Canton High School took the first step in what it hopes is a return trip to the Final Four by beating host Northville 46-32 in the opening round of the state tournament Monday night.
The Chiefs used a swarming defense and tenacious rebounding to take a 17-point halftime advantage. Kayla Bridges led the charge by scoring all 15 of her points in the opening two quarters.
“It’s playoffs now, so we’ve got to start taking these games a lot more seriously when we come out,” she said. “It has to be a whole different mindset. That’s what I tried to do, I tried to get my team going.”
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Canton (19-2) plays South Lyon (12-8) Wednesday in the district semifinal. Plymouth, which beat cross-campus rival Salem in the opener Monday, faces Novi in the other semifinal.
Bridges, a senior center, scored seven of her points at the charity stripe.
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“The defense they were in kind of opened up the inside for us,” she said. “We took advantage of that.”
Canton coach Brian Samulski wasn’t surprised by Bridges' performance.
“I thought Kayla came out and really attacked them, scoring around the rim,” he said. “If she didn’t score, she was able to get to the free throw line. She made her free throws.”
Northville coach Todd Gudith noted there was only one difference between the teams in terms of the number of field goals made.
“The difference was, we went to the line once,” he said, “and they were 14 for 23. We got them to miss a lot of their first shots, but it’s that second and third opportunities that they kept getting because they’re so darn aggressive. You give them too many chances and they will capitalize.”
The Mustangs (10-11) actually outscored Canton in the second half, 19-16. But the Chiefs were clearly in control, especially on the offensive end, taking minutes off the clock before finally shooting.
“They pick and choose their spots and usually they get a good look,” Gudith said. “They don’t take too many wild or contested shots. They’re very methodical. Their offense almost lulls you to sleep out there.”
Kari Schmitt led Canton with 17 points. Katie Giacomini led Northville with nine points and Meredith Williams had eight.
Plymouth 46, Salem 38: A strong second quarter propelled the Wildcats past Salem in the district opener.
Plymouth (9-12) led by four points after the first quarter, but then turned up the intensity on defense in the second to hold the Rocks to just three points. As a result, the Wildcats (9-12) went into halftime up 23-8 and never looked back.
“We sort of got into their zone a bit in that second quarter,” Plymouth coach Bob de Bear said. “I thought our defense is what got us that lead, though. We shut down their perimeter kids and blocked out. We didn’t give them any extra shots.”
Alex Roberts led Plymouth with 14 points in the game while Kate Watson added 11. DeBear was also pleased with Alyssa Burris, who finished with six points. He said she was a key in his team’s second quarter surge.
“She got in there and scored a left-handed layup and she hit a three-pointer,” deBear said. “She played smart and moved the ball around.”
The game was third time the schools have played each other this season. Salem coach Fred Thomann said his team played hard, but couldn’t overcome the hole it dug for itself.
“We got it down to five and had a chance for a possession,” he said, “but didn’t get a rebound and then they scored.”
Heidi Schmidt scored 15 for Salem and Katelyn Krause added nine.
