Salem in Round 1 of KLAA playoffs
BY ED WRIGHT
Feb. 17, 2010,
11:55 p.m.
In a game Plymouth's girls
basketball team needed nothing short of 100 percent effort to win, the
Wildcats only had at their disposable 40 percent of their starting
line-up.
Not a good omen.
Despite its depth problems, Plymouth stayed within striking
distance of Salem, trailing just 22-17 early in the third quarter after
an Alex Roberts jumper found nothing but net.
However, the Rocks, who were operating at full strength,
repelled the Wildcats' exceptional effort by piecing together a 14-2
run over the ensuing seven minutes to put the KLAA first-round game on
ice, winning 39-23.
Salem improved to 12-5 while Plymouth slipped to 6-11.
Even without their top scorer (Stacey Klonowski), one of the
their best rebounders (Danielle Desilets) and their best playmaker
(Troi Davis), Plymouth battled the Rocks hard, erasing an early 13-6
deficit by scoring seven straight points, all from sophomore forward
Rachel Hille.
Capped by a three-point basket by Brett deBear, Salem capped a
low-scoring first-half by leading 20-13.
The teams exchanged baskets during the early moments of the
second half before Salem hit the afterburners and cruised away with a
relatively easy win.
"I thought Plymouth did a great job tonight being undermanned
like they were with three starters out," said Salem coach Fred Thomann.
"I thought they did a great job. It took us a while to get going.
"I thought we played a lot better in the second half. We moved
the ball better and got better scoring opportunities. And our defense
played a lot better."
Thomann commented on the sparse "Winter Break" crowd that showed
up at the game.
"It's so hard to play a game like this when there are no kids
here watching, but my guys knew they had to play and play well. I think
when you play a game like this, the kids are not fully focused on the
game at hand when they have a chance to play Canton next."
Thomann said he won't change anything in the days leading up to
the Canton game (Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Salem.)
"At this point in the season you really don't do too many things
differently," he emphasized. "What you try to do is work on the things
you already to well and try to get better at those things.
"There are two primary things of importance when you play
Canton: No. 1, is ball security. And No. 2 is staying in front of the
ball and not giving them second-chance shots."
Sara Stone led Salem with 14 points while deBear and Rachel
Norman both added seven.
Roberts played well for Plymouth, scoring eight points. Taylor
Birman chipped in with six and Isis Haywood had two.
The victory improved Salem's record to 12-5 while the 'Cats
slipped to 6-10.
The Rocks will host Canton in a conference semifinal clash
Thursday at 7 p.m. at Salem. The Chiefs won the first meeting between
the two Park teams.
