The Big Rapids Cardinals girls basketball squad saw their season come to an end Thursday night following a 62-50 setback to Petoskey at Traverse City Central in the MHSAA Region 9 Championship game.

Big Rapids led the Northmen 14-13 following the first quarter of play, hitting some timely three-point shots early. Petoskey would battle back late in the second, getting some timely offensive rebounds and putbacks to jump back in front of 26-22 at the half. 

The second half included a lot of free throws from the Northmen, using passes to post to generate 10 free throw chances and 14 points. The Cardinals leaned heavily on sophomore's Nuray and Nalaya Fricke to answer Petoskey's scoring with 13 points combined, making it 40-35 Northmen entering the final period. While Big Rapids got some key looks in the lane, the ball just wouldn't fall in the basket. Early points from Petoskey's Ella Sulitis gave the Northmen a double-digit lead, which they would use to hold off a final Cardinal push for the 12-point victory.

Big Rapids was led by sophomore Nuray Fricke with 22 points, followed by Nalaya Fricke with 15. Ava Pedigo added six points, while Vennix contributed five and Bronkema scored two.

The Northmen were led by Ella Sulitis with 16 points and Elaina Flynne with 14. Leah Sulitis added 11 points, Lauren LaHaie contributed 10, Lyla Janes tallied seven, and Julia Dieterle scored four.

Big Rapids finishes the season with a 20-5 record and a second regional championship appearence since 2023.