Chemics deliver knockout poison to Clarkston
END OF THE ROAD: Clarkston's Anna Manilla gives teammate Lindsey Reppuhn (No. 30) a hug at the end of the Wolves' 40-24 Class A regional finals loss to Midland. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotograpohy.com
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
FENTON — It has been years since Midland has even enjoyed the experience of playing in regional girls basketball game. Since reaching this level, the Chemics have figured they may as well stick around for a while.
Midland deployed some deadly defense on Clarkston, holding the Wolves to only seven field goals, no first half points all while forcing 26 turnovers in a 40-24 Class A regional finals victory.
The Chemics will take their poisonous defense to the Tuesday’s state quarterfinal game at Davison to meet Plymouth Canton, a 47-35 winner over Farmington Hills Mercy in another regional final Thursday night. It marked Midland’s first regional title in school history for girls basketball.
Midland only scored 17 first-half points and committed 14 first-half turnovers, but kept Clarkston off the scoreboard for a rare 17-0 lead at the half.
Clarkston's Breanca Cantrell (left) and Midland's Jessica Walter (right) fight for the ball as Clarkston's Erin Davenport (background) rushes in during Thursday's Class A regional final. Staff Photo | Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
“We pride ourselves on defense immensley, but holding someone to zero points (in a half) was a surprise,” said Midland coach Elaine Mahabir. “I think we threw some things at them and caught them off guard. We got a lot out of our zone.”
Clarkston finally got untracked in the third quarter, with Anna Manila’s driving layup. The Wolves converted their first four field goals to close to within 19-9 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
Clarkston would get no closer. Midland responded with a7-3 to push the lead back up to 14 points at 26-12.by the end of the third, the Chemics were in complete control, 30-14.
Both teams scored 10 points each in the fourth quarter.
Clarkston, which finished 6-15 last season, closed the season with a 16-2 run since Jan. 1 to end up with an 18-6 record, one of the state’s better turnaround stories.
“To see where we are now to where we were last season when we were 6-15 is a testament to all of the hard work they put in during the offseason,” said Wasilk. “We were 2-4 in December, but since then we were 16-2. I am proud of these girls and what they accomplished this season.”
Midland (22-2) sat back in a 2-3 zone and watched Clarkston chuck it from the cheap seats in the first half. The Wolves were a dismal 0-13 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the foul line and misfired on all nine 3-point attempts in the first half.
“It was 17-0 at the half and I think we were 0-for-9 from outside the arc and 0-for-8 inside the paint,” sighed Clarkston coach Tim Wasilk. “Give credit to Midland’s defense. They’re long and they did a great job with their zone.
“We had the right people shooting the basketball. We had some good looks, it just wasn’t the night for us shooting the ball in the first half,” added Wasilk.
The Wolves played solid defense in their own right, forcing Midland to cough up the ball 25 times. The Chemics only finished 14-for-31 from the floor, 12-for-23 from the foul line and did not make a single three-point basket.
Midland’s length cause all types of problems for the Wolves, as the Chemics swapped 18 passes. Danielle Blake, headed for Michigan Tech, had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, as three Chemics had at least four steals and five players scored between six and 10 points.
Tiarra Carter added eight points and eight rebounds, Aleigha Wylie followed with eight points and three boards, Jennifer Jarma picked up seven points and four rebounds and Maura McAfee had six points and six steals for Midland, ranked fifth heading into the postseason.
“This is our regional championship for Midland High School. We talked about finishing what we started,” said Mahabir. “this is all very exciting. We just take it one game at a time.”
Clarkston was down to both Fenton and Grand Blanc in district play before coming back, but could find no comeback against Midland.
“We got ourselves back into it in the third quarter. I thinking we were down 10, but we couldn’t make a run,” offered Wasilk. “They were just too good.”
Clarkston will graduate only one senior, Lindsey Reppuhn. Megan Hastings led the Wolves with eight points and six steals. Manilla followed with six points and four rebounds and Delaney Kenny had six points for the Wolves, who finished the night only 7-for-32 from the floor.
Clarkston also converted only 2-for-16 three-pointers, both coming from Hastings.
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Category: Clarkston, High School, Prep Wraps
