Balanced scoring effort helps lift Berkley past Clawson

CLAWSON – Senior Celia Somers finished with 10 points, leading all scorers, as Berkley defeated Clawson, 47-16, in a non-league girls basketball game Friday night at Clawson High School.

Berkley’s defense shut out Clawson in the second quarter, and the Bears outscored the Trojans by a 24-4 margin in the first half to take control of the game.

Somers scored eight of her 10 points in the first half, and Berkley coach Jordan Gruppen said he expects Somers to be a leader on the floor for the Bears this season.

“She can attack, she can finish from the outside and also drive and make a good pass to help her teammates,” Gruppen said. “Our offense is going to run through her, but we also have other people who can definitely score too, so it’s a great thing.”

Berkley countered any attempt at a run by Clawson in the second half thanks in part to a balanced offensive attack. Ten different players scored at least a point for the Bears in the game.

Juniors Makoya Denham and Cali Weed and freshman Olivia Dicarlo all finished with six points for Berkley. Junior Nina Palazzolo added five points, while Denham and junior Cara Hall each had seven rebounds.

Defensively the Bears were able to force several Clawson turnovers, and the defensive pressure was something that Gruppen liked to see from his team.

“I thought we played some great defense today,” Gruppen said. “There were times we kind of fell apart on our help side a little bit, but it’s definitely something we’ve been working on, and I saw improvement from our first game to our second game for sure.”

Clawson coach Jenny Stanton said she saw some growth from her young team as the game progressed.

The Trojans have no seniors on the roster and had three sophomores in the starting lineup Friday.

“(We had) a great defensive presence, especially in the second half,” Stanton said. “The girls started driving to the hoop in the second half too on offense.”

The Trojans were led offensively by sophomores Jackie Hauser (five points) and Shaniya Evans (four points.) Sophomore Raquel Lewis had three points and six rebounds, while junior Carly Butterfield had six rebounds and five blocks.

Last Updated: 12/4/2015 11:02:30 PM EST

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Detroit Martin Luther King 49, Romulus 35: Crusaders advance to girls basketball semifinals with win

By Jake Thielen | MLive.com
on March 17, 2015 10:27 PM, updated March 17, 2015 10:43 PM

Detroit Martin Luther King overcame a slow start, and the Crusaders pulled away in the second and third quarters to earn a 49-35 win against Romulus in a Class A girls basketball quarterfinal Tuesday night at Dearborn Fordson High School.

The win means King (24-1) will advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2006, which was also the last time the Crusaders won a state title. In that game, No. 2 ranked King will have a second chance to play against the only team that defeated it this season – No. 1 ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian.

Marian and King met once in the regular season on Feb. 26 – a game won in the final seconds by Marian, 50-49. The semifinal game between the two schools is scheduled for Friday at 2:50 p.m. at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

In order to set up the rematch with Marian, King needed to overcome a slow start against Romulus Tuesday night. The Crusaders struggled to get anything going offensively early in the game and fell down 5-0 before rallying and tying the score by the end of the opening quarter.

Things began to change in the second quarter for King in part due to the play of sophomore Tia Tedford and junior Micaela Kelly. Tedford scored all nine of her points in the quarter, and Kelly added five more for a first half total of eight.

By the end of the first half the Crusaders led by nine, 22-13, and they were able to keep up the pace in the third quarter. The King lead grew to 19 at one point in the quarter, and Romulus never got closer than 14 points for the rest of the game.

King coach William Winfield said he expected a battle from Romulus in a win-or-go home game for both teams. He said the Crusaders continued their recent pattern of struggling early in games Tuesday, but that they responded well.

“We came out there with kind of a lazy attitude, and (Romulus) jumped on us and played really well,” Winfield said. “They got off to a good start, and they continued to play well. It’s just that in the end the athleticism took over, and we were able to overcome and play a much better game.”

Senior Janae Williams led the Crusaders with 13 points and four steals, while Kelly added 11 points to lead all bench scorers. Tedford finished with nine points; seniorMalayasia McHenry added eight points and senior Leah Mathis contributed team-high totals of seven rebounds and seven blocks.

King had defeated Romulus once before this season, 68-34, but Williams said she knew Romulus was going to come out playing hard this time around.

“Just because we beat them last game – we already knew that coming into this game everyone wants to go to Michigan State, so we had to bring our ‘a’ game in the second, third and fourth quarters,” Williams said.

Williams said the team’s increased effort on defense after the first quarter led to turnovers and was a big reason why the Crusaders earned the win.

“Defense is our key to winning everything,” Williams said. “If we don’t play defense we’re not going to win. Our jump shot may not be falling, so we have to play defense in order to get some steals and make some layups.”

Romulus ended its season with a record of 19-6. Senior Jayla Nichols led the Eagles with 11 points, while freshman Jordan Lewis added four points, six rebounds and three assists.

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2998735460413781945/detroit-martin-luther-king-49-romulus-35-crusaders-advance-to-girls-basketball-semifinals-with-win/

Defense guides Inter-City past Livingston Christian in regional semi

By Jake Thielen
Twitter @MIPrepZone_NH

Inter-City led for most of the game as the Chargers defeated Livingston Christian, 45-27, in a Class D girls basketball regional semifinal Tuesday night at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes High School.

The Chargers (10-12) caused problems for the Livingston Christian offense all night long as the Falcons had difficulty moving the ball up the floor against the Chargers’ press defense. The Chargers recorded over 20 steals as a team with each starter contributing at least two.

Freshman Jessiann Wiedmann led Inter-City in both points (17) and steals (7) while recording six rebounds. Inter-City Coach Lori Myles said Wiedmann has grown as a player as the season has progressed and that the freshman is stepping up her game in the postseason.

“(Wiedmann’s) been a leader of our team all season as far as handling the ball, and she’s had just a terrific season,” Myles said. “It’s good to see at the end of the season she’s becoming a little bit more aggressive for herself in scoring, and that’s been a big help for us.”

Junior Karalynn Goering also reached double figures in scoring for Inter-City with 12 points. Senior Ashley Harrison scored three points and collected a team-high eight rebounds, while senior Makayla Thoune contributed five points, six rebounds and three blocks.

Myles said the team did a good job executing its game plan on the defensive end, though too many fouls limited some of her players.

“We tried to play up tempo defense – we like to press a lot and try to cause turnovers,” Myles said. “I had a couple girls really (play well) defensively – Jessiann Wiedmann and McKenna Howell played very good defense for us. (We) got into foul trouble, and that hurt our ability to play as aggressively as we want, so we had to go deeper into our bench than we normally do.”

Inter-City didn’t have its best game offensively, and struggled with turnovers itself, but Harrison said the team made up for its mistakes by working hard and playing as a team.

“We didn’t shoot as well today, but we really picked (the tempo) up,” Harrison said. “We got rebounds and kicked it back out.”

The Chargers will advance to the regional semifinals to meet Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes in the regional final on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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WOLL executes from the line late, holds on against Birmingham Roeper

By JAKE THIELEN
@MIPrepZone

WATERFORD – Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes made critical free throws in the final minutes as the Lakers held off Birmingham Roeper for a 38-35 victory in a Class D girls basketball regional semifinal Tuesday night at Our Lady of the Lakes High School.

The Lakers (10-12) led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but saw the lead evaporate in the second half as they struggled to find offense. Roeper held Lakes to just three points in the third quarter, allowing the Roughriders to cut into what had been a 27-18 halftime deficit.

Roeper (18-5) finally took the lead, 31-30, on a basket from senior Sophia Savas with 3:55 to play – the first time the Roughriders had led since the opening minutes of the game. However, Lakes junior Alex Troy quickly regained the lead for the Lakers with a pair of free throws.

Junior Akwia Tilton tied the game for Roeper with a free throw of her own, but a basket from Troy with 1:39 to play gave the Lakers a 34-32 lead that they did not relinquish.

Roeper again cut the lead to one, but junior Megan Ross increased the Lakes lead to 36-33 with two free throws with 42 seconds to play. Following a missed Roeper shot, freshman Tiffany Senerius put the game away with two more free throws with 11 seconds left.

Lakes coach Steve Robak said his team kept its poise in the second half even as its offense struggled. Despite just 11 points in the second half, the Lakers were able to hold on for the win.

“The thing they didn’t stop doing was playing defense on the other end, so even though we weren’t scoring we weren’t giving up a ton of points,” Robak said. “That allowed us to stay in the game, and then when we finally started making buckets – we made just enough to win tonight. By all means, it wasn’t easy.”

Robak said the Lakers were confident heading into the game and the team’s fast start on its home floor was very important. The Lakers jumped out to a 13-3 lead, and led by nine at the break thanks in part to 13 first-half points from Troy.

“Really from the beginning I thought we did a lot of good things; it helped that we hit a few shots early and didn’t find ourselves behind,” Robak said. “We kind of gained a little confidence from that. I know Roeper has an excellent team, and their record reflects that, but our record probably does not reflect the team we’re capable of being.”

Troy led Lakes with 17 points, while Ross finished with eight points. Junior Allison Maiorana added seven points and freshman Lucille Kline scored four points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Roeper coach Ernie Righetti said the Roughriders had a great season despite ending it short of the team’s ultimate goal.

“We came out with good defensive intensity, and I thought we played a lot better in the second half,” Righetti said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”

Sophia Savas led Roeper with 11 points, while Tilton added nine points. Sophomore Melanie Wells finished with six points, while Naomi Savas scored six points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

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Lathrup grabs district title with convincing victory over Berkley

By JAKE THIELEN
@MIPrepZone_Trib

ROYAL OAK – Southfield-Lathrup controlled the game from start to finish as the Chargers never trailed en route to a 62-39 victory against Berkley in a Class A girls basketball district final Friday night at Royal Oak High School.

With the win, Southfield-Lathrup will advance to the regional semifinals, where it will face its most difficult challenge to date. The No. 3-ranked Chargers, undefeated against teams from Michigan this season, will meet No. 1 ranked Birmingham Marian in their next game on Tuesday at Southfield High School.

Southfield-Lathrup earned a trip to the regional round thanks to a quick start on Friday – the Chargers opened the game on a 15-2 run to take control early. By halftime the lead had grown to 32-17, and Southfield-Lathrup pulled away in the second half to seal its 62-39 victory.

Senior Courtney Lucas, starting for the injured Kendall Terrell, scored 15 points in the first half to lead the way for Southfield-Lathrup. She finished with 17 points and six rebounds, and Southfield-Lathrup coach Michele Marshall said Lucas filled in well as a starter.

“With Kendall being injured we were totally confident that Courtney, who’s a senior and who plays a game very similar to Kendall but is a little bit taller, would come in and really play very well and play with confidence,” Marshall said. “Not only did (Lucas) shoot the ball well in the first half, but she also rebounded the ball very well. It changes our look a little bit with her in the lineup.”

Sophomore Deja Church recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Southfield-Lathrup, while junior Antoinette Miller scored 11 points. Juniors Taiye Bello and Kehinde Bello added seven points each for the Chargers.

Berkley coach Jordan Gruppen said his team battled well for the whole game despite knowing it would be the underdog against a tough opponent.

“I thought we played some great half-court defense, and they beat us up on the boards today,” Gruppen said. “That was a big difference in this one, but (Southfield-Lathrup) is a very talented team. They played well, and I thought we played well too, so I’m happy with our effort today.”

Junior Josephine Pittman scored 11 points off the bench to lead Berkley (16-7,) while sophomore Makoya Denham scored six points and added a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Celia Somers scored five points, and senior Grace Hammerle added three points and six rebounds for the Bears.

http://www.miprepzone.com/oakland/results.asp?ID=15737

No. 3 Southfield-Lathrup pulls away late against Royal Oak

By JAKE THIELEN
@MIPrepZone

ROYAL OAK – Southfield-Lathrup led for nearly the entire game, and the Chargers pulled away late to secure a 47-25 win over Royal Oak Wednesday night in a Class A girls basketball district semifinal at Royal Oak High School.

The Chargers, ranked No. 3 in Class A in the Associated Press poll, will advance to the district final Friday night against Berkley. Southfield-Lathrup (20-1) has not lost this season to a team from the state of Michigan.

With Southfield-Lathrup junior Taiye Bello limited by foul trouble early in the game, Royal Oak was able to stay close to the Chargers in the first half. Thanks to 10 first-half points from senior Bailey Haran, including a pair of three-pointers, Royal Oak trailed by just seven points at halftime, 23-16.

However, Southfield-Lathrup proved to be too difficult of an opponent for the Ravens in the second half – the Chargers opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run and did not look back. The 6’2” Bello had an impact in the second half for Southfield-Lathrup, scoring nine of her 11 points after halftime and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Sophomore Deja Church led Southfield-Lathrup with 14 points and added eight rebounds, while junior Antoinette Miller scored eight points and added five rebounds. The Chargers had the advantage on the glass as they outrebounded Royal Oak by a 43-21 margin in the game.

Southfield-Lathrup coach Michele Marshall said her team played well in the paint and on the perimeter, despite Bello being limited early and senior guard Kendall Terrell leaving the game in the second quarter with a knee injury. She said the duo of Church and Bello stepped up when needed Wednesday night.

“(Church) is a young kid who plays like a senior,” Marshall said. “She was able to really kind of set the tone in the first half, and Taiye was able to get free in the second half. It’s our inside-out game that we try to execute every time we play.”

Royal Oak, the Oakland Activities Association Blue Division champion, finished its season with a record of 13-8. The Ravens were led offensively by Haran’s 12 points, while senior Alli Karpinski scored six points and grabbed six rebounds.

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Marine City Cardinal Mooney tops Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 43-36, to advance to Class D girls basketball semifinals

By Jake Thielen | MLive.com
on March 11, 2014 10:54 p.m.

Seniors Katie Theut and Lauren Higgins each scored 16 points Tuesday night as their efforts helped lead Marine City Cardinal Mooney past Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 43-36, in a Class D girls basketball quarterfinal playoff game at Waterford Mott High School.

With the win, the Cardinals will advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009. They will meet Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Thursday night at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center with a state final berth on the line.

The win was the third for Cardinal Mooney (20-4) in four meetings this season with Everest Collegiate (18-7). Cardinal Mooney coach Susan Everhart said playing the same team that many times presented some challenges, but that her veteran team was also well-prepared.

“It’s not always easy to play a team four times; we know them, they know us and it kind of makes it difficult,” Everhart said. “You go back on the games you won or didn’t win, but we talked about that – not these girls, but this program has been here before. Anybody that played before them set the tone for it, so we talked about senior leadership and finishing the game, and I thought they did a great job.”

Cardinal Mooney led 22-15 at halftime, but the Cardinals were challenged by Everest Collegiate in the second half. The Mountaineers opened the second half with an 8-1 run to tie the game, and they took the lead for the first time in the game on a three-point play by senior Lucia Westrick with 3:29 left in the third quarter.

The two teams traded the lead four times over the next three minutes of game time, but Cardinal Mooney seized momentum at the end of the quarter. A free throw from Higgins tied the game at 30, and a three-point play from Theut gave the Cardinals a 33-30 advantage entering the final quarter.

Everhart said she told her team after the third quarter that it needed to keep up its effort down the stretch against a tough opponent.

“(Everest Collegiate) is very well coached; I have the utmost respect for their program,” Everhart said. “We knew that they’re a team of comebacks – they’ve done it to us with big leads. We talked at length the last couple practices and before the game tonight that we can’t get comfortable no matter what that lead is, not against them.”

Cardinal Mooney opened the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run and held Everest Collegiate scoreless until a three-pointer from Mountaineer senior Angie Mastromatteo with 3:02 left. The Cardinals held Everest Collegiate to just one field goal for the rest of the game, and they made five free throws down the stretch to seal the 43-36 win.

Theut and Higgins tied for the team lead with 16 points each for Cardinal Mooney. Theut said she and Higgins have been playing on the same team since eighth grade, and that their familiarity with each other helps on the court.

“We’re really comfortable with each other and we kind feed off each other,” Theut said. “I think that when we get a drive and we make it, it pumps the other one up to want to be able keep going, and our adrenaline gets going. I think we really just work well together.”

Junior Hannah Armstrong added seven points and five rebounds, while senior Madison Southers turned in a strong defensive effort for the Cardinals with 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Theut said the team’s zone defense did a good job limiting the Mountaineers’ shooters and forcing turnovers that led to Cardinal baskets at the other end.

“We definitely know that our offense comes from our defense in transition,” Theut said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about all year– we need to push the ball to get them tired. I think we did a good job coming out on defense and getting those stops.”

Everest Collegiate coach Erin Van Wagoner said her team struggled offensively with its shot, and couldn’t make up for it near the basket due to the Cardinals’ strong defensive play in the paint.

“Our guards, outside play, we have been shooting the ball well,” Van Wagoner said. “The balance of strong post players and outside guards – that’s what’s kept us in games. Tonight the outside shot wasn’t falling, and due to (Cardinal Mooney’s) height we weren’t able to get it inside.”

Van Wagoner said her team showed a lot of character throughout the season and that her departing seniors have helped the program grow tremendously in its short existence.

“I’m so incredibly proud of them; as a four-year program and with three seniors that played four seasons of varsity basketball, the imprint that they have left on, not only Everest community, but girls basketball in general for Everest Collegiate has been huge, ” Van Wagoner said. “I’m so proud of the fact that we never lost by double-digits once this season, that we played with (Class) B, C and D schools all year and we were really doing it for our team, not for everybody else. We were doing it for the love of our team, and the love of basketball.”

Westrick led Everest Collegiate with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while senior Mary Jo Allen added 12 points and nine rebounds.

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/3649724780139320973/marine-city-cardinal-mooney-tops-clarkston-everest-collegiate-43-36-to-advance-to-class-d-girls-basketball-semifinals/

Defense propels Canton past Holly, 42-33, in girls basketball regional semifinal

By Jake Thielen | MLive.com
on March 04, 2014 10:43 p.m.

Senior Paige Aresco scored 16 points for Canton, and the Chiefs’ defense shut down the Holly offense down the stretch as Canton rallied for a 42-33 victory in a Class A girls basketball regional semifinal Tuesday night at West Bloomfield High School.

Until the final quarter, neither team was able to pull away from the other in a low-scoring game. Canton (19-4) trailed Holly (22-1) by two points, 27-25, after three quarters.

With its season on the line, Canton stepped up its play in the final eight minutes. The Chiefs opened the fourth quarter by going on an 11-0 run to turn that two-point deficit into a 36-27 lead.

Defense was a major factor down the stretch as Canton held Holly without a point in the fourth quarter until a basket from the Bronchos’ Allyssa Copley with 39 seconds left in the game.

Copley had scored 16 points entering the fourth quarter, but the Chiefs’ defenders, led by senior Taylor Hunley, were able to limit her opportunities in the paint. Hunley, at 6’1”, was matched up with the 6’1” Copley for most of the night and narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Canton coach Brian Samulski said defense is what drives his team to success.

“It’s one of the better defensive teams we’ve had at Canton,” Samulski said. “(Holly’s) a good team and I thought we guarded pretty well and we got to (Copley) and went from there.”

Samulski said he tried to have his team play tough defense on Copley to try and wear her down as the game neared the end.

“She’s such a good player – we wanted just to keep making her work,” Samulski said. “Everything she got we wanted to make her work for. We didn’t want to give her anything easy, and I thought for the most part we did a pretty good job of that.”

Offensively Aresco followed up a quiet first half with 12 second-half points, including four free throws in the final minutes to help seal the game for Canton. Senior Rachel Winters matched Aresco’s late-game free throws with four of her own, scoring nine points in total, as the Chiefs squashed any hope of a late Broncho comeback.

Samulski said the play and leadership of his senior class – Hunley, Aresco, Winters and Shannon Perry – was crucial. The group has plenty of playoff experience as the Chiefs have won district titles in three of the last four years.

“They have a ton of big game experience, which comes in handy – they can use that to their advantage,” Samulski said. “They’ve been here before, and they don’t really get rattled.”

With the win, Canton will advance to Thursday’s regional final against White Lake Lakeland. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at West Bloomfield High School.

The loss was the first of the year for Holly, the Flint Metro League champion, which had entered the game with a 22-0 record. Holly coach David Hall said he was proud of the way his team played all season.

“We had one loss on the whole year, and all but four teams are going to at least lose their last game,” Hall said. “Our kids played so well together all year, we were very consistent; we just ran into a team that was a little but better tonight.”

Hall said the Canton defense in the final quarter proved to be difference in the game.

“(Canton) didn’t give us anything easy, so the kids don’t want to take a bad shot,” Hall said. “Maybe we were a little hesitant instead of attacking them, but (Canton’s) so good defensively. If we did attack the basket, they were able to get help.”

Copley’s 20 points and eight rebounds led the Bronchos in both categories. Freshman Paige Reid added eight points, while senior Abby Lewandowski scored five points.

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2649707780002320738/defense-propels-canton-past-holly-42-33-in-girls-basketball-regional-semifinal/

Erika Davenport’s double-double helps Clarkston top Macomb Dakota, 44-33

By Jake Thielen | MLive.com
on December 06, 2013 10:59 p.m.

Junior Erika Davenport scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Clarkston rallied from a third quarter deficit to defeat Macomb Dakota, 44-33, in a non-league girls basketball game Friday night at Dakota High School.

Clarkston (2-0) took control of the game early, and led 13-5 after the first quarter, but Dakota battled back. The Cougars (1-1) scored 11 points in the second quarter, capped by senior Rio Dudgeon’s three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Clarkston lead to 18-16 at halftime.

Dudgeon’s hot shooting continued in the second half, as she hit two more threes to start the third quarter. A basket from senior Olga Caruso gave Dakota a 26-22 lead, but the Cougars could not keep their momentum going.

Led by Davenport and senior Kacy Robinson, Clarkston answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. The Wolves led 33-28 after the third quarter and pulled away late for a 44-33 victory.

The win for Clarkston came almost exactly a year after a 56-34 loss to Dakota at home – a game that was still fresh in Davenport’s mind. She said the thought of avenging last year’s loss gave her and the team extra motivation to try and rally in the second half.

“I think the bench got us really into it,” Davenport said. “We kept on pushing and playing hard defense and we wouldn’t give up. We knew how much this meant to us.”

Clarkston coach Tim Wasilk said his team’s effort on defense was a crucial part of how it was able to turn the game around late.

“We never wanted to stop our defensive intensity; I thought our girls did a great job,” Wasilk said. “I think once they hit a few jumpers, we adjusted how we defended, especially on (Dudgeon) and we limited some of her shot opportunities, which was good. We stuck with what we needed to do defensively, Jess Altene did a great job defensively on (Dudgeon) and Erika Davenport tonight was pretty sensational inside.”

Davenport’s 27 and 17 were team highs in both categories, and she also finished with two blocks. Robinson added eight points and four assists, while Altene and sophomore Kayla Russell each chipped in with seven rebounds.

Waslik was impressed by the effort Davenport showed on both ends of the floor.

“(Davenport) has the capability to do that on a lot of nights, and tonight she brought it,” Waslik said. “When she brings it like that, we’re pretty tough. It was good to see, and hopefully she can bring that kind of effort all the time.”

Dakota coach Phil McCune said the game was a good learning experience for his team, which entered the season with four new starters. He said playing against a good program like Clarkston early in the season will help the Cougars grow moving forward.

“Last year we had probably one of the best wins in our program (history) when we went to their place and beat them,” McCune said. “Clarkston’s one of the top five teams in the state, so we knew they would be ready for us this time, and they were ready for us.”

Dudgeon led Dakota with 14 points, while Caruso finished with six points and four rebounds. Junior Carmen Hoskins led all bench scorers with five points.

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/4650497414428799330/erika-davenports-double-double-helps-clarkston-top-macomb-dakota-44-33/

Farmington Hills Mercy girls basketball cruises into regional final with 69-40 win over Southfield-Lathrup

Jake Thielen | MLive.com, March 05, 2013 11:40 p.m.

SOUTHFIELD – Farmington Hills Mercy was dominant on both sides of the ball Tuesday night as the Marlins dispatched Southfield-Lathrup, 69-40, in a Class A regional semifinal at Southfield High School.

With the win, Mercy will advance to the regional final Thursday night at 7 p.m. when it will face undefeated No. 1 Detroit Martin Luther King.

Mercy (19-5) forced the Chargers to commit 26 turnovers in the game, and the Marlins took full advantage of those mistakes outscoring Lathrup 34-17 in the first half to take control. Lathrup (18-4) had no answer for Mercy’s Taylor Jones, who led the Marlins with 11 points at the break.

Jones, a sophomore guard, was just getting started as she added another 20 points in the second half to finish with a career-high 31.

Jones said even as she was knocking down shots, she was focused on playing a team game.

“I think we played together as a team,” Jones said. “Everybody played their role, and everybody showed up to play.”

Mercy coach Gary Morris said Jones has improved as the season has gone on.

“(Jones) is a sophomore who’s kind of gotten better and better,” Morris said. “She’s still kind of learning the game, but she’s a very gifted player with huge upside.”

Lathrup kept pace with Mercy for most of the first quarter, but a buzzer-beating jumper from junior Allie Gorcyca gave the Marlins momentum going into the second quarter. Morris said the team was able to capitalize on that momentum and take control of the game.

“We made that first real push, and I think obviously it gave us confidence and relaxed us,” Morris said. “From then on, we were able to keep building on it throughout the rest of the second quarter, so that second quarter was huge.”

Jones was the only player in double figures in scoring for Mercy, but Gorcyca and junior Candice Leatherwood each finished with nine points. Junior Sam Bauer added eight points for the Marlins.

Defensively, the key for Mercy was to slow down the Chargers’ duo of seniors Sydni Davis and Christina Green. The Marlins held Davis to just two field goals and nine points, and both Morris and Jones said Mercy worked on a plan to stop her from getting to the basket during the week in practice.

“We pretty much went over how (Davis’) game was played and what she did to attack,” Jones said. “Basically (Coach Morris) told us what we needed to do, and we went out and did it.”

Green did finish with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but Lathrup could not get its other players going offensively. Lathrup coach Michele Marshall said the Chargers were never on the same page when it came to following the game plan.

“Every once in a while you play this game and a group comes out and they’re just flat,” Marshall said. “We were flat and we were undisciplined, and when you’re playing a team that’s as disciplined as Mercy is, it’s a real tough hill to climb.”

Marshall said her team made too many mistakes with turnovers for it to be able to come away with a victory.

“They just didn’t handle the ball very well, and then we didn’t do a good job of getting back after the turnovers or even on made baskets or missed baskets,” Marshall said. “We have to run the floor and have to get back to the basket. Those are things we work on every day.”

Marshall said while her senior class ultimately fell short of its goal, she’s proud of the players who will be moving on to play at the next level. Green (Wayne State) and Davis (Stetson) have already signed with colleges.

“(Green’s) going to be a tremendous player for Wayne State; she’s worked on her inside game, rebounds the ball really well, very smart and bright kid and just a sweetheart,” Marshall said. “I’m really proud of her progress; she’s been doing this for four years and I’ve watched her grow. She’s grown into a fabulous player, but more importantly a young lady.”

Marshall said she loved the opportunity to coach Davis, who transferred to Lathrup from West Bloomfield after her junior season.

“One or two more years would be great, but she’s clearly a talented kid,” Marshall said. “She was hobbled by an ankle injury since the Berkley game, and it was a lot of work for her to go out and play through it. That is a testament to the type of kid Sydni is – if she can compete she’s going to do so.

“Stetson is getting a kid who’s really going to be a hard player for them, and I really expect great things from her.”

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/6175120290280228062/farmington-hills-mercy-girls-basketball-cruises-into-regional-final-with-69-40-win-over-southfield-lathrup/