HOWELL — Howell basketball players had a couple of days to recover from a bug that swept through the team earlier in the week, but that by no means meant the Highlanders were 100 percent going into Friday home game against Birmingham Marian.
“That locker room had everyone hacking,” senior Sophie Daugard said with a smile. “But it was better than before, definitely.”
Pardon the visiting Mustangs for wondering what the Highlanders would have done at 100 percent.
Howell (3-1) simply overwhelmed Marian, leading by as many as 42 points late and holding the Mustangs to single digits in the first three quarters en route to a 55-20 blowout win.
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Marian (1-3) was shorthanded and dealing with sickness, but Howell’s press overwhelmed the Mustangs until backups took over the game for both teams in the fourth quarter.
“The girls were feeling better, and we were eager to get out there and play our aggressive style of basketball again, and it clicked,” Howell coach Tim Olszewski said. “We’re not 100 percent but it was much better. I thought they did a great job hustling and talking and all the little things we were a step slow on, on Tuesday.”
The Highlanders never trailed and used a full-court press and their quickness to stymie Marian time and time again.
“We knew they had some size,” said Daugard, who had a team-high 14 points. “So we were trying to do what we do, focus on our defense, especially. Our staple is defense, and Tuesday was kind of a letdown, and we wanted to emphasize that.”
Daugard was one of three Highlanders in double figures. Gabby Piepho added 12 and Allison Farr had 11 for Howell. Molly McLeod had 13 for Marian, all but two of those in the fourth quarter.
