The Higbee boys and girls teams opened the season with a conference sweep over Southwest (Livingston Co.) on Friday. The girls led off with a 63-12 blowout, followed by a convincing 76-44 win by the boys.

Girls

Higbee 63

SW Livingston 12

Junior Lauren Spilman and senior Ronnie Welch combined for 43 of Higbee’s 63 total points. Spilman had a monster game for the Lady Tigers with 25 points and sank six 3-pointers on 50% shooting from behind the arc. Welch added 18 points, five assists, six rebounds, and seven steals after a tenacious night on defense.

“Ronnie was a whirlwind on the defensive end. The girls played with grit,” said Higbee coach Tanner Burton. “I felt that everyone stepped up and played well in an unbalanced game.”

Higbee finished the night with 26 steals and forced 43 turnovers.

“We hang our hat on the defensive end of the floor. Having eight girls get at least one steal is a big deal,” Burton said. “Girls having a knack for the ball allows our depth to come in and not impede our defensive energy.”

Seniors Raegan Derboven added seven points, and Marilynn Ritter added five.

“I like seeing Raegan Derboven get in the scoring column. The more confident she is, the better off we are, as she can help us force the defense to spread out more,” Burton said.

Higbee opened its first tournament of the season as the top seed in the Northwestern Tournament at Mendon this week. On Monday, the Lady Tigers handily won 80-14 over eighth-seeded Keytesville, which boasts just seven players after it was unable to field a team a year ago. They advance to the championship semifinals against Hale at 5:45 p.m. tonight (Wednesday). The winner will play for the tournament title at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Boys 

Higbee 76

SW Livingston 44

The Higbee boys scored a strong CLAA victory despite struggling from the 3-point line. The Tigers sank just one of 22 shots from the arc but made nearly half of their 2-point tries while pulling down 30 offensive rebounds to pull out the opening-night victory.

Four Tigers finished in double figures, led by senior Danny Janssen with a team-best 23 points on nine-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line. He also posted nine rebounds and three steals.

Sophomore Aaron Welch added 17 points with seven boards and a game-high seven steals. 

Sophomore Cale Nelson added 13 points with nine rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Junior Celton Crawford posted 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the double-double.

“The boys came out and played well overall,” said Higbee coach Tanner Burton. “We shot extremely poorly from behind the arc, which could be problematic down the road in big games. That will be something we have to give attention to in the days ahead. I appreciated the energy on the glass, especially in the first half. We moved the ball well and played unselfishly, which will be key for us as we advance through the season.”

Higbee scored 52 points in the paint, outrebounded SW Livingston 55-30, and made 30 steals.

Higbee opened the Northwestern Tournament in Mendon on Monday. The fourth-seeded Tigers edged fifth-seeded Bucklin-Macon County 53-49 

Higbee advances to the championship semifinals against top-seeded Brunswick at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.