Madison Heights

Lamphere sweeps season series with Madison

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Andrew Potter Lamphere's Sherrod Aminah dribbles the ball up the floor during the Rams' big divisional victory over Madison Heights High Feb. 3. Photo by Andrew Potter Lamphere's Sherrod Aminah dribbles the ball up the floor during the Rams' big divisional victory over Madison Heights High Feb. 3.

MADISON HEIGHTS — The 2011-2012 season has been pretty kind to Madison Heights Lamphere's girls basketball squad so far.

After finishing 3-18 last season, the Rams have rebounded and put themselves in a position to contend for a MAC Silver title.

Lamphere's remarkable trend upward continued on Friday night,  defeating crosstown rival Madison Heights Madison 68-35.

"It was a great game," Lamphere coach Mike Kobus said. "We loved it. The girls executed well. We practiced a couple of new tricks; they did it. It was just wonderful."

A victory against rival Madison on the Eagles' home court meant something more than an average league contest for Lamphere junior Michaela Louis.

"I thought we played a great game," she said. "We were really excited to play. They always have pep rally's when they play us, so we wanted to come out (and) beat them."

The Rams (9-5 overall, 7-2 MAC Silver) set the tone early by starting the game on a 6-0 run. After Madison's Keonta Robinson trimmed the lead to 6-2, Lamphere proceeded to go on another 6-0 run and had a double-digit, first-quarter lead.

Lamphere sophomore Kelsey Wilkinson's 10 points through the first two quarters of play helped the Rams take a 33-21 lead into the half.

Any hopes the Eagles (1-13 overall, 0-9 MAC Silver) had for a second-half comeback were dashed when Lamphere's offense showed no signs it was ready to slow down. The Rams took advantage of some Madison turnovers to go on a 16-0 run to begin the third quarter.

At that point the game was 62-29, and the Eagles were unable to recover.

Madison coach Jeff Evans is hoping for better things from his team in the future.

"They played good for three quarters," he said. "We're trying to get some experience. All of our players but one don't have any varsity experience, so we're just trying to get better every day."

Madison senior Alyssa Bennetts came away impressed with what the Rams were able to accomplish on Friday night.

"They're a good team," she said. "They're quick; they're disiplned. We lost a lot of players this year, so it's tough. If we just stick together, regardless of how many games we win or lose, we're going to grow as a team. That's all we can do at this point."

Alexis Hilliard led the Rams in scoring with 16 points, while Shannon Hoobler and Wilkinson chipped in 11 points.

Madison junior Monique Burnett was a bright spot for the Eagles, scoring 17 points. Bennetts scored 11 points for Madison.

Lamphere will next be in action at 7 p.m. Feb.7, as the Rams will travel to St. Clair Shores South Lake to take on the Cavaliers. Madison will also take to the court at 7 p.m. Feb.7, hosting Clinton Township Clintondale.

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