8/7/2019 A2SportsFront 3-3-11

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Girls

takecenterstage

Blessed is the man whoexpects nothing, for heshall never be disap-pointed.

That quote fromAlexander Pope rang in myhead Friday night as I watchedone of the ugliest halves of bas-ketball I had seen all season.

I should have listened to thesage advice of Pope, an eigh-teenth-century English poet and

satirist.My expectations were way

too high.But who could blame me?On Friday night Pioneer host-

ed Huron and I, along with therest of the people in attendance,came in expecting a good game.

In the end, I was disappointedbecause of those high expecta-tions.

Huron won the game eas-ily, holding Pioneer under 30points, taking the contest andthe Southeastern Conferencetitle, 60-29.

Dont get me wrong, I fullyexpected Huron to win thegame.

But I also expected Pioneer toactually show up.

With a win over Huron, thePioneers could have actuallyhad a shot to win or share theconference title.

Sure, it was a tiny, minuscule,ant-sized chance that wouldhave had to have Huron lose itslast two games of the regularseason, but it was still a chance.

Instead, at halftime of thegame, I sat on the sidelineswatching as Pioneer seniorJames Kelly stomped off thefloor in disgust.

Id be disgusted too if I werehim.

Pioneer trailed 28-9 at thehalf, and Kelly scored eight ofthose nine points.

The team also missed 7-of-8free throws in the half, and onlyscored two points in the firstquarter.

It was ugly, Pioneer head

Photo by Jonathan Knight/A2 JOURNAL

Hurons Jeff Hugan (left) is surrounded by Pioneer defendersFriday, while A.J. Mathew (above) tries to get the ball to the bas-ket. Huron defeated Pioneer handily, 60-29.

Huron boys and girls basketball teams clinch SEC titles

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CHAMPS!

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March 3, 2011Heritage Media

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By Mike LarsonA2 Journal

Like it has for much of theseason, the defense took centerstage for the Ann Arbor HuronRiver Rats Friday night againstPioneer.Playing on the road againsttheir biggest rival, the RiverRats came out withtheir signature inten-sity, winning thegame in a blowout,60-29.It was a greatdefensive effort, Huron coachWaleed Samaha said. Our kidsplayed with great intensity.The intensity was especiallyapparent in the first quarter, asthe River Rats forced Pioneerto make 10 turnovers en routeto a 16-2 lead at the end of the

quarter.

Things only got worse forPioneer in the second quarter,

as the River Rats extended theirlead to 28-9 by halftime.We just couldnt break theirpress, Pioneer coach RexStanczak said. Thats theworst weve played againsttheir defense in three years.After the break, the River Rats

came out and continuedto dominate, stretchingthe score to 42-15 by theend of the fourth.Huron coasted easilyto victory in the fourth

quarter, eventually winning thegame 60-29.Hurons A.J. Mathew led allscorers with 17 points, but thebiggest cheer of the night camelate in the game when seniormanager Dallas Williamsentered the game.

Huron girls outlastrivals to clinch title

Photo by Jonathan

Knight/A2 JOURNAL

Hurons SaraGolidy goes up fora shot Fridayagainst Huron. TheRiver Rats won thegame 63-48.

By Mike LarsonA2 Journal

The Ann Arbor Huron girlsbasketball team came into theAnn Arbor Pioneer gym onFriday and did what no one elsehas been able to do all season.The River Rats defeatedPioneer on their homefloor, winning 63-48.The win was espe-cially important as it

game the River Ratsthe SoutheasternConference Red Divisionchampionship.It feels good to be achampion, Huroncoach Steve Vinson said.This is not an easyplace to win and Pioneeris a great team, buttonight, we just cameout ready.Pioneer jumped out to an earlylead, going on a 9-0 run in thefirst quarter, but a hot streakby Hurons Kelcy Barott putHuron in the lead before thehalf.Barott scored eight points inthe final two and a half min-utes of the second quarter to

give Huron a 34-28 lead at thebreak.I felt really good tonight,Barott said. My teammateswere getting me the ball and Iwas getting some open looks.Barott struck again later in thegame.

With Huron leading 40-38 withabout a minute left in thethird quarter, Barott scored 11straight points for Huron togive the River Rats a 51-40 lead.I think she closed the gameout for us with that run in thethird, Vinson said of Barott.She was struggling at first, butI just told her to focus and to

keep shooting.In the fourth quarter the

Pioneers tried desperately toget back into the game, but itjust couldnt be done.

The River Rats did a goodjob of containing PioneersKamilah Carter, who has con-

sistently been one of theareas top scores.

Carter only scoredfour points in the gameagainst Huron, and her

first didnt come untilhalfway through thethird quarter.

Kamilah is a toughplayer for anyone toguard, Vinson said.So we had to reallyfocus on her as a team.I thought we did a goodjob, because when shegets going, she can really

change the course of a game.As a coach, you dont want tosee her catch fire.With the loss, Pioneers recordfell to 17-3.

We just have to get rightback to it, Pioneer coachCrystal Westfield said. This

It feels good to be a champi-on. This is not an easy place to

win and Pioneer is a greatteam, but tonight, we just

came out ready.STEVE VINSON

Huron girls basketball coach

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MIKE LARSON

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