Clarkston powers past Troy to open season
After nearly 11 months of waiting, Clarkston and Troy began a new basketball season Tuesday not with a bang, but with a sigh. A sigh of relief, that is, to be returning to on-the-court competition at long last.
With just one true practice under their belts from a day prior, both sides endured the expected jitters and sloppiness, but managed to power through them for a competitive season opener.
Largely on the strength of its 20-9 first-quarter start, Clarkston scooped up its first ‘W’ with a 6649 victory over Troy.
“We had first game jitters after just one practice with contact. I thought early we were really sloppy just with our passes,” Wolves coach John Weyer said. “We just have to wipe that off. Unfortunately, we’ve just got one more practice before two more games. That’s just something we’ll have to work through during the games.”
Getting by on natural ability more than fine-tuned execution, Clarkston stretched its legs early with plenty of points in transition while defending the length of the court to disrupt the Colts offensively.
“It was the fast breaks. We got all of those buckets on the long ball, and we practiced that a lot when we weren’t able to have contact,” Weyer said. “That’s hopefully something we’ll be able to do well this year because that was in our practice (routine) of, hey, we have to stay six feet apart – how about 85 feet apart?”
The Wolves led 35-23 at halftime and stretched their advantage to 19 points through three quarters after junior Madison Skorupski grabbed an offensive board and fired back a 2-pointer at the buzzer. She led Clarkston with 24 points on the evening.
“I think it’s clicking for her that she can be ‘the girl,’” Weyer said of Skorupski. “With 24 points and 14 rebounds, that’s just dominance.”
Not yet down and out, Troy began the fourth quarter with an 11-2 surge to pull within 10 points, but the Colts’ scoring quickly turned cold again going
three minutes without another basket.
“We were sloppy, but what can you expect? We were fresh off an hour and a half of contact practice,” first-year Troy coach Julius Porter said. “We’ve been doing the things we can do – social distancing and taking the right measures to keep the girls focused and their hope of a season alive. At the same time, this is what sports is all about – handling adversity.”
An assistant coach at Clarkston prior to his arrival at Troy in the offseason, Porter inherited a team
that finished 15-6 a year ago under long-time coach Simon Bato.
Junior Kendal Zeiter posted a game-high 29 points for the Colts, while senior Lauren Gumma chipped in with six.
“I think they found their groove probably a few minutes too late, but at the end of the day all you can do is coach them and say, hey, these are the types of programs we’re striving to be like in terms of culture and competing every single play,” Porter said, alluding to Clarkston.
For the Wolves, senior Olivia Toderan contributed 18 points and junior Izzy Hadley added 10.
Last winter, Clarkston finished 19-5, won a district
title, and advanced to the regional semifinals before losing to Walled Lake Western just before the onset of the COVID-19 shutdown that canceled the remaining postseason. The Wolves return four of five starters from a year ago.
“I expect us to do pretty well this year,” Weyer said. “This is the year for psychological agility for these kids. They’ve learned it really well.
“It’s something they will have to keep on doing.”
Clarkston (1-0) will be on the road Thursday and Friday with games against Lakeland and Birmingham Groves.
Troy (0-1) returns to action Friday against Rochester Adams.