The second half of the KLAA girls basketball season begins tonight, with the West Division standings nearly as up in the air as at the beginning of the season.
“I think it’s great for the league,” says first-year Hartland coach Mike McKay, whose Eagles are one of six teams atop the standings that are a game apart in the standings. “Every night is a tough game, and our side of the league is so difficult that on any given night, somebody can get somebody else.”
McKay is hoping his team can do just that tonight, when the Eagles travel to Howell to kick off the second half of the season. The game will be broadcast on The Livingston Post beginning at bout 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
Howell (9-4 overall) goes into tonight’s game tied with Salem for first in the West with a 5-2 league mark. Hartland (9-3, 4-3) ia tied with Brighton, Canton and Plymouth for second.
Hartland won the first meeting,34-33, back on Dec. 21, but McKay treats it as a non-factor.
“It has to be something positive in the back of your mind,” he said. “But as you go in, you know they’re a different team (than in the first meeting) and we’re different, too. So I’m anxious to compete and see what we have.”
What the Highlanders have is a guard-heavy lineup that can hit 3-pointers from all over the floor. What the Eagles have is an offense that’s centered around 6-0 center Aubree Meyer, who has taken over scoring duties in the paint,
That’s partly due to an expanded role and partly due to the absence of Sarah Rekowski, who has missed the season due to offseason knee surgery. She could be cleared to return to working out as soon as today, which would give the Eagles a boost down the stretch.
But that’s a ways off. First, there’s Howell.
“They’re well-coached, they defend really well and they run a lot of stuff,” said McKay, a former Hartland assistant under former coach Don Palmer. “You know you’re in for a battle every time you go against Howell.
“It’s going to be an old-fashioned KLAA battle,” he added, joking, “First team to 30 wins.”
