Girls Varsity holding onto lead for title

The Lady Wolves added one more win in the OAA Red last Thursday to remain undefeated and in first place for the title.
This time they took down Troy for the second time, 62-35.
“We had the same game plan as we did last time,” said Clarkston Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach Tim Wasilk. “They played hard tonight. Troy has had a tough season but they are still clawing. It was nice to see on their end. We hit some shots tonight from inside and outside. It kind of got them down a little bit.”
Clarkston opened the game with possession but missed the first shot. Troy grabbed the ball and got on the board with a basket from Sydney Heath.
The Lady Wolves tied the score off senior Delaney Kenny’s shot off of sophomore Erika Davenport’s rebound. Kenny pulled the team into the lead with a 3-pointer off a pass from senior Erin Davenport.
Erin and junior Carly Giroux scored again before Troy was able to get back on the board to put the score 9-2.
Before the first quarter ended, Giroux passed the ball to Erin who scored her two points at the buzzer, closing the quarter 14-4.
The Lady Wolves continued their firing power when the second quarter opened with two points from Giroux and four from Erika.
Troy’s Rachel Zelmanski put one point on the board on the free throw line, and the Lady Wolves came back with a 3-pointer from Giroux.
Zelmanski scored again only to have Erika score her own basket. Next came two consecutive 3-pointers from senior Patrice Matthews, both assists from Kenny.
The Lady Wolves finished the quarter with a 33-11 lead as they headed into halftime.
“I was happy with our start and our first half,” Wasilk added. “We were really focused and played with a lot of energy. It was nice to see Patrice knock down some shots. We had some good ball movement.”
The Lady Wolves opened the last half with more shooting with two points from Giroux and three from sophomore Jessica Altene.
Troy closed the distance by putting 18 points on the board in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Clarkston.
“Our girls shot the ball pretty well,” Wasilk added. “Defensively we were pretty solid in three of the four quarters. Our press was pretty effective. It was nice to see.”
Erika led the team with 16 points. Kenny added 12 points with two field goals.
Matthews had nine points from her three field goals, and Erin added eight points to the score.
“Giroux had a really good game tonight,” Wasilk added. “I know she went down with an injury. Hopefully everything will be okay. We will see.”
He added freshman Mariah Hood also had a good game and good minutes.
“It was good to have her come in and give us some energy and shoot the ball well.”
The girls have three weeks of the regular season with five games left as they prepare a rematch with North Farmington, Southfield-Lathrup, West Bloomfield and Pontiac.
“Our biggest challenge is keeping kids focused,” said Wasilk. “Playing teams a second time around will be a challenge because they know us and we know them so keeping kids fresh will be a big thing. We know they are coming after us and we are coming after them again.”
The Lady Wolves head to North Farmington on Friday and host Huron on Tuesday.