Torrid Tempo
Huron, pace too quick for Rocks

BY ED WRIGHT
Dec. 3, 2009, 10:20 p.m.

  Fast is good at the Kentucky Derby, the Daytona 500 and in the 100-meter dash at the Olympics.

  Fast is not good for Salem's girls basketball team -- at least not yet.

  "We need to learn how to slow down just a little bit and make a little bit better decisions," said Salem coach Fred Thomann, in the wake of the Rocks' 42-26 setback to visiting Ann Arbor Huron Thursday night.

  "Huron played fast and and we played fast. They just played fast a lot better than we did. Are we going to get better at doing it? Absolutely."

  The loss dropped Salem to 0-2. The game was the season opener for the River Rats.

  Sparked by a tenacious, man-to-man defense, Huron bolted to a quick 9-6 first-quarter lead that was built on a number of Salem ball-handling miscues.

  "You can't have 10 turnovers in the first quarter like we did tonight and expect to stay in games," lamented Thomann. "You just can't do that.

  "We're a work in progress. We have a number of players who have to pick their games up and get better. We're going to get better, there's no doubt in my mind. It's going to be like last year -- it's just going to take some time to sort things out."

  As a result of the turnovers, the Rocks launched just seven first-quarter shots compared to Huron's 14.

  Huron expanded its lead to 25-11 at the half and 31-18 after three quarters.

  For the second straight game, the Rocks had a tough shooting night, connecting on just 8 of 34 attempts (23.5 percent). Six of the successful field goals were launched by senior captain Sara Stone, who finished with 18 points.

  Freshman forward Breanne Beaver was the Rocks' next-highest scorer with four points.

  Stone and Tabitha Mann both pulled down eight rebounds for the Rocks.

  Kelsey Barrett paced a balanced River Rat attack with 10 points. Devanyeh Johnson contributed seven points and five rebounds.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com