Written Thursday March 8th at 10:30 PM
Girls
Well congrats are in order to Kayla Luchenbach, Molly Nicholson, Maddie Beck, Kianna Ayotte, Taylor Heaten, and the rest of the Wolves for dominating Waterford Kettering 50-33 in the regional final at West Bloomfield.
Clarkston was dominant especially Luchenbach. Luchenbach got the Captains into foul trouble and finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and five blocks while Maddie Beck added 12 points and Molly Nicholson added 11 points. Waterford Kettering which has beaten the Wolves two straight seasons in the districts so this has to be sweet for them.
However a tougher challenge awaits Clarkston in the State Quarterfinals at Grand Blanc with that being Saginaw Heritage.
The Hawks come into the State Quarterfinal matchup ranked third in the State at 24-1 with their only loss being in four overtimes to Detroit Edison. They are also Saginaw Valley League Champs and have wins over powerhouses Midland Dow and Flint Carman Ainsworth.
Saginaw Heritage whom is 66-5 in the last three seasons features a ton of talent in juniors Shrine Strickland-Gills and Moria Joiner. Joiner is a very talented point guard whom had 15 points against Marquette. She will penetrate and shoot threes when need too for coach Vonnie DeLong. Strickland-Gills is a solid inside out player that can score points in many different ways, she can rebound and shoot the ball as well. The Hawks also have three very good players that start as well in seniors Jessie Bicknell, Maddie Camp, and junior Mallory McCartney. McCartney is a very good three point shooter while Camp is an undersized forward whom can score, and Bicknell is an energy player that can score or defend when need too.
The Hawks used a 21-0 run in the second quarter which led to Saginaw Heritage dominating the Cavaliers 63-40 in the regional final earning their trip to the State Quarterfinals. Joiner had 22 points, Bicknell had 12 points, McCartney had 11 points, Strickland-Gills had nine, and Camp added six points against Flint Carman Ainsworth.
It will be a tough matchup for the Wolves against Saginaw Heritage, no doubt about it in Grand Blanc. The Hawks are usually a man defense but went to a two-three zone against Flint Carman Ainsworth in their regional final matchup.
The two interesting matchups that I'm keeping an eye on will be Luchenbach against Strickland-Gills in the post and Beck against Joiner in the battle of the point guards.
It will also be an interesting coaching matchup as well with DeLong against Christine Rogers. Talent clearly favors Saginaw Heritage but Clarkston has their fair share of talent with Beck, Nicholson, Heaten, Luchenbach, and Ayotte. If the Wolves can get a great start and get Joiner, Strickland-Gills, Bicknell, and McCartney into foul trouble then it could be interesting.
Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this matchup.
Boys
Lets look at Wednesday's district recap.
Clarkston:
I thought Lake Orion played a very good game against the top team in the State in Clarkston even though the Wolves won 62-50. The Dragons played with them until the very end. Hadn't been for the return of Foster Loyer from an knee injury and a 19-5 second quarter then Lake Orion would have pulled off the upset. The Dragons only turned the ball over eight times against the senior heavy Wolves and outscored Clarkston 14-9 in the first quarter. Lake Orion finished the season at 17-4 sharing the Blue crown and have a ton of talent coming back next season for coach Jim Manzo.
The Wildcats used a three point barrage against the Holly Bronchos winning 55-25 and by going 11 for 27 from three point range. Oxford shut down Noah Bayliss whom was the Flint Metro League's leading scorer to four points. Nolan Harding had 21 points on seven for 14 shooting for the Wildcats. I wasn't surprised that Oxford won this game but was shocked by a blowout. It's going to be a tough chore for the Wildcats as they have Clarkston on Friday.
Detroit Renaissance:
The Knights lost a heartbreaker to the hosts on Wednesday night in overtime 58-55. Oak Park and Detroit Renaissance went back and fourth but at the end of the day it was the Phoenix that pulled through on their home court. The Knights finished the season at 16-4 and will return a ton of talent next season for coach Bobby Thompson.
I was surprised when I looked at the Vikings score with Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit with that score being 57-48 in favor of the Cubs. I thought the big reason was Jalen Thomas and he made an impact. Thomas didn't play in the first meeting with Hazel Park after he was still in Nevada but transferred and played in the second semester. The Vikings lose a ton of seniors from a team that finished 18-3 for coach Brendan Barrett.
Stoney Creek:
The Highlanders look like they could be on the verge of turning an 0-21 season into a possible district title but beating Stoney Creek was a big first step toward that goal as Adams beat the Cougars 52-45 on Wednesday night. The Highlanders are a very young team but they did beat Stoney Creek three times this season. Adams will meet Utica Eisenhower on Friday. The Cougars lose a ton of talent next season for coach Steve Norgrove finishing the season at 10-12.
This was my biggest upset of the night was when Utica Eisenhower, a team that 6-14 coming into the game and finished last in the Macomb Area Red Division stunned Rochester 72-63. I knew if their was a game where the Falcons needed to play defense it was this game. Rochester at times has really struggled on defense, especially in Blue play and it showed here. The Falcons were up 22-10 after the first quarter but the Eagles chipped away eventually trailed by two at halftime (31-29 and 51-49 after three quarters.) Utica Eisenhower would outscore Rochester 21-12 and in the last 3:30 of the game 16-4 in the fourth quarter to pull off the stunning upset. The Falcons finished at 16-5, sharing the Blue this year. Rochester will lose a ton of talent for coach Vance Kirkwood next season.
Southfield Arts and Tech:
I wasn't really surprised by the outcome of this game as this was the likely outcome. Farmington used a strong second half, outscoring Harrison 25-8 leading themselves to a 66-31 blowout of the Hawks. The Falcons beat Harrison three times this season. Farmington was led by their freshman duo of Jared Atkins and Terron Humes whom combined for 34 of the team's 66 points. The Falcons will move onto meet Groves on Friday. The Hawks finished the season at 5-16 and will have one more season as a school for coach Jareel Hogan.
If you love defense like I always do then you'll love this game. North Farmington and Groves was a nail bitter that went into double overtime with the Falcons surviving 35-33 on a buzzer beating basket from Spencer Tredwell. In a ugly game that was tied at 11 at one point and then at 24 and then 29 both defenses were on full display. The Raiders had a chance to win it with two free throws but could not hit them in the first overtime. North Farmington really struggled this season finishing at 9-13 for coach Todd Negoshian and they lose a ton of talent. Groves will meet Farmington on Friday.
Troy:
I was surprised that the Colts had trouble with Birmingham Brother Rice at home but Leon Ayers really bailed them out in a 61-49 win over the Warriors. Troy with seven seniors really needs to play better if they want to move onto the next round.
I wasn't surprised Seaholm blew out Royal Oak 62-36 on Wednesday night. The Maples are making up for a tough season in the White by beating a senior heavy Troy Athens team on Monday and now a Ravens team that had it's ups and downs for coach Aaron Smith. Royal Oak should be better next season after taking a bit of a setback this season finishing 8-13. Seaholm will rematch Troy on Friday night in a interesting matchup.
Birmingham Detroit Country Day:
This was one of the upsets I didn't expect to happen but it did with Ferndale losing 58-45 to Clawson. The Trojans clearly outplayed the Eagles. Clawson has had a down season, it's possible that coach Tom Staten's team really underestimated the Trojans. Also give credit to Clawson and their coach Dwayne Graves. Graves is very familiar with the OAA being at Bloomfield Hills Lahser and at Bloomfield Hills, leading them to the State Final. He does know Staten from his days at Bloomfield Hills Lahser which did help. Ferndale finished the season at 6-14 but the Eagles return a lot of talent that will have experience next season.
West Bloomfield:
I was surprised that Waterford Mott laid a beatdown to Avondale 79-64. The Corsairs outscored the Yellow Jackets 33-21 to close out the game. Waterford Mott also shut down Martone Cole, whom struggled. The Yellow Jackets do return a ton of talent for next season for coach Tim Morton. Avondale finished the season at 12-9.
I wasn't surprised Bloomfield Hills got destroyed by Orchard Lake St. Marys 53-28. The Blackhawks had no answer for the firepower of the Eaglets. Bloomfield Hills finishes the season at 7-15 on the year but will have the memory of upsetting West Bloomfield in the district for coach Phil Kurjian.
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