FeedsLady Rocks hold off Canton, 36-34
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Salem held off Canton for a 36-34 victory Tuesday night at Salem High School.Canton Coach Brian Samulski predicted last week that who ever had the last run between his Lady Chiefs and Salem’s Lady Rocks would win the game.
He was right.
Although there weren’t too many big runs in the highly anticipated rivalry match-up, it was Salem that came back from a half-time deficit to steal the win, 36-34, at home.
After a slow start by both teams it was Salem that made just the right adjustments at intermission.
“We had to come out and play together more as a team and see our advantages and disadvantages on the court and we obviously did a good job of that,” said Salem senior Teresa Coppiellie.
Salem was only down by two, 13-11, at the half but Coppiellie scored eight of her 11 points in the third quarter to help put her Rocks on top, 24-23, at the end of the third quarter.
“It was a matter of getting (Coppiellie) in an area where she could score,” said Salem Coach Fred Thomann. “That was the thing for her. She had to be able to get in to a space where she was comfortable scoring. I thought early in the game she played a little too far away from the basket. In the second half she really got in there. She’s really had a fabulous first four games; she’s doing a wonderful job.”
All the Lady Rocks had to do was hold on for eight minutes and the victory was theirs. However, in basketball, eight minutes is an eternity.
Canton’s Ja’nee Morton opened the final frame with a layup, putting the Lady Chiefs back on top. Alaya Mitchel answered with a jumper for Salem. Then Morton split a pair from the line and Marie Martin hit a deuce to put Canton up by two, 28-26.
It was Salem’s turn again when Tayler Langham scored twice with two dramatic back-to-back layups as she fell to the ground. Mitchel extended the Rocks’ lead, 34-31, when she hit both free throws on a one-and-one bonus with about 45 seconds left. Langham hit the front end of her bonus to go up by four points.
The game seemed out of Canton’s reach with less than 30 seconds to play. But half a minute is still an eternity in basketball—especially if a team’s roster is full of talent like Canton’s.
Senior point guard Becci Houdek was quiet for most of the game but stepped up and nailed a triple with about six seconds left to play. The shot made it a one-point game, 35-34.
Hope was still alive for the Lady Chiefs. Salem’s Coppiellie missed the back end of a one-and-one but Canton was unable to secure the rebound, handing the victory to Salem.
“We got them to miss their last free throw but we just couldn’t get the rebound,” Samulski said. “It was a pretty good game though. Both teams played hard.
“Ja’nee had a good game,” he added. “Her teammates do a good job of getting her the ball and creating lanes and she does a good job of finishing. She got a lot of easy baskets but it was a team effort.”
Morton led all scorers with 17 for Canton. Mitchel led the Rocks with 13.
“It was a really hard-fought, highly-competitive basketball game with two very very good teams,” Thomann said. “What we tried to do was to get the ball inside a little more. I thought that we had a little bit of an advantage there.
“We really worked and tried to take away their run-out but Ja’nee (Morton) got away from us two or three times—she’s awfully good at doing that. Then it just came down to who made the last shot. Fortunately for us we were able to do that.”
Things don’t get any easier for Salem. They play two rivals next week—at Plymouth on Tuesday and against Northville on Thursday.
Coppiellie hopes the big win against Canton will be enough to spur them on through the rest of the season.
“This win gives us so much confidence, considering this is probably the biggest game we play except for districts,” she said. “It gives us confidence knowing that we can win against a team that is that good.”
Canton hosts Walled Lake Western on Tuesday and heads to Stevenson on Thursday.
