Clawson, St. Clair Shores

South Lake edges Clawson in MAC Silver battle

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Patricia O'Blenes South Lake had good reason to celebrate on Thursday night, as the Cavaliers defeated Clawson in a MAC Silver contest. Photo by Patricia O'Blenes South Lake had good reason to celebrate on Thursday night, as the Cavaliers defeated Clawson in a MAC Silver contest.

CLAWSON — Prior to the contest, South Lake coach Shay Lewis and Clawson coach Kelly Horne both referred to the Feb. 9 showdown between their respective squads as a "big game."

Based on the energy and perfomance of players from both the Cavileirs and Trojans, that same message was likely delivered to them.

Although it took nearly all 32 minutes of play to decide the game, South Lake was able to leave Clawson with a 48-45 victory.

Clawson had been trailing for the entire fourth quarter until sophomore Lizzie Pasquin hit a shot with under 30 seconds left in the contest to tie the game at 45. But Nyshah Brown and Lauren Giurlanda combined to hit three crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the win for the Cavaliers.

"I'll do anything in my power to win," Brown said. "We (were) swinging the ball around, passing it, shooting it.  And we wanted the win so bad so we could be in second (place in the Macomb Area Conference Silver Division). We just worked hard, and when you work hard, good things happen."

Thursday's contest was a tale of two halves that featured two contrasting styles of play.

In the first half, Clawson forwards Alli Costine and Ryann May combined to score 17 points for the Trojans.

May is 5 foot 10, while Costine stands 6-1. South Lake does not have anybody in its lineup taller than 5-9.

Clawson (9-7 overall, 7-4 MAC Silver) relied heavily on that advantage to take a 23-18 lead into the half.

In order to pull out a victory, Lewis knew some adjustments were going to be required.

"I told them at halftime, we're not cutting off the big girls," she said. "I'm like, 'if we're going to get beat, let's get beat by their guards. You got (Costine and May); those are the two girls that are killing us. Let's get them out of their comfort zone,' and that's what they did. I wanted to keep it in their guard's hands, which is why I pressed them and made them try to make some decisions and get some turnovers off of it."

It is hard for Costine and May to do a lot of damage when they don't have many opportunities to touch the ball, and the press defense that the Cavaliers applied in the second half of the game helped see to that. South Lake held May and Costine to a combined total of nine points in the second half.

It was the Cavaliers (9-6 overall, 8-3 MAC Silver) who primarily dicated the flow of the game in the last two quarters of play by forcing multiple turnovers and allowing their guards some space in which to work.

The Cavaliers' ability to tap into their strengths and change the flow of the game in the second half certainly didn't escape the attention of Horne.

"We outplayed them for three quarters in the game," she said. "Third quarter hurt us. I think we went a stretch of six, seven minutes where we couldn't get a bucket, and that was due to their outstanding halfcourt pressure. My starting point guard (Josie Daniel) is out with an ankle injury, and we were in backup mode. But we practiced against it. We knew it was coming, and in the critical points, we just couldn't handle it. They were just quicker than us, and we got beat is the bottom line."

Brown led South lake in scoring with 18 points, while teammate NaKyra Jordan chipped in 10 points for the Cavaliers.

May led Clawson with 17 points. Costine added nine points for the Trojans.

South Lake will next be in action at 7 p.m. on Feb.14, when it hosts Madison Heights Madison.

Clawson's next game is 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14. The Trojans welcome Madison Heights Lamphere.

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