HARTLAND — Of the dozen-plus young women who played in Monday’s Hartland-Howell basketball game, only two, Erin Honkala and Brittney Resinger, are seniors.
That means that fans could be correct to expect more battles like Monday’s game, won by Howell, 38-35 in overtime, in the opener of the Class A district tournament at Hartland High School.
Here’s the archived broadcast!
For the Highlanders (18-2), it was the fourth win of the season over the Eagles, and the most hard-fought.
Howell lost guard Rita Pecuch to injury in the first half and Paige Johnson to fouls in the second half, putting the offense in the hands of sophomore Lexie Miller.
Her defense kept the Highlanders in the game for most of the night, shadowing Hartland’s Lexey Tobel and holding the Eagles’ leading scorer to five points.
Then, in the fourth quarter, she took over on offense, forcing overtime by scoring on consecutive possessions with less than a minute to go to wipe out a five-point deficit.
“I was like, might as well come through in the end,” said Miller, who led the Highlanders with 12 points, 10 in the fourth quarter and overtime. “I wasn’t making many shots during the game, and my teammates were helping me make baskets toward the end, and it got us going.”
Her heroics came while playing with four fouls from the midpoint of the fourth quarter on.
“She took over the game, obviously,” Hartland coach Don Palmer said.
The Highlanders also were playing with two girls, Honkala and Weslock, back on the court despite being felled by a virus on Sunday.
Nonetheless, they played all 36 minutes. Both had nine points, and Honkala had a half-dozen blocks.
While Miller was guarded talking about her night, she was less so about her teammates.
“They played great,” she said. “They were puking their guts out yesterday, and they sucked it up and wanted to win and played. They toughed it out, like good teammates, and they did a good job.”
But the Eagles had their share of heroes, too, including Graysen Cockerham, who was under the weather as well, but led the Eagles with 13 points.
And it looked like they might prevail, especially with a five-point lead, 33-28, going into the final minute of the game.
But things fell apart for Hartland on offense.
“I thought we should win or lose that game at the free-throw line if you don’t turn it over,” Palmer said. “You can’t blame kids for taking shots, but you have to know the situation.”
“I think we lost our wits a little bit,” Hartland junior Michelle Moraitis said. “We started throwing the ball up when we didn’t need to.”
Meanwhile, Miller put the Highlanders on her back, first scoring on a driving layup, then hitting a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to tie it at 33 after regulation.
“She was outstanding,” Honkala said. “Honestly, you think sometimes that’s all she has, but she keeps impressing us and pushing every game.”
“I guess my adrenalin kicked in,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to lose.”
“They just made some open shots,” Cockerham said. “We went into a zone, but they found an open 3. Mostly it was us turning the ball over.”
The Eagles, who went to the Class A quarterfinals last year, finished 15-5, with a loss to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, one of the top teams in Class C, going with the four losses to Howell.
“You say 15-5 was good,” Palmer said, “but it’s bittersweet because you won games, but you didn’t win championships. It’s just frustrating. Hats off to them, because they found a way. We came closest to night in terms of maybe doing it. But they found a way.”
Afterward, Moraitis already was looking ahead.
“I think next year we’ll be more prepared and win a lot of championships next year,” she said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
For Howell, it was a win attributable to guts and poise and persistence against a team some had picked to reach the final four in Class A.
The Highlanders advanced to face South Lyon East in the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday at Hartland. Brighton will take on South Lyon in the opener.
Told she could be looking forward to a rest, Honkala politely demurred.
“We have to put in a little more hard work,” she said. “Sleep tonight and get ready (today).”
