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Sandusky upheld a long tradition in girls hoops last week when they came away with the Class C District championship in front of a hometown crowd at the Thumb Dome. The Lady Redskins (19-3) put the finishing touches on their sixth consecutive District title on Friday night with a runaway, 56-30, win over Burton Bentley (14-9). The championship, though, may have been packed away on Wednesday when they knocked off Marlette in the semifinals. The Lady Raiders had beaten Sandusky twice in the regular season on their way to a GTC East title.

The Lady ‘Skins, though, could not officially celebrate a title until taking care of business against Bentley

"It's exciting and it's fun," said Coach Al DeMott, who has guided SHS girls teams to District crowns in 18 of the last 23 seasons. "It's especially satisfying with the draw we had this year, first with Brown City and then Marlette. The girls sure earned it. The girls have been playing their best ball the last few weeks."

Sandusky made a statement early against the Bulldogs, knocking down seven of nine shots from the floor to burst out to a 17-4 lead. Sophomore Marissa DeMott notched seven points in the quarter and senior Monica Chambers put an exclamation point at the end with her triple.

The lead went to as much as 15 in the second quarter before the ‘Skins took a 28-15 advantage into the locker room

If anyone had any doubts on the final outcome, they were erased early in the third quarter. Behind seven points from DeMott and six from senior center Cassy VanConant, the Lady ‘Skins opened up a 21-point, 41-20, lead.

"We were confident," said Coach DeMott on his team's quick start. "We moved the ball on offense, we shot well, we executed and we played hard.

"The girls were ready," he continued. "After big wins against Brown City and Marlette, they didn't want to be denied a championship."

Marissa DeMott finished with a game-high 18 points while VanConant followed with 11. Lauren Armstrong and Chambers added seven and six points. VanConant and Armstrong controlled the boards with eight rebounds apiece.

Next up, the Lady Redskins were to meet No. 1 ranked Saginaw Nouvel (21-1) in the Regional semifinals at Reese High School. A year ago, Sandusky saw an undefeated season end with a loss to Nouvel in the Regional championship game.

Sandusky 51 Marlette 41

The Lady Raiders defeated Sandusky twice in the regular season and went on to take a well-deserved GTC East championship. The Lady Redskins, though, showed some resolve in Wednesday's semifinal by avenging the two losses.

After a tight first half, the Lady ‘Skins took control and built as much as an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. They then put the win on ice in the last 3:30 by sinking 10 of 12 free throws. DeMott and Armstrong were both 4-for-4 in that stretch.

"We're always confident in the end when we get our kids to the free throw line," said Coach DeMott. "Marlette's a great team. We've had a lot of good battles with them and we have a lot of respect for them, But, our seniors were really fired up and really wanted it bad because we didn't get league."

For the Lady Raiders (15-6), it was certainly not the way they wanted the season to close.

Coach Fred Mroczek commented, "We went through three or months of playing really good basketball. To have it end, it's really disappointing.

"My hat's off to Sandusky, though. They played a really good game."

In the first two meetings, Marlette played a box-and-one defense, with a defender chasing Marissa DeMott every step. The tactic worked as she was held to a pair of her lowest scoring outputs of the season.

Last Wednesday, Marlette came out with a straight zone and DeMott clicked early for eight points, including a pair of triples. Sandusky led 13-9 after a quarter and still led by three, 23-20, at the half despite the Raiders going back to the box-and-one. Chambers drilled a pair of triples in the second quarter that helped keep the ‘Skins on top.

In the third quarter, Armstrong scored four points and junior Maddie Hale added five to expand the margin to 34-26. DeMott then scored Sandusky's first seven points of the fourth quarter for a 41-30 lead.

Raider senior center Kelsey Hall did all she could to keep her team in the game, scoring 16 of her team's 19 points in the second half. She finished her career with a game-high 26 points

"Kelsey was our offense," said Mroczek softly. "Marissa played a really good defensive game on Jenna (Lange, the Lady Raiders second-leading scorer on the season). "She missed some shots and later you could see she didn't have the confidence. It was just one of those games." Lange had just one point in the contest. Lange and Hall were both fourth-year varsity players.

Coach DeMott had plenty of praise for his team's defensive effort. "Marissa did a good job on Lange, and the help defense was good. Marlette, though, is a tough match-up. I thought Cassy (VanConant, senior center) did a good job plugging up the middle." Another difference from the first two outings, is that Sandusky led most of the time and did not allow Marlette to dictate the pace as in the past.

"Once we got ahead, we controlled the tempo. In the last two games, they controlled the whole game and we we're playing catch-up all the time."

While Marissa DeMott finished with 24 points, Chambers and Armstrong added nine each and Hale notched six. Senior Catherine Distelrath, a third-year varsity player, scored eight points for Marlette.

"I was really impressed with (Sandusky's) other kids," noted Mroczek, who was forced to play man defense by the fourth quarter. " Chambers hit a couple of threes in the second quarter and Armstrong and Hale carried them in the third. That really changed our game plan."

In the first semifinal Wednesday at the Thumb Dome, Bentley held off a late Memphis rush for a 35-31 victory.