GIRLS BASKETBALL: Clarkston dials long distance to ousts rival Lake Orion
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
WATERFORD — Without much height and inside post play, Clarkston has often relied on sharp passing and perimeter shooting to thwart opposing teams.
Then there was Wednesday night.
Clarkston drilled a season-high 13 three-pointers as a team and finished 13-for-32 from outside the arc in a convincing 54-37 victory over rival Lake Orion in a Division 1 district semifinal at Waterford Kettering.
The Wolves (18-4) tallied 39 of their 54 total points from outside the three-point line. They shot 40.7 percent from long distance, while Clarkston only shot 6-for-20 on two-pointers (30 percent) and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
“That’s a lot of threes,” smiled second-year Clarkston coach John Weyer. “They’re staying in the zone and we normally shoot people out of zones, so if they’re going to stay in it that’s what we’re going to do, continue to shoot.”
Clarkston advanced to the Class A state quarterfinals two years ago with a senior-laden squad. After losing in the district semifinals last year to eventual district champion Waterford Kettering, the Wolves will try to win their second district crown in three years.
Clarkston played with a mission and purpose Wednesday night.
“It started last year I think when we lost, when we got in the locker room I told them next year starts right now,” said Weyer, who had mostly a new roster last season. “And almost every single girl in that locker room is on our bench right now. That’s huge.”
Using a tight seven-player rotation for 3.5 quarters, Clarkston connected on three of its first six shots from the floor — all from three-point range — and led 9-2 early. The Wolves never trailed, leading 16-6 after one quarter and 28-16 at the half.
Clarkston used a 14-4 outburst in the third quarter — connecting on four more triples in the frame including on three of its first four shots from the floor — in building a commanding 42-20 edge entering the final stanza.
Lake Orion, which will return its top eight players next season and featured a rotation that included two freshmen and three sophomores, never gave up and closed with a 17-12 surge in the fourth quarter to bring down the final deficit to 17 points.
Defensively, Clarkston held Lake Orion (7-14) to a cold shooting night, as the Dragons only shot 35.6 percent from the floor (16-for-45), 50 percent from the foul line (just 1-for-2), and 14.3 percent from three-point range (2-for-14). Lake Orion also committed 16 turnovers — 10 coming in the first half.
Freshman point guard Madeleine Ebbert scored 11 with four steals to pace Lake Orion. Junior center Kendall Robertson, also an All-State volleyball player, added 10 points — all in the second half — on 5-for-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds, while junior forward Meghan Marshall had five points and six rebounds for the Dragons.
“We competed a lot better against them than the last time we played them,” noted Lake Orion coach Bob Brydges, who is the Dragons’ fourth head coach over the last six seasons. “They were up on us 41-11 at one point at Oakland. We’re so young. I start two freshmen and a sophomore and two juniors. We couldn’t defend and couldn’t do much in that game. This time we played hard and never gave up, even when Clarkston was hitting all of those threes. They were hitting contested threes, too.
“We saw some really good things tonight. We saw some things we’ll continue to work on. Honestly I’m seeing a ton of positives,” added Brydges. “We came a long ways from the beginning of the season. We’ll bring back most of this team next year, and our three seniors weren’t (regular) starters. Our top eight kids should be back next season. We’ll keep working hard in the offseason.”
Seven players nailed three-pointers on the night for Clarkston, including two freshmen off the bench, in the Wolves’ best three-point shooting night of the season.
Sophomore point guard Madison Skorupski was all over the court for the Wolves with an array of passes, shots, rebounds and steals. The second-year starter finished with a game-high 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block for good measure in the win.
“Maddie is special, she’s a special kid, she’s a sophomore. I keep telling her if you smile we win,’’ praised Weyer. “As long as she’s happy and into the flow of the game, everything is smoother. What she does defensively that a lot of people don’t see, and will never show up on a stat sheet, is that ball tap, tapping the ball, stopping the play. Some of the passes she can make — nobody else can make. They are amazing and fun to watch.’’
Junior guard Kaelyn Kaul added to Clarkston’s balanced effort with 10 points and four assists. Senior guard Taylor Heaton — the only regular holdover from that Elite Eight team from two years ago — chipped in with eight points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Junior forward Morgan Hunter aded seven points and four boards, while junior guard Olivia Toderan followed with a game-high in floor burns and a fine floor game that included three points, eight rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals for Clarkston.
In all, Clarkston recorded 17 assists on 19 made baskets while holding a 31-20 rebounding edge and collecting 11 steals as a unit.
Clarkston will face Rochester Adams (14-7) in the district title tilt Friday night at Waterford Kettering. Adams pulled away from Kettering 58-42 in the first semifinal Wednesday.
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