By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Clarkston Girls Varsity Basketball team knows every night in the OAA Red is going to be a fight, and they battled to a 47-39 victory over Stoney Creek at Clarkston Junior High School last Friday.
“Every single Stoney Creek game, Lake Orion game is going be exactly like this,” said Aaron Goodnough, head coach, following the game. “It’s just a backyard brawl and we know it.”
Both teams remained close in points and went back and forth with the lead.
The first half finished with the Cougars taking the lead off Jadelynn Freeman’s basket at the buzzer, 22-20.
“The first half was rough,” Goodnough said. “We came out wanting to run a particular play in the half court. I kept calling for it in timeouts. I’m calling for it in dead balls, kept calling and we ran about three times on up about 25 possessions. We’re trying to get the ball moving make defense move, and because we didn’t do it they were standing there waiting on us. It was totally on us. They weren’t like in a huge panic or anything either. It was more about just we got to find our way here eventually and it’s just what’s this keep plugging with the same things.”

Stoney Creek kept the lead during the third quarter, finishing with a 33-30 lead.
Senior Elia Morgner opened the final quarter with a basket and one point on the free throw line to tie the score.
Junior Makayla Butki broke the tie going one-for-two on the free throw line. Junior Elliana Robak and freshman Bella Flavin built onto the lead, each with a basket of their own.
The Wolves held onto the lead, finishing the night with a win.
“We need to worry about us,” Goodnough said. “If we take care of us, we’re going to do just fine. And that’s what we did in the second half. We took care of us, and we started to play like we’re capable of.”
Robak led with 21 points. Covert scored ten points and Morgner had five points.
“They were face guarding Brooklyn for most of the game. She still managed to get ten and still the point well,” Goodnough said. “They just kept running girls on her. It isn’t necessarily the worst thing either because it opens up the court for everyone else, and we started to take advantage of it in the second half.”
The Wolves opened the week with a 46-37 victory over Lake Orion, Feb. 11. Covert led with 21 points. Senior Marley Mazur scored eight points and Morgner had six points.
“Lots of bruises, lots of skinned knees, lots of muttering under their breath on the court,” Goodnough summarized about the game. “They get off the court and you would think they hate each other, but they’re texting and talking. Everyone knows each other so those are just the games that are going to happen.”
He added both games against Stoney Creek and Lake Orion prepare the players for the post-season, which begins the first week of March.
“We’re looking down the road at some of the teams and some have played tough competition,” Goodnough said. “We have to face these teams who just want to beat us up every single night. When we get to the playoffs and we run into a team that doesn’t do that, this is refreshing. It definitely does help.”
The Wolves (13-6, 7-0 OAA Red) opened the week against Ferndale on Tuesday and head to Oxford on Thursday.
“Ferndale is shorthanded, but they beat Lake Orion and by 14 for their first league win. So again assume nothing,” said Goodnough. “I was telling them last year about our Oxford game. It’s burned in my memory because it was easily the ugliest game we played last year. We won the game 29-25.It was just like we need another girl, another foul. It’s going be a lot of the same. We’re ready as we go forward because we pull up our girls for districts. We really are trying to pressure our top seven, top eight. Let’s really get up early and make them chase us as opposed to just slowly climbing up that hill. Then, I can get some of those younger girls in before districts – that’s what we want to do because it’s our future and our future is bright.”
JV plays at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.

  Clarkston Athletics, Girls Basketball