Mendon claimed a Class C district championship Friday after a runaway win over Bronson.
(Photo by Nicci Plummer)
The Mendon girls basketball team earned the customary one-night celebration that comes with a district title after it manhandled Bronson 51-18 on Fridaynight in the Class C district championship.
Mendon advances to the Hillsdale regional, where the Hornets will lock up with East Lansing in the semifinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
“We need to celebrate tonight, but we are right back at work on Sunday to prepare for East Jackson,” Mendon coach Leasa Griffith said.
Brooke Howard gets a shot off against Bronson.
(Photo by Nicci Plummer)
Thanks to a high-powered half from Brooke Howard, the Hornets were able to cobble together a 24-9 halftime lead on Friday. Howard had 11 points in the first half, repeating the feat in the second half to finish with a game-high 22 points.
“It’s always hard to beat a team three times, but we put the regular season behind us and started with a clean slate,” Howard said. “We were able to find each other on the court and crash the boards and get some fouls with our drives. Recovering that district trophy at home is always a great feeling.”
The Hornets lost to Athens in a Class D district semifinal game last season.
With a composed performance from the free throw line, Howard drained 11 of her 13 attempts. She also led the Hornets with nine boards.
But Howard wasn’t the only one fueling the offense, as Griffith said it was a major emphasis to get everyone involved tonight.
“Bronson is a very good team, and we knew we needed to tweak our offense to bring something different into this game,” Griffith said. “The girls responded well and we shared the ball well tonight.”
Grace Leighton turned in a steady performance all evening, resulting in 14 points, while Jenna Griffith added seven points and Alexis Russell finished the night with five points.
Sam Griffith and Cierra Furlong also popped up on the stat sheet, scoring two points and one point, respectively.
Leasa Griffith was also particularly satisfied with her team’s stingy defense in the win.
“The defensive effort of the entre team was great tonight,” she said. “We worked on our movement and getting out on shooters yesterday at practice.”