Adams avenges Lake Orion, clinches OAA White Division crown
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
LAKE ORION — Revenge can often be sweet, especially when a championship is on the line. That’s exactly what happened for Rochester Adams on Tuesday.
The Highlanders put the finishing touches on the Oakland Activities Association White Division girls basketball championship with a resounding 38-25 road victory over second place Lake Orion.
The host Dragons needed a win to stay in the hunt entering the final game of the regular season.
The win avenged a 43-42 defeat to the Dragons back on Jan. 18 and snapped a three-game losing streak overall, where Adams shot miserably from the floor last week in losses to Rochester Stoney Creek, Farmington and Bloomfield Hills Andover. Only the Farmington loss was league game.
Adams (12-7, 11-2) now has a two-game lead on the rest of the field with one game left in the regular season.
“We knew after the loss last Thursday to Farmington that this was the best way to play for a championship,” offered Adams coach Fran Scislowicz, who guided his team to its 11th league championship in 21 seasons. “We knew if they won they would tie us (for the lead) and if they won, we would take it all. We were thrilled to have that opportunity today and we capitalized on it.”
Adams did take it all behind a stellar defensive effort, which kept Lake Orion from getting untracked offensively in the comforts of its own field house.
SEEKING: Rochester Adams' Jenny Rosonke looks for an open teammate around the guard of Lake Orion's Marisa Secontine during Tuesday's OAA White Division contest. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
The Highlanders led 10-5 after the first quarter but went ice cold in the second frame. Using a slow-down, patient offense, Lake Orion turned the five-point deficit at the end of the first quarter to a 16-12 lead at the half.
The Dragons went on an 11-2 run in the second quarter in, not allowing the Highlanders to convert a single basket and just 2-of-4 free throw shooting. Meanwhile, Lake Orion sank three straight 3-pointers from three different players — Laura Turnbull, Marisa Secontine and Nicole Krier — to go up four points at the half.
Adams tightened the defensive reigns after halftime, as the Dragons (12-7, 9-4) only converted four field goals in the entire second half. After freshman Nicole Krier hit a short-range jumper with 7:12 left in the fourth quarter, which cut the deficit down to 27-25, the Dragons would not score again.
Lake Orion went 0-for-9 from the floor after that point with three turnovers, while Adams went on a 13-7 run in the third quarter on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor.
“I told the girls afterwards. You have to tip their hats to (Adams). They came out and hit shots,” said Lake Orion coach Steve Roberts. “We covered it pretty much for the first half. With their zone and traps (they shut us down). They came out in the second half, moved the ball, they found the shooter and knocked down shots.
“At times we had shots and they didn’t go in and they had some looks and at times they went in,” added Roberts. “I thought both teams played like champions. I was proud of my team. They fought through some adversity (all season with injuries) and played hard. They were in the league race going into tonight.”
A pair of free throws by Lauren Boyle and back-to-back 3-pointers from Karissa Roveda and Boyle gave Adams a 35-25 cushion with 5:16 still to play. The Highlanders were only 3-of-8 from the foul line and 0-for-3 from the floor after that point.
Boyle and Roveda each scored nine to lead a balanced effort for Adams, which had nine players score points and hold a 25-21 edge on the boards. The Highlanders finished the night 12-for-26 from the floor (46 percent) after attempting over 70 shots in a loss Saturday to Andover.
Krier scored nine and Secontine had nine with six rebounds for Lake Orion. Only four players scored points for the Dragons, who only attempted four free throws and shot 9-for-37 from the floor (24 percent).
“We switched it up a little bit,” said Scislowicz. “We went after (Secontine) and took her out a little bit and made someone else try to make some shots against us. We thought we played very good defensively. We didn’t give them very many second chance sot opportunities.”
The Highlanders’ title run came as a surprise to many inside the league.
“We were picked to finish fifth,” reminded Scislowicz. “Our leadership was the difference. That’s the thing with high school sports. We may not be the most talented, but the kids like each other. They have that family atmosphere and the seniors lead every day.”
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