Saline Girls Lose to Monroe in District Tournament

The Lady Hornets saw their season slip away Monday night, in a 49-46 district tournament loss to Monroe at Ypsilanti High School.

Saline senior Emily Everett scored 17 points but was on the bench with four fouls when the Hornets’ offense went cold. Everett sank five three pointers for Saline during the game.

Saline was down by two at halftime but surged to a 40-32 lead midway through the third quarter. Saline led 44-39 going into the fourth and managed just a single basket in the final period.

Pickett said his team took control in the third quarter by forcing Monroe to take tough shots. In the fourth, he said, Saline gave Monroe too many easy looks.

He said he was disappointed to see the season end so soon.

“I thought at the end of the season we started playing some of our best basketball. It’s too bad it had to end like this, because we really started to come together,” said Pickett, who wanted to see his young team repeat as district champs. “We came up a bit short, but it wasn’t for lack of effort.

Pickett commended the play of Everett, his only senior starter.

“She’s got the heart of a champion. She’s one of the better players in our area,” Pickett said. “She did a fantastic job and kept us in the game. I always think that when a senior is playing in their potentially last game, that they take it to another level, and ours certainly did tonight.”

Early in the game, the Hornets had trouble with Monroe’s full-court press, but the turnovers didn’t lead to many baskets. What they did lead to, however, was fouls, which ultimately did come back to haunt Saline.

Everett opened scoring with a three-pointer. Saline led 5-2 after a basket by junior center Jill Borowski. Monroe got baskets from Danyel Strauss and Emily Firchau to take the lead. The two teams battled back and forth. Saline junior Britten Clark hit one of her patented 10 o’clock 12-footers for the Hornets. Junior Cera Smart came off the bench and hit a three-pointer for the Hornets. And junior Amanda Price, also off the bench, made a layup in the quarter’s final minute. Monroe led 13-12 after the first quarter.

Saline opened the second quarter with a three-point basket by Alli Cope. Monroe responded with a 10-2 run, highlighted by Jordan Strauss' six points. Sophomore Caitlin Ellis scored Saline’s basket.

Near the end of the second quarter, Everett caught fire.

Down 24-17, she sank a three-pointer. She made a smart pass to Clark for a layup. Clark was fouled and made both shots. Fewer than 30 seconds later, Everett sank another three-pointer to give Saline the lead, 25-24.

Danyel Strauss made a couple free throws for Monroe, but Everett dropped another three-point bomb for a 28-26 lead. Monroe  closed out the first half with four points and led 30-28 going into the third quarter.

Saline was supercharged to start the second half. Borowski made a layup to tie the game. Sophomore guard Emily Reyst drained a three-pointer to take the lead. After a basket by Monroe’s Danyel Strauss, Everett dropped another three-pointer. Borowski and Everett scored field goals to make it 40-32 just more than four minutes into the third.

Monroe began climbing back into the game with a basket by Taylor Carroll and a free throw bucket by Jordan Strauss. Borowski replied by putting back an offensive rebound for two points. Monroe scored the next four points with a basket by Jordan Strauss and two free throws by Firchau.

On Saline’s next trip up the floor, Everett was assessed a charging foul. As it was her fourth foul, she went to the bench and did not re-enter the game until midway through the fourth quarter.

Saline’s Cera Smart hit a pretty turnaround jumper right before the end of the quarter to give Saline a 44-39 lead.

In the fourth, both teams struggled to get good looks at the hoop.

FIrchau sank two free throws to chip at the lead. The quarter’s first field goal wasn't scored at the 3:20 mark, when Jordan Strauss made her basket to make it a one point game. A few seconds later, Firchau made two more free throws and Monroe had a 45-44 lead. Monroe never looked back. Carroll added to the lead a basket at the 5:05 mark. McKenzie Harper made it a five-point game with two free throws with a minute left on the clock.

Still, the Hornets had their chance to get back in the game. A shot by Everett was tipped. Borowski came up with the ball and scored a layup while being fouled to make it a three-point game. She missed her free throw and Monroe won a mad scramble for the rebound.

In the final seconds, two Saline shots failed to find the hoop, and time expired on the 2010-11 Saline varsity girls’ basketball season. The Hornets finished with a 6-15 record.