Arthur Hill uses quickness to dispatch Clarkston
DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
BAY CITY — Speed is a weapon that a coach cannot teach or simulate in practice.
Clarkston has a lot of speed and quickness in girls basketball this season. The Wolves met their match Tuesday night in the Class A regional semifinals.
Saginaw Arthur Hill used its overall quickness and team speed to rally past fifth-ranked Clarkston, 54-46, in a regional semifinal at Bay City Central.
The Lumberjackets (16-7) will face Midland at 7 p.m. Thursday, also at Bay City Central, for the regional trophy. Clarkston bows out with a school record 21-3 ledger.
“I was concerned about a couple of their bigs, but I think Arthur Hills’s best (asset) is its team speed. They have two guards that were faster than any player we’ve seen all year,” conceded Clarkston coach Tim Wasilk, whose team was trying to get back to the regional finals for the second straight year and third time in eight seasons. “we are a pretty quick team and they were even quicker. They were able to use that speed on their press and that really helped them down the stretch.
The contest was closely-contested throughout, with neither team able to pull away to double digits.
Arthur Hill led 9-6 after the first quarter, while Clarkston returned the favor with a 15-8 spurt in the second quarter, good for a 21-19 advantage at the half.
The Wolves kept the lead at 34-33 through three quarters of play, before things began to unravel for Clarkston. The Lumberjacks outscored Clarkston 21-12 in the fourth quarter.
Arthur Hill’s zone defense stymied Clarkston down the stretch, resulting in multiple turnovers.
We turned the ball over a few times, missed some shots and they went on a run on us,” said Wasilk.”You have to credit their defense in the fourth quarter. I felt we played pretty good for the first three quarters.”
Junior Delaney Kenny scored a game-high 23 points for Clarkston. Senior Megan Hastings and freshman Erika davenport scored seven apiece for the Wolves and senior Anna Manilla chipped in with six points.
Shanesha Blair, who spearheaded Arthur Hill’s pesky defense, led the Lumberjacks with a team-high 18 points and five steals. Brittany Wilson added 15 points and Shaquanna Collins scored seven for the Lumberjacks.
Arthur Hill and Clarkston have history, as the Lumberjacks edged Clarkston, 44-42, in the fall 2005 season, that win coming in the state quarterfinals — a game that included a buzzer-beater.
“They got us again,” said Wasilk.
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