Groves cruises to win over Royal Oak
BEVERLY HILLS » The 3-pointers came early and often for Birmingham Groves on Monday, as the Falcons’ shooters just seemed to have their sights calibrated perfectly against visiting Royal Oak.
Ringing up a dominant first quarter, Groves took the wind out of Royal Oak from the getgo and rode the strong start to a cushy 53-29 win in OAA Red Division action.
The Falcons drained 10 3-pointers in total, including five in the opening stanza alone by four different players spaced around the arc.
“We’ve shown the ability to be able to shoot, but sometimes our offense is so stagnant because we have a young team that’s learning what is expected of them,” Groves’ firstyear coach Ant-Juan Simpkins said. “When we get out and run like that and we’re picking and popping, then those shots can fall like that. That’s what we’re trying to do. Fill the corners and pick and pop.”
No less significant to its victory was the effort by the Falcons’ defense, which limited the Ravens to just two first-quarter points and helped create a 34-9 advantage at halftime.
“I’m pleased with two things. Our energy and the way we closed out the game, but most importantly, I’m pleased with the way we’re starting to believe in our defense,” Simpkins said. “That’s the key and the thing we’ve been saying all year. We’ll win with our defense and get out and run.”
Attempting to reassert itself, Royal Oak had a better third quarter and briefly narrowed its deficit to as few as 16 points early in the fourth quarter. But a 3-pointer by Groves senior Rachel Sample moments later poured cold water on the Ravens’ bid to make it an interesting finish.
“Tonight was just not our best night,” Royal Oak coach Brian Sopata concluded. “We got punched in the face and we didn’t respond. We needed to get a couple of baskets and try to weather the storm. Give them a lot of credit. They knocked down a lot of shots.
Quinn Blackwell and Sarah Soraghan led the Ravens with six and five points, respectively.
“In the second half, we asked our girls to compete and I thought we did a better job of that. At that point, we had dug a hole that was a little too deep,” Sopata said.
Groves had nine players find the scoresheet, led by Kaitlyn Sanders’ 11 points, Malena Price’s nine, and Kaitlyn Quinn’s eight. The two teams previously met to open the season on Feb. 9 when the Falcons escaped with a much closer 40-36 victory.
“We snuck away with a win (last time),” Simpkins said. “One ball bouncing another way and we don’t win that game. This one was a more convincing victory and I’m proud. I saw a lot of progress with my team.”
Both teams will return to action Wednesday when Groves (64, 3-2 OAA Red) will host Detroit Cass Tech on Wednesday and Royal Oak (4-4, 1-4) travels to Southfield A&T.