Erin Davenport kept a close watch over North Farmington’s Holly Snabes as the Lady Falcons passed the ball around Clarkston’s defense on Dec. 21.
Snabes caught a throw from her teammates and Davenport closed in, stealing the ball in one swift movement.
Davenport ran down the middle of Clarkston’s basketball court with North Farmington cagers chasing behind her. As they closed in she took her shot, adding two points to the score in the second quarter.
But the Lady Wolves finished the game with a loss in their OAA Red game, 36-33.
“We played pretty well for three quarters,” said Tim Wasilk, Lady Wolves Varsity Basketball Coach. “We were handling their traps very well. Then, the fourth quarter they turned up the heat a little bit on us with a full court press and we had a couple of turnovers early.”
The Lady Wolves went into the last quarter, leading 29-21. North Farmington quickly gained control on the scoreboard, outscoring Clarkston 15-4.
“We had opportunities and had shots in the fourth but we didn’t knock any shots down, which was kind of tough,” added Wasilk. “We were rattled a little bit so we have to do a better job at keeping our composure.”
Christina Jokisch opened the game with a basket at the 1:35 minute mark into the first quarter. Delaney Kenny followed with another two points. North Farmington gained some edge at the beginning of the second quarter with a 3-pointer from Snabes.
Clarkston defense guarded tightly on the Lady Raiders but the visitors sank three more field goals before sending both teams into halftime with
By the end of the first quarter Kenny added a five points, scoring on a field goal and going 2-for-2 at the line. Jokisch added a basket to aid the girls in the 10-4 lead.
the Wolves leading 17-16.
Kenny led the team with nine points and Anna Manilla had seven points.
“We played a good game,” said Wasilk. “It was just the fourth quarter we did not execute but it is a good learning lesson for us.”
He noted freshman Kacy Robinson helped the team against the Lady Raiders.
“She stepped up with a nice game and gave us a lot of good minutes, especially on the defensive side of the basketball,” Wasilk added.
The loss puts the team 2-4 in the league and overall, but the team is looking at the record positively since most of the losses were close in points.
“We are going into the new year and we have been very competitive,” said Wasilk, adding the girls played well against Southfield-Lathrup in the loss on Dec. 7.
“We are close,” he said. “We just have to take the next step.
The girls practiced during the break working on the fundamentals and developing more chemistry.
“It also gives our newcomers more comfort in the offense,” Wasilk said. “I am happy with where we are. We are getting better. We just need to work at our free throw shooting.”
The Lady Wolves played Chippewa Valley in Mount Clemens on Tuesday before heading to Pontiac on Thursday for a league game. They are back home on Monday, hosting the Lady Colts of Troy. JV begins at 5:30 p.m., varsity follows.