GIRLS BASKETBALL: Rochester Hills Christian holds off Lake Orion Baptist to reach MACS-I state finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
DAVISON — For whatever reason, luck has not been on the side of Rochester Hills Christian in recent years when it comes to the later stages of the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state tournament.
In 2011, the Eagles were upset in the state semifinals by Davison Faith Baptist as the No. 1 seed, then the Eagles lost to Carson City Fellowship Baptist in the finals in 2012 in their first-ever appearance in the state finals.
Last season, with a sophomore-heavy roster, the Eagles made it back to the Final Four only to come up shot to Fellowship Baptist once again.
Could a fourth trip to the MACS semifinals end with a win after three straight disappointing losses? After all, Rochester Hills Christian is the No. 1 seed for the second time in four years and is chasing perfection.
The Eagles can wrap up the perfect campaign Saturday thanks to Friday’s 47-40 victory over fifth-seeded Lake Orion Baptist in the MACS-I state semifinals at Davison Faith Baptist.
The Eagles, now 18-0 on the season, will play in the finals at 3 p.m. Saturday against Kinross Maplewood Baptist at Clarkston Springfield Christian.
“There is pressure every game, but we just go out and play our game,” said RHC coach Paula Bronsing, who inherited a doormat program six years ago and built them into a small school power. “We don’t talk about being undefeated. We just want to win that state championship.”
The Eagles have never won a state title in girls basketball. Now they are one win away from running the tables and claiming some championship hardware.
“Our goal since Day 1 has been to compete for the state championship,” noted Bronsing. “We’ve been here (to the Final Four) the past several years and we have come up short. This year we truly believe that we can win.”
Lake Orion Baptist (8-7) led 4-1 early, only to see Rochester Hills Christian take a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles tried to shake off the pesky Lions but could never build the lead above 11 points.
Rochester Hills Christian upped its advantage to 23-16 at the half and pushed the lead to 34-24 with 3:15 left in the third before settling for a 36-30 lead entering the final frame.
Lake Orion Baptist was able to keep within striking distance thanks to the play of Breanne Watterworth, Lake Orion’s 6-foot-3 senior center. The Lions’ all-time leading scorer bowed pout with 29 points, 19 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“We never gave up and I think this was the best we’ve played against them (in the past couple of years),” admitted veteran Lake Orin Baptist coach Janet Noruk. “Our whole team just kept getting better and better all year and we gave them a battle. Breanne’s leadership out there was great. She made our team better and set a great example for our young players — and we are a young team. Rochester Hills was just the better team tonight. But I am proud of the way we played against a very good team.”
Rochester Hills pushed the advantage to 43-32 with 4:15 remaining, only to see Lake Orion surge back with a 6-0 run, all by points from Watterworth, to close the gap down to 43-38 with 2:21 to go.
The Eagles switched up defenses and held Lake Orion to only two points and 1-for-10 shooting in the final two minutes to prevail.
“I knew that Watterworth would try to take over and get them back into the game. I felt that if we continued to play defense that we could shut them down in the end,” said Bronsing. “We switched defenses in the last couple of minutes and it frustrated them at the end.”
Junior guard Jenna Porter was a thorn in the Lions’ side all night, scoring 21 points with seven rebounds, four steals and six blocks. Fellow junior Ashley Parker collected her 12th straight double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, while senior Kindra Armitage provided eight points for the Eagles.
Sophomore point guard McKenna Cameron added five points and eight rebounds and junior forward Angie Cone supplied four points and nine boards for Lake Orion Baptist, which held a 48-33 edge on the boards.
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