How the South
Was Won
Chiefs clinch division with 51-29 win

BY ED WRIGHT
Feb. 9, 2010, 11:30 p.m.

  Driving was not advisable Tuesday night -- on the roads or down the lane against Canton's girls basketball team.

  Playing a brand of physical, fundamentally sound defense that has left frustrated opponents shaking their heads this season, the Chiefs put the clamps on Livonia Franklin, 51-29, to clinch first place in the KLAA South Division.

   Canton improved to 14-1 overall and 9-0 in the South. The Patriots slipped to 11-4 and 7-2, respectively.

  Half of Franklin's losses have come at the hands of the Chiefs.

  "They're a very strong, physical team," Franklin coach Dave McCall said of Canton. "They force you out of your game plan. They force you outside.

  "They're physical and you have to play physical with them. They got us out of our rhythm and we had no inside game."

  The teams traded baskets during the match-up's early moments until Canton super-sub CarolAnn Sexauer entered the game and connected on four straight shots to stretch the Chiefs' lead to 16-9. The Patriots never got to within five points the remainder of the night.

  "Usually when I shoot well in warm-ups, the opposite happens in the game," said Sexauer, who finished with nine points. "But tonight I felt O.K. in warm-ups and I shot O.K. in the game.

  "I like playing against zones because it opens up my shot. After I made a few, they started running out at me, so I threw it in to 'Bridge' more. You have to see what they're giving you."

  "Bridge" is junior forward Kayla Bridges, who came off the bench to lead the winners with 14 points. Despite playing approximately half of the game, Bridges went to the free throw line 12 times, sinking eight.

  "I thought CarolAnn really helped us off the bench in the first half and Kayla helped us in the second half," said Canton coach Brian Samulski. "CarolAnn is strong from the perimeter and Kayla gives us scoring inside the free throw line.

  "One of the main reasons we've had so much success this season is we can bring players like CarolAnn and Kayla off the bench and we don't lose anything."

  Sexauer said she enjoys her reserve role.

  "I'm more relaxed coming off the bench," she said. "It makes it feel more like practice when I come in. I don't have the jitters I had when I was starting.

  "I'm happy with whatever Brian wants me to do. I just want to win."

  After hitting four of their nine first-quarter shots, the Patriots connected on just five shots the rest of the game, finishing nine for 31.

  Twins Kari and Sara Schmitt ruled in the paint for the Chiefs, making life difficult for every Patriot who came within shot-blocking distance of them.

  Kari Schmitt finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. She scored the Chiefs' first seven points before taking over on the defensive end of the court.

  Senior captain Alyssa Cottrell had a solid, all-around game for the winners, too, recording nine points, six rebounds and two steals.

  Cottrell exemplified the team's all-out hustle early in the third quarter when she chased down one of her own missed free throws in the corner of the court.

  Canton cemented the victory by outscoring Franklin 14-5 in the second quarter to secure a 25-14 halftime lead. The Chiefs extended their advantage to 40-20 after three quarters.

  Canton made 14 of 39 field goal attempts (35.8 percent) and  22 of 30 free throws.

  Amanda Boreo led the Patriots with 10 points. Senneca Scott added eight.