With a district win under their belts, and a second game on their home floor tonight, the Hartland girls basketball team is looking forward to playing spoiler tonight when they play host to Brighton in the second game of a Division 1 district doubleheader tonight.
The twin bill starts at 5:30 p.m., when Howell takes on Milford. Both games will be broadcast on The Livingston Post, with the opener starting at 5:20 p.m. Click here for the link.
It will be the third time the teams will meet this season, with the Bulldogs winning both, although Brighton coach Bob Wellman is determined to let the past be just that.
“We’re going to try not to have that mindset,” he said of his team looking past the Eagles. “We’re going to come out and play our game. We know what they’re going to bring and they know what we’re going to bring. Hopefully we’ll bring a little more than what they do. We believe in what they we are doing and ad were obviously hoping we play one of our best games.”
The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a 56-40 win over Fenton on Monday. The Eagles scored the first seven points of the game, the Tigers scored the next seven, and Hartland then ran away with it, leading by as many as 24 points in the second half.
Asked what went right for the Eagles (13-10), coach Reyna Luplow said, “Execution and doing what’s being asked of them. They’re getting better at it, and it was very evident tonight. We’ve been really prepping the mental game and being confident in ourselves in knowing that every single one of us is a threat, and I think that showed tonight.”
Click here for the archived broadcast!
Brighton, meanwhile, hopes its up-and-down season continues its recent upswing. The Bulldogs (14-8) lost their first three games, won nine in a row, lost five in a row and have since won their last five.
“We’re hop[ing we’re going in the right direction,” Wellman said. “This is the time to be playing good team basketball, and I think we’ve been doing that.”
Both teams have won several districts in a row and are playing in the same district for the first time in four seasons.
Hartland has only two players, Liv Linden (who had a game-high 22 points on Monday) and Sarah Rekowski who saw time on last year’s state runner-up. Brighton, on the other hand, has a more experienced group.
“I’ve got six seniors who know what it’s like to get to a district final, and what it takes to get there,” Wellman said. “That’s going to be huge for us.”
Howell (16-6) takes on Milford (11-11) in the opener. It’s the first game in more than a week for the Highlanders.
“We weren’t able to practice a couple of days due to the weather,” coach Tim Olszewski said. “But I’m sure the girls appreciated (the time off) and their legs appreciated it. There was a little bit of time to gather themselves and catch their breath and hopefully get ready for a long (tournament) run.”
The Highlanders like to run, while Milford coach Chip Lutz prefers a more deliberate pace.
“We’ve got girls who can get up and down the floor and we’ve got girls that can shoot,” Olszewski said. “We’re going to try to keep up the pace in our favor.”
The winners will play in Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game.
