Lady Raiders top Ionia 45-26 to win District Championship

The Portland High School girls basketball team traveled to Lakewood on Friday evening to face the Ionia Bulldogs in the district championship. The original 6:00 tip off time was moved up to 4:30 in due to a winter storm moving into the area.

Friday’s meeting was the third between the two squads this year. The Raiders have defeated Ionia 49-19 on January 6th at Portland, and 45-39 on February 10th at Ionia.

Portland advanced to the finals by beating Hastings 35-22 on Tuesday. Ionia defeated Lakewood 54-51 in their semi-final contest.

In Friday’s championship, Ionia was able to keep things close early, finishing the first quarter of play trailing the Raiders by only two points, but the Portland team was able to increase that lead as the gae went on. Portland would eventually win 45-26.

Ionia was led by senior guard Melayna Bramen who scored nine points.

Portland was led offensively by junior guard Malia Thelen who scored 16 points. Other Raiders who score include:

Lilly Thelen 12 points

Summer Stopcynski 7 points

Erica Russman 4 points

Jayden Townsend 2 points

Alexa Weber 2 points

Paige Spedoske 2 points

Portland now moves on to the regional bracket hosted by Comstock Park. The Raiders will have a formidable foe on Tuesday in Grand Rapids West Catholic (23-0 overall). That game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

The other side of the regional field includes Allendale (12-13 overall) and Grand Rapids Christian (18-5 overall). Those team play at 5:30 on Tuesday.

The regional championship is scheduled for Thursday at 7:00 PM.