HARTLAND — It was a rematch of two teams who met in last year’s semifinals.
But it was also a match of experience vs. youth, and in this case, Wayne Memorial, with four returning starters, had more than enough to down Hartland, 51-39. in a KLAA crossover at Hartland High School on Tuesday night.
The Zebras (2-3) never trailed in snapping a three-game losing streak. Wayne held Hartland (3-2) at bay until freshman Mariah Cross hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Wayne 36-30 lead after three quarters. The Zebras then pulled away down the stretch.
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“I don’t think it was physical fatigue as much as mental fatigue,” Hartland coach Reyna Luplow said. “We kept clawing bck, but we couldn’t bridge the gap, snd they started hitting from the outside. We hadn’t see them do that that much on film.”
The Zebras used a pressure defense to keep the Eagles off balance, and if Hartland wasn’t dealing with that, the Eagles were also dealing with an off-night shooting.
Wayne had no such problems. Mayla Ham, a Georgetown recruit, led the Zebras with 24 points.
“She had a great game,” Hartland senior Liv Linden said. “She came out aggressive nd putting up the points right away. She’s a really good player and all-around great scorer, and we weren’t aware of her right away the way we should have been.”
That’s part of the growing process for a Hartland team that returned only two players who saw significant action last season.
“We’re learning how to take our time and be a little patient on offense,” Linden said. “Most of this weekend and last weekend we worked on handling that type of pressure. I think we got better, In past games we weren’t good wit hit but we’re getting better, and we have to go from here.”
Izzy DePestel led the Eagles with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Sarah Rekowski added 11 for the Eagles.
It was the last game before Thursday;s KLAA West opener against Howell, and Luplow said a tough early schedule should pay immediate dividends.
“I think it’s prepared us really well, she said. “We’ve worked had at handling pressure and taking care of the ball and playing together as a team, since this is new to us. I think I’m super happy with how we’re progressing and it will helps us in the conference.”
The Eagles will surely learn more about their progress against a Howell team that beat Belleville at the buzzer on Tuesday, 55-54, to improve to 4-1.
*We’re learning how to play with each other, learning how to handle the pressure situations in both games,” Linden said. “We’ll win some, we’ll lose some. We have to make sure we win in both and take it one game at a time.”
