Rally Falls Short as Grand Blanc Edges Hartland for Conference Title

Hartland junior guard Jaymie Dyer is no stranger to late game heroics, but her last second heave to send Tuesday's game for the Lakes Conference title to overtime came up agonizingly short as Grand Blanc narrowly defeated the Eagles 30-27.

“It’s been a miracle season in regards to kids getting hurt and still winning,” Hartland head coach Don Palmer said. “I was thinking we still had a miracle left.”

Dyer already made a three-pointer to knot the game at 27 with 48 seconds left to cap a second-half comeback for the Eagles. But with 22 seconds remaining, Grand Blanc's Alyssa Browne then made the first of two free throws to grab back the lead. When she missed the second, the Bobcats' Shareta Brown exteded the margin to three points by overpowing Hartland defenders trying to box her out to snare the ball and score.

The loss snaps Hartland's record 11-game winning streak and puts them in Thursday's Kensington Lakes Activities Association consolation game at Westland John Glenn. Nevertheless, the Eagles (17-2) focused on the positive from their gritty effort.

"This shows how tough we are," said Dyer, who made several key threes in a win against Fenton early in the season. "We’ve lost a lot of players this year, but we’ve kept pushing.”

The X-factor for Grand Blanc was again Brown.

Earlier in the year in Hartland's only other loss, she scored 21 points. Tuesday, she netted 15 points while grabbing 15 boards. That's a contrast from two weeks ago when Hartland beat Grand Blanc 28-27 in which Eagles senior captain and center, Kelly Holda, used her finesse game in the second meeting to force Brown to the outside and away from the post. But this time the Bobcats made sure to keep Brown was near the basket, where her skill set is at its best.

In addition, Holda was plagued early and often with foul trouble and fouled-out of the game late in the fourth quarter. The team's leading scorer and rebounder struggled with just four points and three rebounds.

“She didn’t have a great game. Then again she’s played so many great games we would not have been in this game without her,” Palmer said. “This is high school basketball you’re not going to play great all the time.”

Injuries have plagued the Eagles all season, but in her first game back since the teams game against Pinckney, senior guard Hailey Pleshakov grabbed a steal, blocked a shot and scored three points.

“It felt amazing to come back. I was so happy to get out there. I was edging to get out there,” Pleshakov said. “I don’t think we’re back to normal yet, but we’ll be back to full strength by districts.”

The Eagles didn’t have a scorer in double-digits. Dyer led the team in scoring with six points. The team also struggled heavily from the free throw line. Shooting 5-for-14 or 35.7 percent.

“It’s (free-throw shooting) been a contributing factor all season, it’s been a nightmare,” Palmer said. “ It’s just been where we’re hovering around 50 percent. I knew one of these nights it was going to come up and snake us. All year it’s been a struggle.”

But Palmer said Hartland played hard.

“I don’t think the pressure of the game got to us. I think we just got anxious,” Palmer said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been behind in the fourth quarter it was a little different feeling. We made a push at the end. They’re a good defensive team. I wasn’t disappointed by the effort.”