BY ED WRIGHT
Jan. 5, 2010, 10:33 p.m.

  It's going to take more than a No. 4 state ranking, a 5-1 record and a near-miss against No. 1-ranked Detroit Renaissance to make the Canton girls basketball team cocky.

  Based on the team's blue-collar, humble-but-aggressive style of play, the word is probably not even in the Chiefs' vocabulary.

  Fueled by the lock-down defense that has been its trademark the past two seasons (27-4 combined record), Canton upended visiting Salem Tuesday night, 49-34, in both teams' first game back from a lengthy break.

  The Chiefs are now 5-1 while Salem slipped to 3-3. All three of the Rocks' setbacks have come against top-10 teams.

  "We're not cocky, but we're definitely confident," said Canton's Kayla Bridges, who led all scorers with 13 points off the bench. "I think the Detroit Renaissance game (a two-point loss in overtime) gave us a lot of confidence because we were right with them the whole game.

  "Brian (Samulski) tells us every day he thinks we can play with any team in the state and we believe him."

  Of the team's No. 4 state ranking in a Detroit daily newspaper, Bridges said, "We were kind of the underdogs last year, so it's nice to get some respect and recognition."

  Canton led just 6-5 after one quarter, but managed to cushion its lead each quarter thereafter. The Chiefs carried a commanding 39-28 advantage into the final eight minutes.

  "It was just a matter of coming out and getting after them," said Samulski. "We've been off for a while and they've been off for a while, so coming back is always hard. I liked the way we came out and competed and played hard.

  "We didn't do a great job on (Sara) Stone; we have to get better at that. I thought Bridges gave us huge minutes off the bench, Lindsay Winters hit two threes off the bench, Yuki gave us some good minutes off the bench and Pickert was solid."

  Bridges led all scorers with 13 in a reserve role, hitting six of 10 field goals and her lone free throw.

  The Schmitt twins -- Sara and Kari -- also shined. Sara netted 12 points and 10 rebounds while Kari contributed 10 points and three boards.

  Winters finished with six and Alyssa Cottrell chipped in with four. Pickert and CarolAnn Sexauer rounded out the scoring ledger with a bucket a piece.

  Senior captains Brett de Bear and Stone both scored 12 points while Rachel Norman and Heidi Schmidt each contributed four for Salem. The only other Rock to score was Breanne Beaver, who had a deuce.

  "Canton did more of the little things than we did," said Salem coach Fred Thomann. "They had fewer turnovers, they shot better from the free-throw line than we did and they rebounded offensively better than we."

  Thomann found some positives in the 15-point loss.

  "I liked the way Heidi Schmidt played tonight," he said.  "And I thought Tabitha Mann rebounded the ball well on the defensive end."

  Mann led the Rocks with seven rebounds.

  Both teams shot well from the field. Canton hit 19 of 40 field goals (47.5 percent) while Salem hit the twine on 14 of 30 attempts (46.6).

  Canton connected on 9 of 14 free throws (64,2) while the Rocks buried just 3 of 12 freebies (25 percent).

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.