Underdog 'Cats win

BY ED WRIGHT
Dec. 1, 2009, 10:35 p.m.

  Plymouth's girls basketball team wasn't getting much love from their classmates during the hours leading up to Tuesday night's season-opening game against West Bloomfield.

  "We lost seven crucial seniors from last year's team, so no one thought we were going to win," revealed senior captain Troi Davis. "At school, people were saying, 'You're going to get killed.' So to prove everybody wrong and win was really big."

  Plymouth's fast-paced, frenetic 61-59 victory was impressive, but it didn't come easy. The Lakers' octopus-like full-court press forced 35 turnovers -- most coming in the first three quarters.

  "At first their press was a little nerve-racking, because I wasn't sure how we were going to react," said Davis, the Wildcats' point guard. "But once we got in the locker room at halftime, we talked about it and settled down. We figured out we had to get the ball to the middle. The middle was always open."

  Plymouth trailed by as many as six point in the first half, due in large part to the play of West Bloomfield's quick-as-a-cat point guard Sydni Davis, who finished with a game-high 27 points.

  The majority of Davis's eight thefts were turned into easy four-dribble layups.

  "In the beginning, we didn't handle their press well, but in the end we kind of figured it out and it became our offense," said Plymouth coach Ted Sturdivant. "I was surprised how long they stuck with it once we figured it out.

  "I was very impressed with how this team played tonight. Even when they got down, they never quit, never hung their heads. And we were playing against a superior, quick point guard. We kept digging and digging and digging, and in the end we eked it out."

  The Wildcats' first lead didn't come until the 1:40 mark of the third quarter when Rachael Hille's short jumper staked her team to a 44-43 advantage.

  After Danielle Desilets and Sydni Davis exchanged a pair of made free throws, Isis Haywood padded the Wildcats' advantage to 48-45 when she banked in a short shot after securing a slick pass from Hille.

  However, Sydni Davis knotted the score at the third quarter buzzer when she drained a long three to make it 48-48 with eight minutes to play.

  After falling behind 53-52 on a pair of free throws from West Bloomfield's Taylor Gunn, the 'Cats pieced together a 7-1 run, which was ignited by a strong, through-traffic take by Troi Davis. Three Alex Roberts free throws and a smooth jumper by sophomore Katelynn Watson made it 59-54 with 1:20 left.

  Two Troi Davis freebies with 38.9 seconds to play extended the Wildcats' lead to 61-56.

  After Sydni Davis sank one of two free shots to bring the Lakers to within 61-57, Watson made a clutch play when she hit the floor hard to corral and loose ball.

  Syndi Davis closed the scoring with a driving layup with three-tenths of a second left.

  Plymouth's scoring ledger couldn't have been more balanced. Desilets led the way with 13 points to go along with her seven rebounds. Klonowski racked up a double-double, recording 12 points and 11 boards, while Isis Haywood chalked up nine points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in a reserve role.

  Junior forward Alex Roberts also played strong, contributing nine points and four rebounds. Watson finished with six points, three boards and four steals in her debut at the varsity level.

 Plymouth made 19 of 42 field goals (45.2 percent) and 20 of 32 free throws (62.5 percent).

  "We played as a team tonight," Davis concluded. "It wasn't one person; we all played a part."