Dry Lakers: Girls Hoops Comeback Falls Short

FARMINGTON — A desperate comeback attempt fell short for the on Tuesday night against Ann Arbor Huron in the Farmington regional playoffs.

The Lakers came back from 12 down in the final four minutes to get within one possession at 47-44, but when they desperately needed a big shot late in the game it just wasn’t there.

With 1:35 minutes left in the fourth, the Lakers turned the ball over twice trying to inbound the ball. The River Rats closed a 50-44 win out from the free throw line.

“Tonight we came up dry on the offensive end in times when we needed it the most, maybe the well ran a little dry for us,” West Bloomfield coach Steve Larkin said.

During a seven-minute stretch in the second half, Larkin’s team didn’t score a field goal. Ann Arbor switched to a full court press andpicked up its overall defensive intensity.

West Bloomfield (10-13) went from up six points in the third to down double-digits at the start of the fourth.

“In the third quarter, they had an ability to thrive in pressure situations when we didn’t,” Larkin said.

Larkin said his team allowed Ann Arbor to dictate the tempo of the game. The River Rats wanted to push the ball up the court every chance they had. In the first half, West Bloomfield looked comfortable with that style of play.

Fans had to keep their head on a swivel, the lead changed hands eight times before the halftime. The biggest advantage either team had was six points. West Bloomfield went into halftime up 24-21.

In the second half, the Lakers struggled to keep up.

“A lot of that, we got away from half court sets, teams like Ann Arbor Huron that are very fast and very athletic they are going to force you to play a certain kind of ball,” Larkin said. “Normally we are OK with it, but we couldn’t adapt in the second half.”

West Bloomfield junior forward Ashley Zeigler had 12 points in the first half, but only five in the second. Point guard Sydni Davis was the only other Lakers player in double-digits with 11 points. Junior Kheri Motley added nine.

After a tough regular season in the Oakland Activities Red division, the three girls helped West Bloomfield win its first district championship since 2003. Despite the loss, Larkin said the girls have a lot to be proud of.

“We played well when the season mattered the most,” Larkin said. “It might have been a tough regular season, but they knew the payoff at the end. I’m happy we won districts, I’m disappointed we aren’t moving on, but I’m not disappointed in the way that we played. I think effort wise we gave everything we could.”