Macomb County, Wayne County

GP South, Chippewa Valley advance to regional final

By Jon Malavolti
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Patricia O'Blenes Chippewa Valley's Tiffany Misch shoots during district action. Misch scored 18 points to lead the Big Reds past L'Anse Creuse North 45-43 in a March 6 regional semifinal at Utica Henry Ford II. Photo by Patricia O'Blenes Chippewa Valley's Tiffany Misch shoots during district action. Misch scored 18 points to lead the Big Reds past L'Anse Creuse North 45-43 in a March 6 regional semifinal at Utica Henry Ford II.

STERLING HEIGHTS — Chippewa Valley’s and Grosse Pointe South’s girls basketball teams will meet in a 7 p.m. Class A regional final March 8 at Utica Ford II after winning their respective regional semifinals March 6 at Ford.

In the evening’s opening semifinal, South downed Romeo High 56-45. In the nightcap, Chippewa outlasted Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 45-43.

Big Reds edge Crusaders
In a game of runs, Chippewa Valley passed L'Anse Creuse North at the finish line, going ahead in the final seconds of the game after trailing throughout the entire fourth quarter.

"When my kids got down, when (North) had the momentum, we didn't give up," Chippewa coach Jackie Mauer said.

Big Reds junior guard Tiffany Misch led the Big Reds with a game-high 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.

Chippewa improved to 15-9 with the win, while North fell to 13-9.

North was led by junior Marisa Oleksiak's 13 points.

"We had a great year, we just didn't make enough plays at the end," North coach Bob Johnston said. "I'm just so proud of the kids."

Blue Devils best Bulldogs
South held Romeo without a point for the first 8:20 of the fourth quarter to take a commanding lead down the stretch.

“I thought we had excellent team defense,” South coach Kevin Richards said.

The Blue Devils entered the fourth trailing 39-38 before going on a 14-0 run.

“It was a great win against a great team,” Richards said. “And now we we’ve got to get ready for Thursday.”

South freshman Ali Brown led all scorers in the contest with 21 points. She and fellow freshman Cierra Rice played big games beyond their young years in the contest.

“It was pretty impressive state tournament regional debut by those two,” Richards said.

South improved to 20-3 with the win, while Romeo fell to 19-4.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Jon Malavolti at jmalavolti@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1040. Follow Jon on Twitter.