HOWELL — Halfway through the 2021-22 season, the Howell girls basketball team likes where it’s sitting.
And not just in first place, which is where the Highlanders have been since upsetting Hartland last week. They reached the halfway point with a 42-28 win over Northville on Tuesday night.
Howell (7-3 overall, 6-0 KLAA West), got off to a slow start, as did Northville. Neither team had a basket until Maeve St. John hit a 3-pointer midway through the first period to give Howell a 5-4 lead.
The Highlanders picked up the pace on offense after that, going on an 11-4 run to lead 16-8 at the half, then holding the Mustangs (7-3, 4-2) at bay the rest of the way.
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“I’m very pleased with where we’re at,” Howell coach Tim Olszewski said of the midpoint of his team’s season. “After the Salem game ( a 42-36 win on Jan. 4), we didn’t play well at all and we had a coming-together moment. I think that was the moment these girls realized what they could be. And as long as they stick together as a team, I feel good about the rest of the season.”
St. John, who had a game-high 14 points, says her team is getting smarter about the mental aspect of the game.
“We’re improving on that,” she s ad. “We’ve had a few slip-ups, but we’re having more patience on offense. Defensively, we can always improve our rebounding, and just effort. We’re working hard, but we want to take it one step forward.”
the third quarter was a bit of a shootout, with both teams scoring 16 points apiece.
“We got a little lackadaisical in our rotations (on defense) and they were able to get into the paint,” Olszewski said. “We keep track of touches in the paint, and at one point (Northville) got there three times in a row. They score on two of them, and on the third they miss a layup. That’s when we called a timeout to regroup.”
St. John hit four 3-pointers, two of them from well beyond the arc, which was fine with Olszewski.
“I don’t mind her shooting when it’s a good set,” he said. “For the most part, I thought her shot selection was pretty good.”
Amelia Storm and Sophie Daugard, who missed Friday’s win at Novi due to illness, started and were part of that smothering Howell defense that held Northville to just 12 points — eight in the first half, four in the fourth quarter — over three quarters.
‘It was a great game,” Olszewski said. “It was Howell basketball, and what we do is play defense. I’m very proud of our girls becaues that’s what you can hang your hat on — defense — when the ball doesn’t of in on offense.”
