FeedsRomulus wins district crown
Click image to enlarge
Belleville couldn’t get past Romulus in district play on Wednesday.Riding high off of the giant upset victory against Belleville last Wednesday, the Romulus Lady Eagles defeated Ypsilanti High School, 46-36, at home on Friday night.
The win earned second-year Head Coach Candice Finley her first district championship, “It feels good,” she said. “It’s just another stepping stone on the way to a state championship. It’s exciting for me and the girls.”
Romulus came out with its press defense that held the Lady Braves scoreless in the first quarter and limited them to just seven points in the second. The Eagles got things done early on offense, too. They carried a 21-7 lead into the locker room at half time.
Ypsi got its offense going in the second half. The Braves narrowed the gap to 35-22 in the third frame and outscored the Eagles, 14-11, in the final eight minutes but it wasn’t enough.
Senior Erika Wasson led Romulus with 14. Junior Jasmine Brown hit for 11.
Romulus took on Temperance Bedford at Saline High School on Monday but the results were not available at press time.
Romulus had already proved that anything could happen in the post season when they upset Belleville—the No. 5 ranked team in the state—at home on Wednesday night in a district semi final match-up. They came back from an eight-point third-quarter deficit to win the game, 62-60.
Afterward, they celebrated like they had just won the state championship.
Belleville had beat Romulus twice in the regular season and won the Mega Red Conference, which both teams belong, outright. The Lady Tigers, led by senior guards Danica Holmes and Taylor Manley, won their last 18 games and were favored to win the district and make a serious run in the state tournament.
It came down to who wanted it more and from the looks of it, it was Romulus’ junior Jasmine Brown that wanted it most. She drained 31 points, leading all scorers.
Romulus went into the fourth quarter down, 47-40, but the Lady Eagles, led by Brown, went on a 12-4 run to start the final frame. She scored 10 of those points in the span to take a 52-51 lead with 3:26 left to play.
Manley nailed a shot to give Belleville its final lead of the game, 54-53, until Brown countered with two free throws. The Lady Tigers turned over the ball and missed some free shots down the stretch, allowing Romulus to hold on for the win.
“(Romulus) did an excellent job,” said Belleville Coach Kevin Edwards. “Their girls worked hard and they deserve it. They played harder than us all night long; that’s what it was.
“We just didn’t do what we were supposed to do,” he added. “We started throwing the ball away and making unforced errors and right away I knew it wasn’t there for us. I told the girls that they had life and that they believed in themselves and they played that way, too.”
Romulus came out fired up, taking a 15-8 lead off of senior Erica Wasson’s triple to end the first round of play. In the second, Manley got her shot going. She scored 14 in the quarter. Romulus, however, clung to a one-point lead, 30-29, at the halfway point.
Holmes had a solid third period. She scored nine for the Tigers. Manley added seven to give Belleville a 47-40 lead going into the final eight minutes.
It was Brown’s 15 points in the fourth that got the job done.
“Coach said to drive it to the rim and that’s what I did and kept getting fouled and going to the free-throw line and made my shots,” she said. “We played hard defense in the beginning and then we lost it. But we came out and boxed out like our coach said and worked hard.”
Brown said that the win avenged last year’s district semi final loss to Belleville.
“They started doing what I’ve been trying to get them to do all season, to box out and rebound,” said Romulus coach Candice Finley. “They just believed and went out there and played their hearts out. I don’t know what got into Jasmine but whatever it is needs to get in her again. That was her best game to date.”
Wasson added 13 and Christina Barnett nine for Romulus. Manley led Belleville with 30. Holmes added 13 and Amber Brown eight.
The loss ended a near perfect regular season for Belleville. They lost only one game to Salem in a non-conference contest.
The win placed Romulus in a 7 p.m. face off with Ypsilanti, which upset Ann Arbor Huron in the earlier game on Wednesday, on Friday at Romulus High School.
