Mercy holds on to beat Ford in regional semifinal
ROYAL OAK >> Tuesday night went from what appeared to be a lopsided win to a major scare in quite a hurry for No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy.
Leading by 18 points in the third, the Marlins nearly got overwhelmed by a Utica Ford scoring surge in the second half that saw the Falcons take a twopoint lead in the fourth quarter.
However, Mercy composed itself and showed its championship grit to regain the lead and hold on for a 50-44 victory in the D1 regional semifinal at Royal Oak High School.
“At this point, you don't care about the good and the bad that happens during the game. You just advance and are happy about that,” Morris said. “That ‘W' always looks good.”
Similar to what would occur in the second half, Ford (20-4) started out hot, knocking down a pair of early 3-pointers to take a quick 8-4 lead on the Marlins (22-3).
However, Mercy would get the game quickly in its favor with a 14-2 run to end the first quarter up 18-10.
The Marlins then built on that in the second quarter, holding Ford to only two points, as the Falcons went 0-for-9 from the arc and trailed 25-12 at the break.
“I thought we got impatient in that (Mercy) built up a little bit of a lead and then we started taking some shots that weren't in our comfort zone,” Utica Ford coach Matthew Joseph said of the second quarter.
Mercy started the second half with a quick five points to take its largest lead at 3012, but that's when the tide started to turn.
The Falcons found their stroke, knocking down four 3-pointers in the third, three of which came from senior Kailee Gillich. She quickly helped Ford cut the Mercy lead down to 35-33.
“Making shots helps,” Joseph said of the rally. “These kids believed and they kept fighting and fighting. I couldn't be more proud of them.”
Mercy would manage to push the lead back to seven points early in the fourth at 40-33, but Ford scored nine straight points to take the lead with 5:14 to play. Sophomore Anayya Davis converted a three-point play to give the Falcons a 42-40 advantage.
“That was disappointing. We got that lead up to 18 in the third, and then boom, (Ford) made that great comeback,” Morris said. “They weren't making many shots in the first half and then it was like raining 3s. We just had to calm our kids down and I am really
proud of how our kids responded from that point.”
Mercy responded with a 3-pointer from sophomore Aizlyn Albanese, who knocked down three in the game.
White then showed her skills from the arc, hitting a step-back 3-pointer with 2:16 to play that extended Mercy's lead to 46-42. It was her second triple of the contest.
“I was going to drive, but I got the step-back going,” White said. “I had made the first one, so I told myself I could make this one too. I knew we needed it.”
Ford was forced to send Mercy to the line in the closing minute. The Marlins missed the front end of two 1-and-1's, but White and Albanese each pulled down an offensive rebound to keep the Falcons from getting a chance to cut into the lead.
“That was huge,” Morris said of grabbing the rebounds off the missed free
throws. “It did a lot of good things for us. It ran some clock for us and got us the opportunity to shoot more free throws.”
White and Albanese each finished with 19 points in the win, while Fran DeNardo scored eight.
The Marlins advance to Thursday's regional championship where they will face fourth-ranked Detroit Renaissance at 7 p.m. from Royal Oak High School.
“(Renaissance) brings a lot of pressure, so that's going to be the most important thing. We have to handle their pressure,” Morris said of Thursday's game. “We have to guard them well. They can shoot the ball really well. We have to do a good job in preparing (on Wednesday) and come out ready to play on Thursday.”
Ford was led by Davis, who also scored 19 points. Gillich finished with 13, while Madison Bettys had 10.
The Falcons see their strong 2022-23 campaign come to an end. The MAC White champions finished with 20 wins, a conference and district title.
“It was a great year. The best part of these girls is that they bought in all year. I know a lot of coaches say that, but this group was really special with their team chemistry,” Joseph said. “When they buy in like they did, it makes it really easy for me. Our leaders were hard workers and when you have hard workers as leaders, it also makes my job a lot easier.”