Yellowjackets swarm Romeo to advance to Sweet 16
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
WATERFORD — There are nights when the shots aren’t falling, even by a crisp-shooting such as Auburn Hills Avondale.
AVOIDING CONFLICT: Auburn Hills Avondale's Quennece Garrison avoids the elbow of Romeo's Leah Konieczki during Tuesday's 49-34 Class A regional semifinal win. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
The Yellowjackets do have their defense to fall back on and rode those coattails Tuesday night at Waterford Mott.
Avondale turned up the defensive pressure, forcing 18 turnovers while limiting Romeo to only 13 field goals and turned in a 49-34 triumph in a Class A regional semifinal.
The Yellowjackets advance to the Sweet 16 and will face Detroit Renaissance at 7 p.m. Thursday at Waterford Mott for the regional championship.
Avondale (22-2) held Romeo to 11 first-half points, but led by only five at the break. The Yellowjackets finished 14-for-39 from the floor in the game, yet held the Bulldogs to just 13-for-40 shooting and 1-of-8 from outside the 3-point arc.
Romeo did not make a three-pointer until hitting a trey at the final buzzer.
“That probably the worst shooting night of the season we had,” admitted Avondale coach Dave Muczynski. “Sometimes in a tournament game like this it’s surviving. That’s what we did. What a group of fantastic players they had. They did a good job preparing for us. They knew our sets. We had to keep working through them, be a little more patient on offense.”
Avondale led 24-16 with 5:30 to go in the third quarter before closing the frame on a 10-2 run to go up 34-18. Romeo (15-8) could not close the gap to under 12 points the rest of the way.
Avondale limited senior guard Ashley Flinn to 11 points and four assists and backcourt running mate Shanyn McIntyre scoreless. Senior forward Leah Konieczki had eight points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Avondale was held to an uncharacteristic 2-for-10 shooting touch from 3-point land and committed 19 turnovers. Yet the Yellowjackets trailed only once, 2-0, 45 seconds into the contest.
Hannah Little finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, as Romeo could not slow the junior forward inside. Sophomore Quennece Garrison added 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while senior guards Courtney Williams and Andrea Strauss scored seven and six points, respectively.
“That third quarter, we took advantage of it,” said Muczynski. “We held a very good Romeo team to (34) points. (We allowed) 11 points in the first half.
“We left a lot of points off the board with the early-game bugs,” added Muczynski. “If we made those layups we should have made, who knows? But that’s how the tournament goes. “
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Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, High School, Prep Wraps
