The Lady Wolves cut the deficit down to four points in the last minute against Stoney Creek with a 3-pointer from junior Ashley Skaggs in last Friday’s MHSAA Girls Basketball District final.
But the Cougars dashed the chance for Clarkston to tie up the game with five trips to the free throw line. Stoney Creek scored seven points to end the game and win the district title, 47-37.
“Stoney Creek’s defense was really solid,” said Clarkston Girls Varsity Basketball Head Coach Tim Wasilk. “We didn’t help ourselves out by not hitting the outside shots. It seemed we had a tough time running multiple offensive attempts. We just couldn’t get in offensively and that is a credit to them.”
It was the third time the two teams had played each other this season and Wasilk added it was down to the wire those times as well.
“We just couldn’t get things running with our press like we would have liked to,” he said. “Stoney did a great job getting the ball when they wanted to. They hit free throws down the stretch, too. It was big.”
Clarkston opened the night with a 5-point lead with a basket from junior Kayla Russell and a 3-pointer from Carly Giroux with an assist from Kacy Robinson.
Stoney Creek Maria Zandi put the Cougars on the board with a point from the free throw line.
Junior Erika Davenport furthered the lead with the shot through the defense putting the score, 7-1.
Then, the Lady Cougars started to climb out of the deficit scoring 10 consecutive points, finishing the first quarter in the lead 11-7. They continued hold onto it through the next three quarters.
Davenport led with 17 points and Robinson had 11 points.
Clarkston beat Oxford in the semi-finals last Wednesday, 41-36. Davenport led with 25 points.
The Lady Wolves finished the season 18-5 overall and in second place in the OAA Red.
“As a whole it was a great season,” Wasilk said. “We had great team chemistry. We played a lot of new kids and it was a successful season. We just came short of our goal winning the Red and just short of our goal of winning the district championship.”
They say goodbye to five seniors – Remia Bryant, Alaina Cook, Carly Giroux, Katelyn Kuenzel and Kacy Robinson.
“They are just solid players and good kids,” Wasilk said. “They would come to practice and play to work. They definitely made their mark on the program in the way they handled themselves.”