Marquette, MI – January 17, 2019 – Two Top 5 girls basketball teams will do battle at Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night. The UPSSA #4 Negaunee Miners will play host to the #1 Westwood Patriots. Both coaches; Brandon Sager (Negaunee) and Kurt Corcoran (Westwood); joined the Sports Drive today to preview the monster matchup.
The Westwood Patriots are 11-0 coming into this game, while the Miners are 8-1. Being undefeated is a feeling Brandon Sager knows well after a 20-0 regular season last year, and a 7-0 start to this year. But after his team’s loss to West Iron County, he admitted he felt “relieved” that his team no longer deals will the pressure that comes with being undefeated.
Corcoran on the other hand embraces what it means to be undefeated. He said he and his team are “having fun with it.” He claims they talk about it and he feels it keeps his team loose. He’s not worried about his team losing a game, because if it happens they’re not eliminated from everything, but doesn’t think you should shy away from something that is obviously there. Embrace the elephant.
In addition to this being a cross-town rivalry, there is a bit of irony attached. After that 20-0 regular season from Negaunee last year, the miners were upset in their first District Tournament game. The team that upset them? The Westwood Patriots.
Tune into the Sports Drive weekdays from 3-5pm on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 – 99.9 and online at foxsportsmarquette.com
