After a season of avoiding being stepped on by the giants of the OAA, Clarkston’s girls basketball team is ready to do some stomping of their own in districts.
‘With the schedule we played, we feel like we are ready to go for districts,? Clarkston Coach Tim Wasilk said.
Clarkston finished 11-9 (6-6) on the season; good for fourth in the OAA Division I.
All six of Clarkston’s losses came at the hands of the league’s juggernauts: the No. 1 ranked team in the state, Southfield Lathrup; No. 8 Auburn Hills Avondale; and No. 9 West Bloomfield.
‘We’ve had a lot of close games. We beat everyone in the county except those three teams,? Wasilk said.
As in their final contest of the season, a 45-40 loss to Avondale on Nov. 10, the Wolves were in every game with the trio of powerful OAA I teams.
‘It shows us we can compete with teams that are ranked in the top 10 in the state,? said senior Melissa Martinez, who scored 17 points against Avondale.
Martinez’s game offensive has been on an uptick as of late, she scored 16 in Clarkston’s 57-56 defeat of Pontiac Northern on Nov. 8.
?(Martinez) is one of our leaders. She knows her senior year is winding down,? Wasilk said.
Senior Tamra Green, the other half of the Wolves starting backcourt along with Martinez, likes Clarkston’s chances heading into Districts.
‘We’re really going in with confidence that we can beat any team we come up against in districts,? Green said. ‘We need to play together, play the way we want to and stay on each other.?
Having drawn a bye in the first round of districts, Clarkston waited until Nov. 14, to find out who their opponent in the semifinals would be.
Clarkston Coach Tim Wasilk and members of Clarkston took the trip out to their district site to watch Waterford Mott defeat Lapeer East, 55-50, for the right to face the Wolves.
‘We are not going to take anyone lightly. Anything can happen in the playoffs,? Wasilk said.
The Wolves made sure not to squander the extra practice time their bye afforded them; working primarily on the offensive sets.
‘It’s nice to have the bye so we can go through some things on offense and get some things ironed out,? Wasilk said.
Should the Wolves advance past Waterford Mott in their semifinal matchup at 5:30 p.m. at Brandon on Nov. 16, Clarkston will face the winner of Oxford and Waterford Kettering who play later in the evening.
Kettering, who eliminated the Wolves in the district semifinals before going on to win the district last year, defeated Ortonville Brandon, 30-28, on Nov. 14 to advance. Oxford, like the Wolves, drew a bye.
‘I don’t think it matters who we play we just want to play. No one in our district is close to Southfield Lathrup,? Martinez said.
The district finals are set for Nov. 18 at Brandon with tip-off coming at 7 p.m.