Grand Blanc tops Clarkston in regional final
MILFORD >> The Clarkston Wolves girls basketball team saw their season come to an end with a 44-42 loss to the Grand Blanc Bobcats in the regional final.
“It’s a tough way to lose considering we worked on the press the entire week,” Wolves head coach Aaron Goodenough said. “It is what it is. You can’t get too up or too down about. But I really thought we had a chance to get through this and maybe have a chance at the next one, but it’s hard to be disappointed.”
The Wolves had the lead with 2:45 to play in the game, 40-38. But they could not contain Grand Blanc’s Chelsea Bishop at key times in the fourth quarter, nor could they make shots down the stretch. Twice the Bobcats called Bishop’s number after a timeout and she got to the basket for a layup to erase a Clarkston lead, and a third time she was fouled and made both free throws, giving Grand Blanc the lead for good at 42-40 with 1:01 to play in the game.
The Wolves would not make a field goal for the final 2:45. Even still, Clarkston had a shot to win at the buzzer, but a long 3-pointer missed the mark, and the game ended before the Wolves could put in the rebound.
Clarkston led much of the first half, at one point pushing the lead to seven points, 19-12, with about three minutes to play in the second half and led by six points at halftime, led by the play of Elli Robak and Elia Morgner, who combined for 18 of Clarkston’s 22 points in the first half.
But the Bobcats exploded in the third period, seizing the lead. After scoring just 16 points in the first half, Grand Blanc racked up that many points in the first four minutes of the third period as a combination of the Grand Blanc press and hot shooting by Kate DeWitt, erased Clarkston’s advantage in short order and gave the Bobcats a 36-30 lead after the third period.
“We can handle the press. We didn’t handle the press. That was our issue. We knew it was coming when they (Grand Blanc) got into a panic, and we got out of sorts so quick,” Goodenough said.
Clarkston would battle back once again behind the play of Robak and Morgner, but the young Wolves were unable to close the game out. In all, Robak (18 points and 12 rebounds) and Mornger (15 points and four rebounds) did most of the damage for Clarkston.
The young Wolves will finish the year 19-7. Clarkston graduates only three players, including just one starter from this year’s team.
“As a rule, across the board we’re very young. I told Scott (Woodhull), my assistant yesterday, in all reality this feels like we’re one year ahead. Like, I didn’t anticipate being in a regional final,” Goodenough said. “I feel like we’re a year ahead, and we’ve got girls coming.”