MUSTANG MOTION
Marian moves on to regional final by downing short-staffed Clarkston
HOLLY » It takes some special extenuating circumstances for a winning coach to express nothing but disappointment while the losing coach proclaims to be the proudest coach anywhere, but the reality of a season amid a pandemic has continued to be unpredictable.
On Monday, the combination of spring break absences, COVID-19 caution, and old injuries reduced Clarkston to just a sevenplayer roster for its Division 1 regional semifinal clash with a fullstrength Birmingham Marian squad. The result was less lopsided than it could have been.
Marian put forth one dominant quarter — the second — and rode its success in that frame to a 6350 victory, but eased off the accelerator to an extent that left Mustangs coach Mary Cicerone predominantly miffed with her team’s performance.
“I think we got up by almost 30, but then we just stopped playing, which disappoints me,” Cicerone said. “We kind of went flat and nobody wanted to play any defense anymore once we got up by 30.
“You give (the Clarkston) kids credit. They worked hard and shot the ball well. They had nothing to lose. The role players did the best they could. I feel bad for them — they had a great season, but were left shorthanded. Those kids have nothing to hang their heads about. They played a great game and didn’t quit.”
Clarkston coach John Weyer was certainly pleased with the effort he got from a short-staffed lineup cobbled together out of necessity with whoever was still on hand.
“Those are two JV players and
two varsity players who have never started a game,” Weyer said. “We beat them in three quarters and we beat them in the second half. I can’t ask for more from the team. They gave them everything they had. I am so proud of those girls.”
Without three of their regular starters and all four of their seniors, the Wolves had just two freshmen to substitute in off the bench, which caused fatigue to set in during the second quarter when Marian made its run.
“We work hard and that’s a testament to those girls, those five, to stay out there as long as they did,” Weyer said. “Every kid on the floor for us had to guard someone taller than them. We had the size advantage on zero of five positions.”
Clarkston held a 12-7 lead in the early stages as junior Madison Skorupski performed the heavy lifting offensively. At the end of the first stanza, the score was tied 15-15.
Marian found success in the second quarter, however, by consistently scoring in the paint. Junior Sarah Sylvester totaled 11 of her 15 points during this stretch, as the Mustangs repeatedly pulled down offensive rebounds resulting in second-chance points.
By halftime, Marian’s lead had grown to 16 points. Early in the fourth quarter, the margin reached 29.
Undeterred, the Wolves steadily cut into their deficit down the stretch, culminating in a 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave Skorupski a game-high 27 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Junior Izzy Hadley added 11 points for Clarkston.
The Wolves (15-4) captured a second consecutive district title last week when it had a full complement of players.
“What a year,” Weyer said. “The scheduled changes and everything just kept throwing them for a loop. They had to be so psychologically agile. And that psychological agility is what took us through this season.”
Having advanced with a victory nonetheless, Marian (13-5) will face undefeated Hartland (19-0) on Wednesday in a Division 1 regional final. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Holly High School.
“We played two really weak teams in districts, which was unfortunate because we would have liked that matchup with West Bloomfield,” Cicerone said, alluding to last week’s district title made that was made easier by West Bloomfield’s withdrawal from the playoffs for COVID-19 reasons.
“You want to keep going. The teams that are still in, you don’t want anybody getting knocked out because of the stupid virus. It’s just unfortunate for some of those teams. There’s going to be a little asterisk next to whoever wins (the championship), but there’s still a lot of good teams in it. That makes it fun. We have to play a whole lot better on Wednesday or we’re going home.”
The Mustangs were led Monday by senior Shannon Kennedy’s 23 points.