EAST LANSING — After tentative starts the past two games, the Hartland girls basketball team exuded confidence from the get-go on Friday, and it made all the difference.
Gracey Metz gave the Eagles a 4-3 lead early in the game, and the Eagles pulled away from there, taking a 52-42 win over Wayne Memorial in a Division 1 semifinal at the Breslin Center.
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Hartland (25-1) will play West Bloomfield (25-1) for the state Division 1 championship today at 12:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast on The Livingston Post. Click here for the link.
West Bloomfield got there by holding off Rockford 66-63 in the first semifinal of the day.
“We got to play the second game (of the day) and we got to look at the atmosphere,” said Leah Lappin, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Hartland. “We got there, and that was our main goal. We were so excited, and we trust each other and we came out and played strong.”
One of the strongest players was Amanda Roach, who more than made up for a scoreless night in Tuesday’s quarterfinal by scoring a game-high 18 points on Friday.
“We were just moving the ball,” she said. “We didn’t stall that much and things kept falling for us and we got to the free-throw line.”
Wayne, meanwhile, struggled throughout. The Zebras’ top player, Davai Matthews, had just two points at halftime, and by the time she started to score (finishing with a team-high 15 points) Hartland had all but put the game out of reach.
The Eagles led 51-33 before Palmer pulled his starters with 1:33 remaining.
“Our defense was good today,” he said. “We felt that (Matthews) was their best player and that (point guard Colleena Bryant) was their most important player. So we put our best defender (Emmy Sargeant) on Bryant with the idea if (Bryant) ahs a bad game or an average game, we’re going to win, and I think it turned out that way.”
Sargeant also added seven points, but since she moved to the starting lineup midway through the season, she has been the designated stopper on defense for the Eagles.
“Emmy fires up our defense,” Roach said. “She’s our best defender, by far, and if he;s playing great defense, we all play great defense.”
West Bloomfield shot 40 percent from the floor and had four players in double figures while eliminating Rockford.
“They’re exceptionally talented,” Palmer said of the Lakers. “Not to disparage Wayne Memorial. They’re very athletic, but West Bloomfield has very talented basketball players. They go mostly zone, but it’s a variety of zones, They’re going to throw a lot of things at us.”
For five Hartland seniors who have been on the varsity for four years, today’s game is the chance to fulfill a longstanding dream.
“I’ve played basketball my whole life,” said Metz, who was a reserve on Hartland’s state championship soccer team last year. “I’ve grown up with these teammates, and to be with them on this biggest stage before we all leave each other is the best thing.”
