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The Melvindale girls’ basketball team secured their third win of the season Friday night with their down-to-the-wire 39-34 win over Trenton.
With 1:15 left to play, the Trojans were only down one point 35-34 but after a quick timeout, the Cardinals finished the game.
“This is a quality win for our team,” Melvindale Coach Tom Schick said. “The girls really put everything they had into it.”
In a very back-and-forth contest the Trojans took an early lead and led 11-7 after the first quarter.
In the opening quarter, the Trojans saw an effort from five of their eight girls, but were held to just seven points in the second quarter, while Melvindale scored 11.
Auriel Harris accounted for all of the Cardinal offense in the middle quarters and helped her team to a 27-25 lead after three quarters.
Both teams battled hard in the third quarter and the score went back and forth.
The Trojans defense held the Cardinals to just one three-pointer with just over three minutes left to go.
But a quick timeout put Melvindale back in the game.
Harris tied the game with 30 seconds left, and put her team ahead with five to go.
The fourth quarter brought more of the same but the Trojans were outscored 12-9 in the defeat.
Trenton Coach Rob Sauter was surprised the game came as close as it did.
“I knew they were gonna give us a fight, but I did not expect it to come down to the wire,” Sauter said. “We just didn’t have it tonight and they did.
“They’ve been playing people tough. They did a great job closing it out tonight and we just didn’t step up.”
Melvindale was all too familiar with close games and used the experience to their advantage.
“We’ve had lots of close games at the halftime and we always seem to come out slow in the third quarter to hurt us a bit,” Schick said. “Today, I think we used the experience in those close games earlier, (and) they came out with a different type of mindset.
“They weren’t bothered as much today, and I think that really helped.”
Although the Cardinals won in the points column, they were out rebounded 44-15.
“They out rebounded us by a whole lot,” Schick said. “But the good thing is even though we got out rebounded, they didn’t give up.
“They made them work for everything that they had to get and we just kind of came out on top on this one.”
Sauter said his team’s number one goal was to out-rebound Melvindale, but said they fell short on their other goals.
The Trojans were riding off some nice victories over Roosevelt and Allen Park recently, but tensed up against the Cardinals.
“Our girls got really tight,” Sauter said. “They’d been playing so loose and playing so well and they just felt we were gonna get where we wanna get.
“They just really tensed up (and) we just didn’t play Trenton basketball.”
Shick was pleased with his team’s efforts despite being out rebounded, and said the game went as he expected.
“I thought if we were gonna win this type of game, it would be just how it went,” Schick said. “I knew we would give up some rebounds. I knew they would try to take Auriel out of the game.”
Limiting Harris’s shots was a goal that the Trojans struggled with on the night.
“I don’t think we even knew who she was,” Sauter said. “Harris did a great job and they did a great job of getting her open.
“We just didn’t react to her anywhere near well enough.”
In the end, Sauter thought his team just reacted slow and rushed too many opportunities.
“We reacted slow,” he said. “We tried to pick up our intensity (but) when you don’t have it from the get go, sometimes it’s hard to get it later and we never really got it.”
The Trojans were led by Aevah Hebda’s double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Paige Machnacki recorded nine points and 10 rebounds, Barb Czarnecki had eight points and two rebounds, and Megan Benoist had five points and seven rebounds.
“She came in and did a really good job scoring for us tonight off the bench,” Sauter said about Benoist. “I was really proud of her effort.”
The Cardinals were led by Harris, who accounted for 32 of the team’s 39 points. She also brought down five rebounds.
“She made huge buckets of course, but more importantly, she controlled the ball when we really needed to keep the ball and get time off the clock,” Schick said. “Nobody on the team cares who scores as long as someone scores and we get the win.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them tonight.”
Despite the loss, Sauter said his team can take the game as a learning experience as they continue into the season.
“They played great. It’s like we played not to lose,” he said. “We’re gonna recover from this. We’re gonna play much better.
“You just have to learn. Everything’s a learning experience.”
Schick gave all credit to Trenton for staying determined and physical throughout the game, and was pleased with the way his girls responded.
“As a coach trying to instill something here, that’s a quality win that we’ll never forget,” he said.
The Cardinals are hoping to take their momentum with them tomorrow when they travel to Inter-City to take on the Chargers.
“I’m hoping our momentum will carry over and help us get our first road win,” Schick said. “The girls are maturing enough to know that things are different on the road and you have to do a better job of finishing.”
GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Harris leads carindals to tight win over Trojans(PHOTO)
With 1:15 left to play, the Trojans were only down one point 35-34 but after a quick timeout, the Cardinals finished the game.
“This is a quality win for our team,” Melvindale Coach Tom Schick said. “The girls really put everything they had into it.”
In a very back-and-forth contest the Trojans took an early lead and led 11-7 after the first quarter.
In the opening quarter, the Trojans saw an effort from five of their eight girls, but were held to just seven points in the second quarter, while Melvindale scored 11.
Auriel Harris accounted for all of the Cardinal offense in the middle quarters and helped her team to a 27-25 lead after three quarters.
Both teams battled hard in the third quarter and the score went back and forth.
The Trojans defense held the Cardinals to just one three-pointer with just over three minutes left to go.
But a quick timeout put Melvindale back in the game.
Harris tied the game with 30 seconds left, and put her team ahead with five to go.
The fourth quarter brought more of the same but the Trojans were outscored 12-9 in the defeat.
Trenton Coach Rob Sauter was surprised the game came as close as it did.
“I knew they were gonna give us a fight, but I did not expect it to come down to the wire,” Sauter said. “We just didn’t have it tonight and they did.
“They’ve been playing people tough. They did a great job closing it out tonight and we just didn’t step up.”
Melvindale was all too familiar with close games and used the experience to their advantage.
“We’ve had lots of close games at the halftime and we always seem to come out slow in the third quarter to hurt us a bit,” Schick said. “Today, I think we used the experience in those close games earlier, (and) they came out with a different type of mindset.
“They weren’t bothered as much today, and I think that really helped.”
Although the Cardinals won in the points column, they were out rebounded 44-15.
“They out rebounded us by a whole lot,” Schick said. “But the good thing is even though we got out rebounded, they didn’t give up.
“They made them work for everything that they had to get and we just kind of came out on top on this one.”
Sauter said his team’s number one goal was to out-rebound Melvindale, but said they fell short on their other goals.
The Trojans were riding off some nice victories over Roosevelt and Allen Park recently, but tensed up against the Cardinals.
“Our girls got really tight,” Sauter said. “They’d been playing so loose and playing so well and they just felt we were gonna get where we wanna get.
“They just really tensed up (and) we just didn’t play Trenton basketball.”
Shick was pleased with his team’s efforts despite being out rebounded, and said the game went as he expected.
“I thought if we were gonna win this type of game, it would be just how it went,” Schick said. “I knew we would give up some rebounds. I knew they would try to take Auriel out of the game.”
Limiting Harris’s shots was a goal that the Trojans struggled with on the night.
“I don’t think we even knew who she was,” Sauter said. “Harris did a great job and they did a great job of getting her open.
“We just didn’t react to her anywhere near well enough.”
In the end, Sauter thought his team just reacted slow and rushed too many opportunities.
“We reacted slow,” he said. “We tried to pick up our intensity (but) when you don’t have it from the get go, sometimes it’s hard to get it later and we never really got it.”
The Trojans were led by Aevah Hebda’s double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Paige Machnacki recorded nine points and 10 rebounds, Barb Czarnecki had eight points and two rebounds, and Megan Benoist had five points and seven rebounds.
“She came in and did a really good job scoring for us tonight off the bench,” Sauter said about Benoist. “I was really proud of her effort.”
The Cardinals were led by Harris, who accounted for 32 of the team’s 39 points. She also brought down five rebounds.
“She made huge buckets of course, but more importantly, she controlled the ball when we really needed to keep the ball and get time off the clock,” Schick said. “Nobody on the team cares who scores as long as someone scores and we get the win.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them tonight.”
Despite the loss, Sauter said his team can take the game as a learning experience as they continue into the season.
“They played great. It’s like we played not to lose,” he said. “We’re gonna recover from this. We’re gonna play much better.
“You just have to learn. Everything’s a learning experience.”
Schick gave all credit to Trenton for staying determined and physical throughout the game, and was pleased with the way his girls responded.
“As a coach trying to instill something here, that’s a quality win that we’ll never forget,” he said.
The Cardinals are hoping to take their momentum with them tomorrow when they travel to Inter-City to take on the Chargers.
“I’m hoping our momentum will carry over and help us get our first road win,” Schick said. “The girls are maturing enough to know that things are different on the road and you have to do a better job of finishing.”
Last Updated: 1/26/2013 12:44:15 AM EST