Hard work leads to easy quarterfinal
victory for surging Chiefs, 53-36

BY ED WRIGHT
March 16, 2010, 10:48 p.m.

   On the night after the winner of Michigan's "Miss Basketball" was announced, the team with no superstars continued its unbelievable roll toward the only award it cares about: a Class A state championship trophy.

  During the time of year when games typically get tighter, Canton proved it is anything but typical, squashing Midland Dow, 53-36, to improve to 24-1 and advance to Friday's 1 p.m.  Class A semifinal contest against No. 1 Detroit Renaissance.

  The Phoenix held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback by Grosse Pointe North to move on, 57-52. Detroit Pershing and East Lansing will tangle in Friday's other semifinal encounter.

  Friday's much-anticipated "Final Four" contest between the Chiefs and Phoenix will be a rematch of a Dec. 10 game played at Canton which Renaissance hung on to win, 38-36, in overtime.

  The Chiefs will step onto the Breslin Center court with a ton of momentum, having won their previous four games by an average margin of 25 points.

  "I'm real excited for the kids; I think it's awesome," Canton coach Brian Samulski said. "It should be a lot of fun. They deserve it. They're the ones who've put in all the work. It should be a cool experience for all of them."

  The Chiefs have passed around game MVP accolades this season as selflessly as they pass around the basketball. The honor Tuesday night would go to junior forward Sara Schmitt, who registered 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

  Schmitt's twin sister, Kari, chipped in with 11 points, junior forward Kayla Bridges scored eight while sophomore point guard Robyn Mack and junior guard CarolAnn Sexauer both tallied six.

  "It still hasn't sunk in yet," said Bridges, when asked how it feels to be three days away from playing at Michigan State University's Breslin Center. "But that's been our goal since the beginning of the season, so to get there feels great."

  The Chiefs denied Dow's talented 6-foot-3 post player Becca Mills from playing on her future home court. The MSU recruit scored a team-high 12 points, but she shot just 5-of-14 from the field while getting constantly harassed by Canton's stick-to-you-like-glue defense.

  "Brian basically said to play really good defense on their guards so that they couldn't look into Mills," said Canton junior guard Melanie Pickert, who recorded three first-quarter steals. "Whenever Mills did get the ball, we doubled up on her from the weakside."

  After Mills scored the game's first basket on an inside spin move, the Chiefs closed the quarter on a torrid 16-4 run to take a 10-point edge into the second stanza. Bridges established an inside presence early, scoring six of the Chiefs' first eight points.

  "It was very important to get off to a good start," Bridges said. "We had to set the tone of the game and let the other team know we were ready. We also had to let them know that they had no chance of getting back into the game."

  Canton stretched its biggest first-half lead to 24-11 when Alyssa Cottrell drained a baseline jumper with 3:25 on the clock.

  The Chiefs, who are known for their stingy defense, shot the lights out, hitting 8 of 11 first-quarter field goals and 18 of 32 (56.2 percent) for the game.

  "Defense and rebounding win championships, but you also have to score," said Samulski. "We put a lot of work into shooting at practice and the girls shot very well tonight. This group's concentration and focus are awesome, and that comes into play with shooting."

  Dow connected on just 4 of 10 first-half shots, which led to a 25-14 deficit.

  The Chiefs tightened their defensive vice even more in the third quarter, holding the Chargers to 5-of-14 shooting. They put the game away with a 12-2 run to close the third quarter, widening their advantage to 44-23 with eight minutes to play. Sexauer and Kari Schmitt both scored steal-and-layup baskets during the game-clinching explosion.

  Dow pulled to within 44-30 on a pair of Sarah Arent free throws with 6:04 left, but that was as close as the Chargers would get.

  Canton forced the Chargers into 20 turnovers, nine of which came in the first quarter.

  The Chiefs hit 11 of 17 free throws (64.7) while Dow connected on 12 of 21 freebies (57.1).

  Bridges said support for the team is building throughout the school.

  "The students are behind us, the teachers are behind us, talking about the team in class," she said, smiling. "It's been an amazing experience."

  And the way the Chiefs are playing, the best is yet to come.

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

  (To view profiles on all 11 Canton girls basketball players, CLICK HERE)