Island and the Beaver Island Bucks. Both islands are in lake Michigan. Mackinac Island was scheduled to play, but had to back out. The Panthers were victorious 37-26 against Beaver Island, and 44-10 over Washington island! Top Panther scorers for the tournament were Ava Heineman with 26 points and Lilian Frederick with 17 points.
The Panther boys split the tournament with a win over Beaver Island 41-7, but then lost to Washington Island 46-30. Doug Steidl was top Panther scorer with 23 points in the tournament. Geoffrey Luecke tossed in 17 points.
With a final combined tally of 3-1, the Panthers won the overall tournament.
On a side note, an anonymous donor came up with $2,000 when needed to help the Washington Island school basketball teams enjoy the tournament on Beaver Island. The island’s Lions Club provided funds to match school funds so that the student-athletes on the girls and boys basketball teams in grades eight through 12 could fly in private aircraft to the Great Lakes Island Basketball Tournament. A forecast for bad weather almost canceled the trip, but the anonymous donation paid for lodging for the students to show up early and stay late during the weekend of Dec. 2nd through 4th.
The Washington Island Bucks won the boys tournament, and the island’s extremely young girls team finished third out of three.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please visit the Put-in-Bay Gazette subscription form. This piece of Put-in-Bay journalism has been provided to putinbayohio.com courtesy of the Put-in-Bay Gazette, Put-in-Bay’s only local newspaper. Visit their website putinbay.news for more information and to subscribe!
