FeedsLady Chiefs overcome Franklin
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Canton senior Lauren Delapaz looks for an outlet in the Lady Chiefs' home victory on Thursday.It was a tale of two halves when the Canton Lady Chiefs beat Livonia Franklin, 39-38, in the final seconds at home on Thursday.
Canton senior point guard Becci Houdek stepped up to the free-throw line with 4.4 seconds left to play and the score tied at 38.
The pressure was on when she missed the first of the pair. She kept her cool, though, and hit all net on the second for the victory.
While most would crumble under the circumstances, Houdek thrives on it.
“Those are the kind of situations I like to be in; to make big shots; and finish it off,” she said after the game. “And I wanted to finish it off and get a win out of it for the team because we all worked hard.”
Although Canton won the game, Houdek and her teammates struggled early on.
The Lady Chiefs struggled to make any type of shot—inside or out. They scored five in the first and four in the second. They were held scoreless until senior guard Ja’nee Morton laid one in with about 2:35 left in the quarter.
Franklin’s stifling defense did a good job keeping Canton’s offense quiet. The Lady Patriots were phenomenal on the boards and their defense forced turnovers that lead to a 19-9 half-time lead.
Canton came out more aggressive in the second half and fired away with some newfound confidence.
Houdek’s triple—the first of three consecutive—narrowed the gap to, 28-25, with 1:50 left in the third. Morton and Houdek each scored seven in the frame.
Houdek’s next two triples were good enough to cut Franklin’s lead to one.
Junior center Marie Martin scored to give Canton its first lead of the contest, 35-33, with about 5:21 left in the game.
Robyn Whalen split a double bonus and Briauna Taylor made a shot to knot the game at 38 with 32 seconds left to play.
That put the ball in Houdek’s hands for the win.
“Becci is a playmaker and the ball needs to be in her hands down the stretch,” said Canton Coach Brian Samulski. “If she scores or finds the open player and passes—she makes plays and that’s what we want her to do.”
Franklin Coach MaryKay Whalen was impressed with her team’s defensive efforts.
“Our defense was pretty tight in the first half; we did a good job of making them take tough shots,” she said. “We knew we weren’t going to hold them off the whole game. It came down to when they did make a run were we going to be able to fight it off.”
Houdek knew things had to change after the first half.
“I knew I played bad in the first half and I just put it behind myself—we all did,” Houdek said.
“(Coach) said we were playing with no heart,” she added about Samulski’s half time talk. “He said we had more talent but we don’t have as much heart as the other team and that kind of pissed us off because we know we have heart. So we knew we had to come out and finish it off.”
Houdek finished with 17 and Morton 11.
Robyn Whalen led Franklin with 10.
Canton also defeated Walled Lake Western, 53-44, at home last Tuesday.
Junior center Baylee Hollowell had a tremendous game for Canton, leading the team with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Houdek added 14 points and Morton 11.
Canton hosts Plymouth at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
