By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — Clarkston Girls Varsity Basketball continued to rule the OAA Red league with a 46-38 win at Stoney Creek last Thursday.
“It was good,” said Aaron Goodnough, head coach. It was almost a carbon copy to the game I thought it was going to be. Overall we proved we are a equal team, if not a hair better just because the way we can shoot and defend. But every single time we go to Stoney Creek it’s a fight. It’s exactly what I expected and we conditioned the girls for it. We talked about the game getting messy, and it got messy. We got through it and came out on the good side of things.”
He added it was a tough game because of the familiarity the Wolves have with the Cougars.
“It’s another one of those games a lot of our girls know a lot of girls on the other team,” Goodnough said. “We know exactly what to expect. We know each other well. I get along with the coach over there as well. He is a good guy.”
He added in terms of the rest of the year the familiarity helps.
“We have been in these games. We’re not going to get shook when we get into close games or very physical games. We just continue on,” he said.
He pointed to the fourth quarter when the Wolves were up at least eight points but playing like they were down in the double digits.
“We just had to call a time out and slow everything down,” he said.
Then, junior Elliana Robak took a break from the court to tend to a bloody nose from a foul.
“We just had to fight through with her trying to fix that up and get back on the court,” Goodnough said. “Then, we opened the defense back up and it got more comfortable at the end.”
Robak led with 21 points for the night.
“They were face guarding her and chasing her all around the court,” Goodnough said about Stoney Creek’s defense. “We had just practiced some things to get her freedom and able to touch the ball and stay involved. Even with all that and a bloody nose she ended up with 21 points and played really well.”
Sophomore Brooklyn Covert scored nine points.
“Brooklyn had a good game as well,” Goodnough said. “We needed her on defense, and she really stepped up.”
Freshman Bella Flavin had eight points in her first varsity game as a starter.
“It was her first start because Ellery (Hernandez) was sick and under the weather,” Goodnough said. “We had a freshman starter first game ever and had eight points. She had the first points of the game.”
The Wolves opened the week against Oxford on Tuesday.
“Oxford should be in the same vein as Stoney Creek,” said Goodnough. “It’s our senior night so you never know on a senior night how it is necessarily going to go. We should be in pretty good shape against Oxford.”
Clarkston hosts West Bloomfield this week. JV plays the Lakers on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Varsity (9-5, 3-0 OAA Red) plays West Bloomfield (7-5, 3-0) on Friday during Fife for a Cure, 5:30 p.m.
“We are really looking forward to the West Bloomfield game,” Goodnough said. “I, as a varsity coach, have never beat West Bloomfield because they have had the twins there for the last four years and other Division 1 players. I would like to think this is the year. This year or next year, we really start competing back with that team. We are looking forward to that game on Friday. It’s a game in years gone past everything has to go right to stay in the game. This year I think if we play our very best, West Bloomfield will have to be playing very well too to beat us.”
He added there will be lots of energy and motivation for the Fife for a Cure event.
“It’s the biggest crowd we will get all year,” he said, adding through the month of January the girls been fund raising for cancer research. “It’s why we have been wearing our pink uniforms all January. They will definitely be more motivated. We did a free throw-a-thon. The girls went out and got sponsors for every free throw they made out of 100. We did our free throws last week. All the girls participated and even some of the JV girls. We already planned it at the beginning of the year before is became Fife for a Cure. Now it coincides very nicely.”
The Wolves head to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep on Tuesday, Feb. 4. JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows