Michigan Lutheran Seminary is 2-8 against Hemlock since February of 2018 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals will head out on the road to square off against the Hemlock Huskies at 5:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They really took it to Merrill for the full four quarters, racking up a 59-32 victory. The score was all tied up 19-19 at the break, but the Cardinals were the (much) better team in the second half.
| 01/14/25 @ Merrill | 7 |
| 01/13/25 @ Genesee Christian | 4 |
| 01/10/25 @ Carrollton | 4 |
| 01/07/25 vs Valley Lutheran | 2 |
| 12/16/24 vs Mayville | 6 |
Michigan Lutheran Seminary's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kerin Gardner, who went 8 for 15 on her way to 18 points and seven steals, and Grace Steiger, who went 7 of 9 on her way to 14 points in addition to seven boards and three steals. Gardner has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Charli Alcorn, who posted five points along with seven boards, six assists, and six steals.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Hemlock had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36.3 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bulldogs 81-44. The Huskies pushed the score to 58-35 by the end of the third, a deficit the Bulldogs had little chance of recovering from.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary better keep an eye on Victoria Hauffe. She was instrumental in Hemlock's win, going 9 of 17 on her way to 24 points and seven steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Klaira Salo, who put up 13 points and five assists.
Hemlock pushed their record up to 8-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 28.0 points per game. As for Michigan Lutheran Seminary, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Michigan Lutheran Seminary has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.5 boards per game. However, it's not like Hemlock struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary ended up a good deal behind Hemlock in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, losing 50-35. Thankfully for Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Kylee Miller (who went 8 of 16 on her way to 20 points) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
