Tuesday night in Mount Pleasant was one for the books, as 2025 is off to a hot start in Mid Michigan. Coach Josh French and his Oilers came into the contest at 4-2, and 2-0 in SVL Play.
They were hosting Coach Ryan Trevithick and his 5-2 Flint Powers-Catholic Chargers. The Chargers had yet to play a game in the SVL this season, and they were in for a good one visiting the Oilers.
Powers Catholic is led by Junior Guard Kendyl Smith, who is a 2026 CMU Commit. Her older sister Amaya is a current Freshman with the Chippewas – so in result, the entirety of the CMU Women’s Basketball team as well as Coach Kristin Haynie and her staff were in attendance to watch Kendyl and the Chargers take on the Oilers.
A primetime opportunity for the Oilers Girls to put their talent on display in front of an impressive crowd – and they did not disappoint.
Starting off in the 1st, both teams were letting it fly from downtown, as Ava Petrino started the game just like she did in the Backyard Brawl – with a triple. Kendyl Smith showed off her range early, knocking down a set of threes from way downtown – one of them coming from the “Oilers” print on the deep right side of the floor.
Senior guard Jordyn Egger was answering these 3-balls with a few of her own, as she led Mount Pleasant with 6 at the end of the 1st where we were tied up at 13.
In the 2nd quarter things picked up, as the fast-paced play propelled both teams play styles. A ton of steals, ton of triples, and up-and-down action kept us tied at the break 31-31. Kendyl Smith hit 6 threes in the first half alone to finish with 21 – but Mount Pleasant answered with 7 team three pointers themselves.
In the 3rd quarter it was back-and-forth for the first several minutes, with no team breaking a lead bigger than one score. Towards the end of the quarter however, the Chargers would pull away to take a 55-48 lead heading into the final 8…or what we expected to be.
In the 4th, Powers Catholic slowed their pace down to drain clock, and led 58-50 with about 5 1/2 minutes to go. The Oilers would use this to their advantage however, and not allow another field goal for the remainder of regulation.
Bella Colores, Ava Petrino, and Jordyn Egger all hit big shots in the final 5 – and with less than a minute left, down 59-56 Coach French called a timeout to draw up a play. And the Oilers came out and executed to perfection. Alexis Trepanier caught the ball on the right wing and dished it down low to Ava Petrino who was coming off of a back screen. Petrino put it up, finished the lay and got fouled!
Petrino knocked down the free throw, and the Oilers got a stop on the other end with a block on Kendyl Smith to send it to OT!
I had already tagged this as the game of the year before OT, so this was just the icing on the cake.
In overtime, the Oilers came out HOT with a Bella Colores triple, followed by a Ava Petrino mid range jumper before the Chargers were able to score. Mount Pleasant held onto a tight lead throughout OT, and Jordyn Egger and Kylie Hutchins knocked down clutch free throws down the stretch to lead to the victory.
A late 30-foot three pointer from Kendyl Smith got the Chargers down 2 with 0.3 remaining, but it would not be enough as the Oilers came out on top!
Mount Pleasant went on to win 70-68 in an overtime thriller, led by the senior trio.
Ava Petrino led with 20 points – hitting two threes, Bella Colores dropped 18 with 4 three pointers! And Jordyn Egger finished with 16 points hitting three triples. Mount Pleasant made 10 three pointers as a team, a squad that came in averaging just over 4 makes a game from deep.
Kendyl Smith finished the game with 42 points for the Chargers, destroying the previous high of 27 in a game we have covered this season. The ’26 CMU Commit hit 9 threes alone, but the Oilers did a great job matching her downtown dominance all game long.
2025 has just started, but it’s hard to see another game topping the thriller at MPHS last night.
Coming up next for the Oilers is Essexville Garber on the road this Thursday.
And up next on our local high school basketball coverage is Sacred Heart Boys vs Merrill this Friday!
Kyle Sandel – Buck92 Sports Director
