Lady Wolves passed the basketball around the arc, trying to find a way pass Rochester defenders.
Lindsey Reppuhn caught the ball and quickly got into position for a throw – it was now or never as the clock counted down the last minute in the first quarter of the game.
She threw the ball and Rochester moved in to catch it if it rebounded. The ball went through the rim for three points, giving the Lady Wolves the lead, 15-13.
Clarkston continued their reign on the basketball court finishing their season opener with a 48-31 win on Nov. 30.
“It was a good way to start the year,” said Greg Warner, assistant coach for the Lady Wolves Varsity Basketball team. “It was a rough year last season so it was good to come out and get a win. Rochester played hard, but we outhustled them.”
Delaney Kenny put Clarkston on the board at the beginning of the game while Rochester remained at zero.
Both teams battled for control, keeping within only a few points of each other. The lead going into the second quarter gave the Lady Wolves the edge as Anna Manilla Kenny kept the lead growing, sending both teams to the locker rooms at halftime, 27-22.
“Kenny played good from the beginning,” Warner added. “She took it strong to the hole.”
Kenny finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Manilla finished with 11 points and had seven rebounds.
“Manilla shined in the first game,” Warner said. “She has always been known for her aggressiveness and she came through on the first game as well.”
A bonus to the game was all the players were able to contribute even newcomer Tori Trimmer, from Ohio, who added eight points, and went 6-8 at the free throw line.
“She crashed the boards,” Warner added.
The girls headed to Troy on Dec. 2 and lost, 41-34.
“We had a good fourth quarter,” admitted Tim Wasilk, head coach.
The girls were down 18 points going into the last eight minutes. They scored 14 points to close the gap and kept Troy to only three.
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves against Troy instead of just going out and playing,” said Wasilk. “Troy did a nice job playing defense against us. They has a pretty good point guard that controlled the tempo of the game.”
Manilla led the team with eight points and Kenny finished with seven points.
The girls hosted Southfield-Lathrup on Tuesday and were preparing Monday afternoon for them.
“They have two extremely big post players and we are going to work to shut those girls down the best way possible,” said Wasilk. “We are going to sag down on them and see if we can force some jump shots.”
The girls head to Troy-Athens on Friday.
“They have a pretty good post player and a pretty quick team,” said Wasilk.
He added the girls are still improving as they continue going into their second week of play.
“We are just trying to get better as a team and a group. There are plays being put in on both sides of the ball and they are still trying to get used to each other.”
“We have a lot of leaders,” Warner added. “We are still trying to find a way to play them all.”