Advertisement

The division, laden with plenty of talent, gets underway this week and any team that can come away with a 2-0 start will have an upper hand, at least, temporarily. Two of the preseason favorites - Sandusky and Marlette - will collide this Thursday night. The Lady Redskins and Lady Raiders should be in a battle with Ubly for the top spot. However, Brown City, Deckerville and Harbor Beach have already shown that they are coming out prepared to win.

Before Sandusky visits Raider Pavilion, it had had to open East play at Mayville last night (Tuesday). Marlette had the sterner test, though, visiting rival Brown City.

Marlette coach Fred Mroczek, who has the tallest and, perhaps, the most experienced team in the East said his team has its hands full this week.

"The GTC East is a tough place to be," said Mroczek, whose team is 3-2 overall. "I'm sure these are going to be two high energy games."

The veteran coach added, (Brown City's) Kristen Greene is a real fine player. For a sophomore, she's beyond her years. Plus, they have other players that are real scrappy and gritty types."

No matter what happened in that contest Tuesday night, the focus will quickly go to Sandusky, the defending division champions. The Lady Redskins came into this week with a 32-game regular-season winning streak. In this millennium, Sandusky has won outright (three times) or shared the league title every year except one. In 2001, the Lady Raiders claimed the outright championship. They shared the title with Sandusky and Harbor Beach in 2005.

Even though Sandusky is a younger team than a year ago, returning talent in guard Marissa DeMott and 6'2" center Cassy VanConant, lead the way for the 6-0 Lady Redskins.

"Right now, they are playing with confidence and playing with a rhythm as a team," said Mroczek, whose team's losses came against Warren Woods Tower (ranked in Class A) and a good Lakers squad. "Marissa DeMott and Cassy VanConant are tough to stop, but they're also getting solid play from others."

Al DeMott, the longtime Sandusky coach that just posted his 504th career victory last week expects nothing but a war with the taller Lady Raiders.

"It should be a tough ball game and it's always tough playing at Marlette. I have a lot of respect for their program," remarked DeMott. "They have their big two - Jenna Lange and Kelsey Hall. They will be at their best and all geared up for us. This is one of those teams you have to take out if you're going to win the league."

Lange 6'1" and Hall 6'2", both seniors, are part of the area's tallest frontcourt. Senior Kendra Smith (6'1") adds to the mix.

DeMott does have VanConant inside, but the next tallest is 5'10" junior Maddie Hale.

"We're concerned about their size," emphasized DeMott. "We have to box out and rebound well. And, offensively, we have to execute well. We've rebounded pretty well, for the most part, this season, but we haven't played a team like Marlette."

If the Lady Raiders have their way, Thursday's night game will be of the slower paced, half-court variety.

"Obviously, we have to establish an inside game, using our height advantage," noted Mroczek. "We definitely have to control the lane."

DeMott added, "We had defensive battles last year, I think all three times."

"This is one of many big, league games. This is definitely a big one for us over there," continued DeMott. "But, the good thing about basketball (in the division) is we get to play each other twice."

Sandusky 50 USA 34

The Lady Redskins extended their record to 6-0 last Friday night at the Thumb Dome by using a terrific start against the Patriots. Sandusky sped to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter and went on to a 28-6 advantage by the half.

USA missed several inside shots early but Sandusky's defensive play in the middle had something to do with it. VanConant blocked two or three shots early and the team had several on the night.

With the Redskin starters on the bench to start the second quarter, senior guard Kayla Mendoza and freshman guard Lauren Krause extended the lead to 18-0. Mendoza and Krause each had a bucket and then Mendoza fed Krause on a fast-break that led to two more points. USA's first point came on a free throw with 5:41 to go in the half.

Two inside buckets by VanConant and six points from DeMott closed out the half.

An 8-2 run by the Patriots early in the fourth quarter, narrowed the Lady 'Skins' lead to 11, 41-30. However, Krause buried a triple and DeMott added a pair free throws to build the cushion back to 16, 46-30.

Coach DeMott was particularly pleased with his team's defensive effort. "Cassy played tough in the paint. Far and away, that was her best game, defensively, this year.

"And, Monica Chambers did a great job on Dani Greml (USA's top player), holding her to just two points."

Marissa DeMott led Sandusky in scoring with 12 points, including 6-of-6 from the stripe, where she is now 35-of-36 for the season. Hale and Krause each had eight points.

Marlette 52 Cass City 43, OT

Last Thursday evening, the Lady Raiders were forced to go into overtime when Cass City sank a three-pointer before the buzzer in regulation. Marlette showed its experience in the OT to outscore the Hawks, 9-0. Senior guard Katherine Distelrath started the overtime with a triple.

Marlette led 20-15 at halftime and 34-30 after three quarters.

"This was a game of spurts," said Mroczek. "We were up by 12 at one time, but then they came back.

"We had a tough time converting inside," Mroczek added. "We missed a lot of lay-ups."

Lange was the brightest spot on offense, finishing with a game-high 21 points. She also had five rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Hall and Smith each added nine points and combined for 12 boards. Smith led the team in assists with six.

Sandusky 48 Cros-Lex 32

In a non-league contest on Tuesday, Sandusky fought off a scrappy Lady Pioneer team. They only led 12-11 after a quarter but took a 13-point lead, 38-25, into the fourth quarter.

"Croswell played us tough. They made us work for everything we got," said DeMott.

Marissa DeMott notched 20 points to lead all scorers and added seven steals, five rebounds and four assists. VanConant had 12 points, six boards and three blocks while Chambers helped out with four assists and five rebounds.

For Cros-Lex, senior forward Erin Lamb had 13 points.