GAYLORD ― Two years ago, Gaylord St. Mary girls basketball ended its regular season in agony, watching its Ski Valley Conference rival Inland Lakes celebrate the 2023-24 league title in Monsignor Kaminski Gymnasium.
A team led by mostly sophomores, players like Kaylee Jeffers, Payton Glasby, Emery Blust and Allyra Cook had to watch as the Bullsdogs took home an outright title when a win could’ve earned the Snowbirds a share of the crown.
GSM returned the favor last year, winning a closely contested matchup in Indian River to reclaim the league championship. This year, those four now-seniors got their moment in their final game on their home floor.
A night to celebrate GSM girls basketball’s talented and successful Class of 2026 doubled as a de facto SVC title game between No. 3 Gaylord St. Mary (21-1, 16-0 SVC) and No. 9 Inland Lakes (18-3, 14-2 SVC), the Bulldogs needing the win to earn a share of the championship crown while a St. Mary win would give the Snowbirds sole possession of the title.
GSM was stellar defensively yet again, holding a top ten-ranked team to single-digit point totals in three of four quarters during a 51-30 victory, holding on for the program’s second-straight outright SVC Championship and its seventh league title in nine seasons.
It was a special ending to another special season, especially for the four that make up GSM’s special senior class.
“We’ve been together, I mean, since elementary school playing together,” said Jeffers. “I’m just proud of everything that we’ve accomplished.”
Seniors lead balanced scoring attack, dominant defensive effort
The Class of 2026 had a year to learn behind the upperclassmen before them prior to being thrust into the fire, leading a team with just one senior on it back in 2023-24.
“We lost all of our upperclassmen a few years ago and we just built this program up,” said Jeffers. “I think that as leaders, we’ve taken on a big responsibility at a young age. I’m proud of everything we did build our team up to be where we are today.”
What they built is a team with over 100 wins over the past four years, extended its district title streak to five consecutive seasons and put GSM in a position to make another deep run in the Division 4 playoffs. They’ve done that by staying true to the principles coach Pat Schutlz preaches: a balanced scoring attack and an elite press defense.
The matchup with IL was a prime example of those principles on display; GSM held the No. 9 ranked team in D4 to five points in the first quarter, four points in the fourth quarter and just 30 points overall, their second-lowest final score of the season.
Jeffers led the scoring effort with 12 points, Cook had 10, Glasby had 7 and Blust had 6.
Snowbirds bid farewell to home floor, now eye bigger prize
Everything about Thursday night was an ode to the GSM seniors and what they’ve accomplished since taking the reins of the program in 2023-24. GSM has gone 59-14 overall and 45-5 in league play in three seasons, made back-to-back trips to the D4 regional finals, and, now, has back-to-back outright SVC titles to add to that resume.
“When we were little, I never thought that we would be at the top of the school and these teams. I’m just proud of everything we’ve done, and it’s sad to see it come to an end after nine years of us playing basketball,” said Payton Glasby.
“I’m just so proud of us girls for getting to showcase how hard we’ve worked since the offseason,” said Emery Blust. “Since April, we’ve been in the gym two to three times a week, been in the gym at 8 a.m. every Saturday morning and just the endless work we’ve put in, it makes it all worth it now.”
And, while the celebration was far from ending nearly an hour after the game, it was hard for the Snowbirds not to start eyeing their next steps in the postseason.
“I’m so proud and happy that our energy paid off. I feel like we can go far. I feel like when we need the energy, like tonight, we get the energy we need,” said Allyra Cook.
“You could call it our revenge tour,” said Blust. “We’re ready with so much momentum after this game, and we’re going to be coming in with so much energy and wanting to take it all.”
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: GSM girls basketball celebrates senior night with second straight SVC title
Reporting by Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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