01/30/2007

Cornerstone-Aquinas showdown set

By MARK URBAN

murban@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Cornerstone University knows how to go into a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference basketball showdown: on a roll.

The Eagles (16-7) won their sixth straight game and theiR eighth in the last nine with an 83-77 victory over the Indiana Institute of Technology.

Cornerstone is 7-1 in conference play and tied for first with Aquinas. The Eagles host Aquinas on Wednesday and will try to avenge their lone league loss of the season.

Senior forward Andy Bronkema (McBain) had 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists in Saturday's victory. His brother Luke, a junior forward, added 11 points and one steal and freshman guard Corbin Donaldson (Petoskey) two assists and one steal.

Andy Bronkema had 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals in a 73-65 triumph over Davenport University on Wednesday. Luke Bronkema added three points and Donaldson two points, two rebounds and one steal.

Aquinas (15-9) kept pace with Cornerstone by beating the University of Michigan-Dearborn (74-48) on Saturday and Siena Heights (69-66) on Wednesday.

Junior guard Jeff Wierzbicki (Elk Rapids) had 18 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal against Dearborn and 15 points and eight boards against Siena Heights.

Freshman guard Matt McDonald (Cadillac) had seven points and one assist in Wednesday's victory and three points, three assists, three rebounds and one steal versus Dearborn.

• The University of Michigan women's basketball team broke a four-game losing streak on Sunday with a 65-63 triumph over Indiana.

Freshman guard Kalyn McPherson (TC West) had a strong all-around game in the win by the Wolverines (9-13, 2-7 Big Ten).

McPherson had six points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds against the Hoosiers. McPherson, who is averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds a game, is tied for second in steals per game (1.0) and fifth in assists (0.9) for Michigan.

McPherson had two points, one steal and one rebound in a 73-60 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday.

• Harvard scored its final 14 points from the free-throw line to top Brown University 92-88 on Saturday.

Five players fouled out for the Bears (6-13, 1-3 Ivy League) including junior guard Damon Huffman (Petoskey) and sophomore forward Scott Friske (Charlevoix).

Both did damage before being forced to sit down.

Huffman had a game-high 26 points by hitting a trio of 3-pointers and nailing 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. Friske added 18 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Brown also lost 56-52 at Dartmouth on Friday. Huffman had eight points and six rebounds and Friske eight points and three boards.

• Michigan State's track teams continued their indoor season at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday.

A pair of area runners placed in the 3,000 meters for MSU.

Freshman Josh Hofbauer (Harbor Springs) was third in the men's race in 8:31.31. Freshman Thereseann Zimmerman (Gaylord) was 14th in the women's race in 10:25.39.

• After a 69-60 loss to Gannon on Monday in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association crossover, the Grand Valley State University women's basketball team bounced back to beat Wayne State (73-50) on Thursday and Ashland (94-61) on Saturday.

Junior guard Courtney Hammond (East Jordan) had eight points and nine rebounds for Grand Valley (16-4, 9-2 GLIAC) in the win over Ashland. She added six points, four rebounds and two steals against Wayne State.

• It was a tough weekend for the Ferris State University hockey team, which lost 6-2 on Saturday and 9-4 on Friday to the University of Michigan in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Sophomore forward Corey Couturier (TC Central) had an assist, his fourth of the season, and was just a minus-1 in Friday's loss by the Bulldogs (7-18-3, 4-14-2 CCHA). Couturier had two shots on goal on Saturday and one the game before.

• The University of Michigan women's indoor track team won the two-day Michigan Intercollegiate Championships, which concluded on Saturday at Central Michigan University.

U-M finished with 178 points, 13½ ahead of runner-up Western Michigan.

A pair of area athletes competed in the pole vault for the Wolverines.

Red-shirt sophomore Sarah Conkle (Bellaire) placed fifth at 11'5¾” to earn the Wolverines two points. Fifth-year senior Kelly Catino (TC Central) was eighth in 10'11¾” and just missed the final.

• The Lake Superior State University women's basketball team is tied with Grand Valley State atop the GLIAC's North Division.

The Lakers (14-5, 9-2) posted victories over Wayne State (80-62) on Saturday and Hillsdale (69-51) on Thursday.

Freshman forward Jill Walton (Kingsley) had three points, one rebound and one assist against Wayne and seven points, two steals and one assist against the Hillsdale (12-6, 7-3), which got five points and seven rebounds from senior Lauren Fewins (TC St. Francis).

• The Madonna University basketball team received a pair of double-digit scoring games from senior guard Adam Kerfoot (Gaylord St. Mary) last week.

Kerfoot had 12 points as Madonna (8-16, 4-4 WHAC) dropped a 78-77 decision to Davenport University on Saturday.

Kerfoot pumped in 20 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds in an 81-73 triumph over Concordia University on Wednesday.

• The Central Michigan University men's basketball team ended a three-game losing streak in the Mid-American Conference with a 71-68 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday.

Freshman guard Robbie Harman (TC Central) had five points, two assists and two steals for the Chippewas (8-11, 3-5 MAC).

Harman also had five points and three steals in a 72-52 loss to Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday.

• Sophomore forward Lynne Blomberg (Harbor Springs) continues to come up big for the Davenport University women's basketball team.

Blomberg had 23 points — knocking down three 3-pointers — to go along with 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal as the Panthers (18-6, 6-2 WHAC) topped Madonna University 84-73 on Saturday.

Blomberg had 22 points, eight rebounds and one steal in an 82-70 triumph over Cornerstone University on Wednesday.

• The Central Michigan University men's track team beat the University of Detroit (70-38) and lost to host Eastern Michigan University (86½-42½) in a double dual meet on Saturday. The meet was CMU's first team-scored competitions of the season.

Junior Andrew Manning (TC Central) was third in the 3,000 meters (8:49.02) for the Chippewas.

• The Calvin College women's basketball team played one game in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and one outside the league, winning them both.

Junior guard Nikki Zimmerman (TC West) had five points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds in a 67-46 victory over Adrian on Saturday.

Senior guard Meredith Blazejewski (Benzie Central) had eight points for Adrian.

Zimmerman had five points and four assists as the Knights (17-1, 10-0 MIAA) crushed Rochester 99-36 in a non-league game on Wednesday.

• The Middlebury (Vt.) College ski team took third at the University of New Hampshire Winter Carnival on Friday.

Dartmouth won the event with 784 points followed by Vermont (702) and Middlebury (669).

Sophomore Cassidy Edwards (Glen Lake) placed in both nordic events for Middlebury.

Edwards was fourth in the 5-kilometer freestyle race (19:45.3) and 12th in the 10K classic (37:22.7).

Also for Middlebury, sophomore Andrew Wagner (TC Christian) was eighth in the slalom (1:38.88).

• Freshman Austin Randel (McBain) had a pair of double-digit scoring performances in North Greenville (S.C.) losses.

Randel had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in a 66-65 loss to Lincoln Memorial on Saturday and 13 points, one assist and one steal in an 88-74 loss to Morris on Monday.

North Greenville is 8-10 this season.

• The Lake Superior State University men's basketball team split a pair of games last week, losing 77-54 to Wayne State on Saturday and beating Hillsdale 59-47 on Thursday.

Sophomore guard Mark Morse (Harbor Springs) had nine points, two rebounds, one assist and one block for LSSU (8-12, 5-6 GLIAC). Morse had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists against Hillsdale.

• Senior Sarah Jurik (Mesick) and junior Lindsay Lange (Manistee) helped the Hope women's basketball team improve to 17-2 overall and 9-2 in the MIAA.

Lange had seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal and Jurik six points, two assists, two rebounds and one steal in a 101-53 rout of Kalamazoo on Saturday.

Jurik had 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in a 91-56 romp over Tri-State University on Wednesday. Lange added six points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

• The Coulter sisters of TC Central both placed in the top 15 at a NorAm SuperTour nordic skiing event in Wisconsin.

Julia Coulter, a red-shirt freshman at Alaska-Fairbanks, was 10th in 12:55 while Anna, a sophomore, was 13th.

• The struggles of the Spring Arbor University men's basketball team continued with a pair of losses last week.

Spring Arbor fell to 3-8 in the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference with an 85-75 loss to Goshen (Ind.) on Saturday. Senior forward Scott Parrish (Charlevoix) had 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Cougars (15-10) while freshman guard Richard Blair (Pellston) added four points, two assists and two steals.

Parrish had 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal in a 60-57 loss to Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday. Blair added four points, two steals, two rebounds and one assist.

• Alma College lost a pair of MIAA women's basketball games last week, falling 68-55 to Albion on Saturday and 66-58 to Saint Mary's on Wednesday.

Freshman Megan Hoblet (Cadillac) had nine points and three rebounds against Albion and six points in Wednesday's defeat.

• The Notre Dame hockey team earned three points in its CCHA weekend showdown with Miami of Ohio.

Sophomore forward Justin White (TC West) was a plus-1 in Friday's 4-1 victory by the Irish (21-5-2, 15-3-2 CCHA). He also played in Saturday's 2-2 tie.

• Freshman forward Jenny Loney (Frankfort) pulled down a pair of rebounds for the Western Michigan University women's basketball team in an 82-58 rout of Akron on Saturday.

The Broncos are 9-13 overall and 2-6 in the MAC.