Stoney Creek unleashes second-half blitz on Rochester

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester Stoney Creek seemingly could not do much of anything against Rochester High Friday night in the first half.

It’s not always how you start, but how you finish. In the second half, the Cougars simply unleashed the fury on the defenseless Falcons.

Stoney Creek opened the second half with a back-breaking 29-1 run and held the Falcons to only six second-half points in posting an 45-25 OAA crossover girls basketball rout of Rochester.

“We just struggled to put the ball into the basket in the first half. But we turned it up defensively at the start of the second half,” said Stoney Creek coach Brad Crighton, whose team opened its first game Tuesday against Ortonville Brandon with a 31-4 run. “We looked really good the other night against Brandon and just cooled off in the second half. This was the opposite.”

Rochester (0-1) took a 10-4 lead on the cold-shooting Cougars after eight minutes of play and were in control by a 19-14 count at the half. Stoney Creek turned up the defensive pressure and did not allow the Falcons (0-1) to score a point for the first seven-plus minutes of the third quarter.

Stoney Creek (2-0) led 34-20 entering the fourth quarter.

Gabby Yurik, a fourth-year starter and one of the top players in Oakland County, was held scoreless in the first half but finished with a game-high 16 points and nine steals, one of the school’s highest single-game totals, to pace the Cougars. Sophomore Lauren Voss was a force in the paint, adding 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Lauren Bolhuis added eight points and five steals for Stoney Creek.

Shana Randolph scored 10 points, all in the first half, for the Falcons.

“I was pleased with our defensive effort in the second half. We are long and athletic and we did a good job getting in the passing lanes and forcing them into a lot of turnovers,” said Crighton. “To only give up a point in the third quarter shows what type of defense we were playing.”

Stoney Creek outscored Rochester 11-5 in the final quarter.

In two games this season, the Cougars have yielded a combined 44 points, including their 57-19 triumph three days earlier against Brandon.

“I think we have the capability to be a really good defensive team,” said Crighton. “It’s getting them to play that way for the whole game. We have some tougher games coming up and we’ll need to play like that for the entire time.”

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Tags: Basketball, girls basketball, OAA Girls Basketball, Rochester Girls Basketball, Rochester Stoney Creek Girls Basketball

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