DAVISON — Senior leadership can make all the difference sometimes.
It certainly helped Canton Tuesday night as Kari Schmitt took over late and led her team to a 35-32 win over Midland in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
“When they got close, and then got the lead, we were calm,” junior Robyn Mack said. “We got the ball to Kari and she scored and got an and-one, so that was good.”
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Schmitt, along with Mack, scored all eight of Canton’s fourth-quarter points.
“They gave me the ball, I found an opening and put it up,” said Schmitt, who finished with seven points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. “I guess it was a big play.”
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The Chiefs (24-2) advance to the semifinals at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Friday. They’ll play Inkster at 2:50 p.m. Inkster (23-2) beat Detroit Pershing, 78-73, on Tuesday. In the first semifinal at 1 p.m., Detroit Renaissance (21-3) faces Grand Haven (26-0). The Class A state title game is at noon on Saturday.
Canton lost in the semifinals last year to Detroit Renaissance.
“We want more,” Schmitt said. “We’re really excited to go back.”
The Chiefs did just enough Tuesday to make the return trip as the Chemics (22-3) nearly pulled off an amazing comeback as they trailed 24-11 at the half.
“They’re a good team,” Canton coach Brian Samulski said. “They outscored us 9-3 in the third and 12-8 in the fourth. ... I thought we jumped out on them early. We had a great first half. They came out and we stopped cutting, moving and attacking in the second half. They made a run at us, but we made some big plays down the stretch.”
Mack finished with 13 points, four steals and three assists.
