Madison Heights

Bishop Foley girls basketball defeats Madison to earn trip to regional finals

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Brian Sevald Madison Heights Bishop Foley knocked off neighboring Madison Heights Madison in the opening round of regionals March 5. Photo by Brian Sevald Madison Heights Bishop Foley knocked off neighboring Madison Heights Madison in the opening round of regionals March 5.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Madison Heights Bishop Foley's playoff run will continue, as the Ventures defeated Madison Heights Madison 53-39 in a Class C regiional semifinal matchup March 5 at Foley.

Foley trailed Madison 22-19 at the half before scoring the first nine points of the third quarter to take control of the game. Coach Dave Joseph attributes halftime adjustments as the key to the Ventures' victory.

"At halftime, we talked about us keeping our composure a little bit," he said. "I thought we were a little nervous in the first half. We had 12 turnovers. We just needed to take care of the basketball, and I wanted my kids to go to the basket a little more. The other thing we wanted to do was put half-court pressure on. The half-court pressure rattled them a little bit, and we were able to dictate the game and what we wanted to do."

Although the postseason may have ended sooner than he would have preferred, coach Jeff Evans is able to appreciate what his Eagles team was able to accomplish this season, which he said included the program's first district title since 1992.

"I'm happy with what we did," he said. "We have a lot of young players. We've got a lot of people coming back. I anticipate us being competitive for a while."

Foley moves on to face Riverview Gabriel Richard in a regional final, scheduled for 7 p.m. March 7 at Foley.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.