Bellaire girls, Ellsworth boys see seasons end abruptly

REGION — The Bellaire girls basketball team was about an hour from leaving for Traverse City on Thursday to try and win their second regional title in three years.

Then, the word from the Michigan High School Athletic Association came — both the girls and boys basketball postseason tournaments were cancelled in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The abrupt cancellation of the remainder of the high school basketball tournaments came a few hours after the MHSAA had originally called for games with a limited number of spectators consisting of parents or guardians.

“It all happened so fast,” said Bellaire coach Brad Fischer. “Obviously very devastating and disappointing for the girls. I keep saying the word devastating but there’s more important things in the world, such as people feeling the real negative effects of the coronavirus, as far as their health. It’s OK for us to be frustrated, disappointed and upset because of how we were rolling and how things were going for us, without us taking away from what’s more important, which is people’s health and safety.”

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