St. Clair Shores

Lakeview girls basketball team hopes athleticism makes up for lack of size

By Jason Carmel Davis
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Donna Agusti The St. Clair Shores Lakeview girls basketball team hopes its speed will make up for its lack of size. Pictured is Huskies senior Kennedy Herr. Photo by Donna Agusti The St. Clair Shores Lakeview girls basketball team hopes its speed will make up for its lack of size. Pictured is Huskies senior Kennedy Herr.

ST. CLAIR SHORES — According to St. Clair Shores Lakeview girls basketball coach Joe Charrette, the tallest player on the Huskies’ roster is 5 foot 8.

That lack of size means Lakeview will employ somewhat of a helter-skelter style of play, Charrette said.

“We’re extremely athletic with a lot of speed,” said Charrette, in his second season with the Huskies, after coaching at South Lake for seven years.

“We’re going to look to create a lot of our offense off of defensive pressure.”

The primary defense will see the Huskies in a man-to-man, fullcourt set, Charrette said. Offensively, Lakeview will spread the floor, looking for opportunities to run.

“What we lack in size, we make up for in athleticism,” Charrette said.

The return of seven players has Charrette optimistic about the season. He said a group of seniors — Grace Arlington, Sarah Moen, Sam Bullaro, Rebecca Stefaniak and Becca Dennis — would be called upon to lead the team. Junior Leah Charrette, the Huskies’ leading returning scorer, is a returning starter, along with Arlington, Moen and Bullaro.

The Huskies are hoping to build on last year’s 12-11 mark, which included a 7-5 record in the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division.

A division title win would be the first for Lakeview since the 2007-08 campaign, when the Huskies won the MAC Gold title.

“All the girls have put in a great deal of time this offseason,” Charrette said. “I’m very excited for the upcoming season, especially with a full season under our belts. This past offseason was important for myself and the players. (The players) now have a better understanding of what we do.”

That understanding will be important, as Lakeview looks to navigate its way through the MAC Blue.

Charrette said the league should be highly competitive with four new members: Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse North (moving to the Blue from the Gold), Sterling Heights High (from Gold), Warren Fitzgerald (from White) and Fraser High (from Red).

“I think, with the work we have put into this season, we’ll compete for the league title,” Charrette said. “That was our goal. We talked about it all (off) season. However the season turns out, it won’t be because we didn’t put the work in, and that’s all a coach can ask for.”

The Huskies next hit the court for a battle with Utica Stevenson, set for 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at Lakeview.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jason Carmel Davis at jdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107. Follow Jason Carmel on Twitter.