A little less than three months after it started, the 2022-23 basketball seson begins to wind down tonight as the girls state basketball tournament begins.
For three teams, the tournament begins tonight, with only one guaranteed to move on to Wednesday’s district semifinal.
In that semi, Fowlerville (4-18) meets Pinckney (7-15) tonight in a Division 2 quarterfinal at Pinckney.
Hartland is the other team playing tonight, playing host to Fenton on its home floor in a game that will be broadcast on The Livingston Post beginning at 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
The Eagles, who reached the Division 1 finals last season, are in a district where every team finished at or above .500 this season. The Eagles (12-10) take on Fenton (12-9) for the right to play top-seeded Brighton (14-8) on Wednesday. No. 2 seed Howell (16-6) mees Milford (11-11) in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
First-year coach Reyna Luplow says her team is up for the challenge.
“Our record is 0-0 now, and so is everyone else,” she said. “We’ve put Season One behind us, and we’re ready for the second season.”
As for the visiting Tigers, “They’re pretty big,” Luplow said. “They’ve got size so it’s definitely going to be a rebounding game. And they have some quick little guards, so it’s going to be a good matchup.”
Playing at home, she said, should give her team an edge, too.
“I feel like we haven’t been at home for a minute,” she said, referring to a schedule that saw the Eagles play only twice at home in February. “But you know, we practice there every day and those are the rims we use and the balls we use, and the comfort level is really helpful.”
Luplow will have a full bench after bringing up some players from the junior varsity to give them a taste of playing in the tournament. The rest of her team should get a better idea, too. Only Olivia Linden and Sarah Rekowski saw much time on the varsity last season.
“A lot of the girls are really just learning how to be basketball players and play a full (varsity) season together and understand what it takes to have to be consistent every night and do the little things well,” Luplow said. “I’m pleased with the way our season went, and i’m excited to see how this helps our underclassmen next year.”
And, if all goes ell, a third clash with Brighton is on the horizon. Luplow is looking forward to it despite the Eagles losing both regular-season meetings with the Bulldogs.
“We’re grateful that we get to host, and, obviously, we have to get through (Fenton) first,” she said. “But we want chances with our (KLAA West Division) teams again.’
