The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Hornets on five-game streak
Saline now 10-3 after Huron upset, tough victory over Adrian
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
Last season, the Saline girls' basketball team won five regular season games. The Hornets have now accomplished the same thing this season in their last five games alone.
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After surprising Ann Arbor Huron 42-33 Friday and turning away a stubborn Adrian team 46-38 at home Tuesday night, the Hornets are riding a five-game winning streak that has taken them to records of 10-3 overall and 7-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
"Our goal has been to be competitive every game. That's what we're hoping for, and that's what they're doing," head coach Jason Pickett said after the Adrian victory. "I know we can play with these teams, and now they're starting to see the same thing."
The Adrian win wasn't unexpected, but few observers other than Pickett would have expected a Saline victory Friday after a 56-35 loss at Huron earlier in the season.
But the homestanding Hornets battled the Rats from the opening tip Friday and seized control by holding Huron to no field goals and just a single point in the second quarter. After leading 21-14 at halftime, Saline pushed their edge to 31-22 after three and kept Huron at arm's length from there.
"We played straight man-to-man defense, our bread-and-butter, and just got after it," Pickett said. "We took better care of the basketball and forced more turnovers, and that gave us more possessions. It's just sheer numbers. It's not rocket science."
In the end, the Hornets forced 24 Huron turnovers and held the Rats to 9-for-33 (27 percent) shooting from the field.
Kaitlin Ward led Saline on the offensive end with 14 points and tied for the team lead with five rebounds and four steals. She was followed on the scoresheet by Madeline Winters with seven points, Lauren Zakrajsek and Kristen Nye with six each, Angie Hollis with five, and Kristy Chapman and Sarah Hoffman with two each.
Despite her low points total, leading scorer Sarah Hoffman did contribute a team-high three assists and four steals. Zakrajsek added five rebounds.
The Hornets had to overcome plenty of hurdles in addition to a resilient Adrian Maples team to keep their streak alive Tuesday. With multiple players already not dressing or slowed because of injury or illness, starting center Winters left the game with an apparent knee injury in the first quarter.
Backup center Kristen Nye then battled foul trouble throughout the game, picking up her third midway through the second quarter and her fourth five minutes into the third.
Despite those problems, Saline would break open a 2-2 tie in the opening minutes with an 8-0 run and never trail. The lead would grow as large as 20-10 on an Amara Karapas basket with 3:44 to play in the first half.
The Maples would pull within 20-13 at halftime, however, and come within a point at 27-26 late in the third. Ward's basket to open the fourth pushed the Saline lead back to 30-26 only for Adrian to cut the lead to one again at 32-31 and a third time at 35-34 with 3:46 to play.
Ward answered for Saline by outscoring Adrian 7-1 all by herself over the next two minutes. A Maple three brought the visitors within 42-38 with 41 seconds left, but Chapman hit a pair of free throws with 27.8 to play to all but seal the win.
"We talk a lot about being mentally and physically tough, and this was a great step in that direction," Pickett said. "We had a litany of excuses. Finals, kids sick, injuries, foul trouble. When they made their run, we could have folded. But they buckled down, played defense, and came out with the win."
Chapman finished with a season-high 18 points to lead the Hornets. Ward joined her in double digits with 12, while Nye scored eight and Hoffman and Karapas added four each. Chapman also led the team in assists with five and steals with four, while Nye grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Saline finished with a 27-18 advantage on the glass.
The Hornets will look to avenge another early-season loss Thursday when they travel to Bedford.
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