HOWELL — It was a tale of two halves for the Howell girls basketball team on Tuesday night.
The first half was a successful one. The second half wasn’t, by any means, and the Highlanders fell to Williamston 54-40.’
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Early on, the Highlanders (1-2) were in sync on offense en route to taking a 27-22 halftime lead. Leading scorer Maeve St. John, the focus of Williamston’s defense, was held to just two points, but the other four starters had six or more points in the opening half.
The second half? Howell coach Tim Olszewski didn’t mince many words.
“We stopped doing everything we did well in the first half,” he said. “Defensively, we were out of position, we weren’t rotating, they hit some wide-open looks. ?We didn’t close out. It was a combination of many things.”
On offense, the Highlanders managed just 13 points.
“A lot of that is on me,” St. John said. “I forced shots, and when I’m forcing shots that doesn’t help my team. My team looks to me, and I look to them, when I need them. ?They were holding me accountable, and I have to hold myself accountable, too.”
St. John, the team’s point guard, likely didn’t bear as much responsibility as she took on for her team’s offensive woes.
“As I pointed out to the girls, there were four little things that probably go unnoticed by everyone in the stands that cost us 12 points,” Olszewski said, without elaborating. “Four out of an entire game, and there were many more things that should have never happened. We have to fix those things. We can’t continually make those mistakes.”
Williamston (2-2) was led by Claire Casey and Sophie Cook. Both had 11 points, while on defense Cook stuck to St. John like a second uniform, holding her to just four points. Molly Duerloo had 11 points and Sophie Daugard 10 for the Highlanders.
The Highlanders won’t have much time to dwell on Tuesday’s loss. They have a date with another tough opponent, Birmingham Marian, on Friday in Howell’s first road game of the season.
“Marian is obviously a great team,” St. John said, “and I think it’s going to be a game where we’re going to show what we’re capable of.”
