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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 were hoping to take their momentum with them Saturday when they traveled 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.”
Despite playing hard on Saturday, the Cardinals fell 44-34.
Both teams fought hard, despite playing on back-to-back days, and in the end the Chargers just did a better job of finishing their plays.
“We made a few good runs at them, but Inter-City did a great job of responding to our runs and we just couldn’t get over that hump,” Schick said.
Rachel Muscal led Inter-City with 14 points. Alyssa Saenz recorded 10, and Courtney Hunter added eight points.
Melvindale was led by Harris with 14 points. Paige Filipowski had eight and Aerial Clifton finished with seven.
Early last week, the Cardinals took on Taylor Truman and were defeated 36-22 after a poor night of shooting.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead and led 10-3 after the first quarter.
Chelsea Bedwell got Truman on the scoreboard just five seconds into the game, after April Micheaux won the opening tip off.
Bedwell and Micheaux each contributed four points in the first quarter, helping Truman to their lead.
In the second quarter, Truman built upon their lead, outscoring Melvindale 10-5.
Micheaux was on the bench in foul trouble, but Liaja Hodge jumped in and took over.
“Liaja Hodge gave us a big boost in the second quarter,” Coach Chad Putnam said. “April was on the bench with foul trouble in the second quarter, and Liaja was able to come in and score five points in the quarter.”
The Cardinals made a run in the third and cut the Cougars’ lead to 24-17 after 24 minutes of play.
The Cougars only allowed five points in the final quarter, while they scored 12 to ensure their win.
Micheaux recorded seven points and Judah Frazier made an important three-point shot from the corner, giving Truman their comfortable lead they were able to hang on to.
The Cougars were led by Micheaux with 13 points and seven rebounds. Chelsea Bedwell contributed six points and six rebounds, and Frazier, Hodge, and Diamond Thomas all had five points.
The Cardinals, who only went six-for-49 from the floor, were led by Harris with seven points. Filipowski ended the night with five points.
Schick said his team came in with a game plan of limiting Micheaux’s baskets and thought his team did a nice job of that, but the poor shooting hindered their plan.
“It’s hard to win making only six baskets,” Schick said.
The Cardinals play Kennedy on Friday.
Before falling to the Cardinals on Friday, the Trojans defeated a tough Allen Park 33-29 on Jan. 22.
Trenton took an early lead and allowed only six points to their 14 in the second quarter to lead 21-10 at the half.
The Jags kept chipping away and narrowed the gap in the second half, outscoring the Trojans in both quarters, but were unable to catch up.
“We got behind early and kept trying to get back in the game,” Coach Chuck Perez said. “It was just too much to overcome.
Sauter was pleased with his team’s effort against the Jags and said they played, “pretty darn well.”
Galczyk led the Trojans with her double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Machnacki recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, and Benoist added seven boards.
The Jags were led by Hailey Lazarek with 11 points. Erin Fish followed with eight points and six rebounds, and Casey Bowdell and Becca DuVall each had four points. DuVall also contributed seven rebounds.
Despite a second half comeback attempt, Allen Park had a tough night shooting and committed too many turnovers in the first half.
The Jags only shot five-for-12 from the free throw line and shot 11-for-55 from the field, missing 22 shots in the paint.
The team bounced back on Friday with a crushing 57-27 victory over Lincoln Park in a game played with determination.
“Friday night I saw a different Allen Park team,” Perez said. “They played with so much intensity and passion. The best word to describe it was determination.”
Allen Park outshot the Rails 32-14 in the first half to give them a lead Lincoln Park could not catch up with.
The game was a team effort, and they finished with 23 assists, their best passing game of the year.
Fish led the team with 13 points, and had an excellent game, shooting six-for-ten from the field.
DuVall had her best game of the season, according to Perez, and led the team with 13 rebounds.
“She was playing at a different level,” Perez said.
DuVall also contributed six points.
Lazarek attacked the rim all night, and finished with 10 points and three assists, while Amy Trionfi also had her best game of the season with nine points and five assists, and shot four-for-seven from the field.
“Amy was on a mission to led her team to a win,” Perez said.
Bowdell (eight points), Hannah Holder (six points), Emilee Semeniuk (five rebounds), Olivia Keeley (four rebounds), Kailee Paris (three points), Erica Cavazos (three assists, two rebounds) and Keri Lessnau (two points) all contributed to the team effort.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Downriver League Roundup #2
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 were hoping to take their momentum with them Saturday when they traveled 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.”
Despite playing hard on Saturday, the Cardinals fell 44-34.
Both teams fought hard, despite playing on back-to-back days, and in the end the Chargers just did a better job of finishing their plays.
“We made a few good runs at them, but Inter-City did a great job of responding to our runs and we just couldn’t get over that hump,” Schick said.
Rachel Muscal led Inter-City with 14 points. Alyssa Saenz recorded 10, and Courtney Hunter added eight points.
Melvindale was led by Harris with 14 points. Paige Filipowski had eight and Aerial Clifton finished with seven.
Early last week, the Cardinals took on Taylor Truman and were defeated 36-22 after a poor night of shooting.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead and led 10-3 after the first quarter.
Chelsea Bedwell got Truman on the scoreboard just five seconds into the game, after April Micheaux won the opening tip off.
Bedwell and Micheaux each contributed four points in the first quarter, helping Truman to their lead.
In the second quarter, Truman built upon their lead, outscoring Melvindale 10-5.
Micheaux was on the bench in foul trouble, but Liaja Hodge jumped in and took over.
“Liaja Hodge gave us a big boost in the second quarter,” Coach Chad Putnam said. “April was on the bench with foul trouble in the second quarter, and Liaja was able to come in and score five points in the quarter.”
The Cardinals made a run in the third and cut the Cougars’ lead to 24-17 after 24 minutes of play.
The Cougars only allowed five points in the final quarter, while they scored 12 to ensure their win.
Micheaux recorded seven points and Judah Frazier made an important three-point shot from the corner, giving Truman their comfortable lead they were able to hang on to.
The Cougars were led by Micheaux with 13 points and seven rebounds. Chelsea Bedwell contributed six points and six rebounds, and Frazier, Hodge, and Diamond Thomas all had five points.
The Cardinals, who only went six-for-49 from the floor, were led by Harris with seven points. Filipowski ended the night with five points.
Schick said his team came in with a game plan of limiting Micheaux’s baskets and thought his team did a nice job of that, but the poor shooting hindered their plan.
“It’s hard to win making only six baskets,” Schick said.
The Cardinals play Kennedy on Friday.
Before falling to the Cardinals on Friday, the Trojans defeated a tough Allen Park 33-29 on Jan. 22.
Trenton took an early lead and allowed only six points to their 14 in the second quarter to lead 21-10 at the half.
The Jags kept chipping away and narrowed the gap in the second half, outscoring the Trojans in both quarters, but were unable to catch up.
“We got behind early and kept trying to get back in the game,” Coach Chuck Perez said. “It was just too much to overcome.
Sauter was pleased with his team’s effort against the Jags and said they played, “pretty darn well.”
Galczyk led the Trojans with her double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Machnacki recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, and Benoist added seven boards.
The Jags were led by Hailey Lazarek with 11 points. Erin Fish followed with eight points and six rebounds, and Casey Bowdell and Becca DuVall each had four points. DuVall also contributed seven rebounds.
Despite a second half comeback attempt, Allen Park had a tough night shooting and committed too many turnovers in the first half.
The Jags only shot five-for-12 from the free throw line and shot 11-for-55 from the field, missing 22 shots in the paint.
The team bounced back on Friday with a crushing 57-27 victory over Lincoln Park in a game played with determination.
“Friday night I saw a different Allen Park team,” Perez said. “They played with so much intensity and passion. The best word to describe it was determination.”
Allen Park outshot the Rails 32-14 in the first half to give them a lead Lincoln Park could not catch up with.
The game was a team effort, and they finished with 23 assists, their best passing game of the year.
Fish led the team with 13 points, and had an excellent game, shooting six-for-ten from the field.
DuVall had her best game of the season, according to Perez, and led the team with 13 rebounds.
“She was playing at a different level,” Perez said.
DuVall also contributed six points.
Lazarek attacked the rim all night, and finished with 10 points and three assists, while Amy Trionfi also had her best game of the season with nine points and five assists, and shot four-for-seven from the field.
“Amy was on a mission to led her team to a win,” Perez said.
Bowdell (eight points), Hannah Holder (six points), Emilee Semeniuk (five rebounds), Olivia Keeley (four rebounds), Kailee Paris (three points), Erica Cavazos (three assists, two rebounds) and Keri Lessnau (two points) all contributed to the team effort.
Last Updated: 1/29/2013 2:05:30 PM EST