BOYNE FALLS – For the third time in four seasons, the Inland Lakes girls basketball team will play for a regional championship.
They just hope the third time will be the breakthrough.
The Bulldogs booked their ticket to the final by rolling past Ellsworth 71-26 in an MHSAA Division 4 regional semifinal at Boyne Falls on Monday, March 9.
Inland Lakes (21-3) was all business from the start, opening the game on an 18-0 run and not allowing any Ellsworth points until there was 2:53 left in the first quarter. After the Lancers (14-10) made it 18-2 with their first field goal, the Bulldogs closed the quarter out on a 12-2 spurt and led 30-4 after one.
The Bulldogs kept their foot on the gas pedal, building a 51-12 lead by halftime.
Inland Lakes takes on Newberry (19-2) in a 7 p.m. regional final in Cheboygan on Wednesday, March 11. The Indians captured a 26-14 victory over St. Ignace in a semifinal at Sault Ste. Marie on Monday.
If the Bulldogs win, it would be a first-ever regional title for either basketball program at Inland Lakes. In I-L’s two most recent regional final appearances, the Bulldogs lost to Mackinaw City in 2023 and St. Ignace in 2025.
This story will be updated with stats and reactions later this evening.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes powers into regional final with victory over Ellsworth
Reporting by Jared Greenleaf, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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