Koenig shoots WOLL past Shrine, into CHSL tournament finals
The first time the ball came her way in the second half, senior Lexi Koenig turned down a wide-open shot, looking a little reluctant to pull the trigger.
She didn’t hesitate the next time.
And boy did Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes need her to heat up in the second half.
Koenig buried a career-high four 3-pointers in Wednesday’s Catholic High School League Cardinal Division tournament semifinal, scoring 19 points — including all 10 scored by the No. 3-ranked Lakers in the fourth, as well as the gamewinning free throws — to help WOLL beat Royal Oak Shrine, 45-42.
“That was a huge night for her. She’s probably not had more than two (3s) in a game. She made some massive shots — not even just the 3s. Free throws, rebounds, and the and-one there. We don’t win today without her,” said Lakes coach Steve Robak. “She had a huge game for us. At half, we talked maybe being more patient on the perimeter, and we talked about maybe don’t just take the first tough. Let’s move it a little bit, try to get something — we wanted Brooklyn and Quinn (Robak) to try to get touches, and we said if we get a reversal or two, and it’s not there, now you’ve touched the ball a couple of times, catch it and shoot it in rhythm, we’re fine with that.”
Our Lady of the Lakes (8-2) will face Wixom St. Catherine (8-7) for the Cardinal Division championship. The game will be 5 p.m. Friday at Riverview Gabriel Richard.
Last season, the Lakers beat St. Catherine, 44-27, to clinch their ninth CHSL title, and sixth in 12 seasons under Robak.
While the Lakers may have the ‘Splash Sisters’ in Quinn and Brooklyn Robak, who have