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  KAYLA BROOKS . . . gets inside position for a short shot during last Friday night’s MHSAA Class B District No. 58 championship game against Flint Powers Catholic. The Lady Eagles traveled to Caro for the game, which was won by the Chargers, 57-37. ‘Muth finished the season with a 19-4 record. (Photo courtesy/Chip DeGrace)

Powers switches defense, defeats Lady Eagles 57-37

FHS finishes season with a stellar 19-4 overall record

  A switch in the defensive philosophy was the difference in last Friday evening’s MHSAA Class B District No. 58 title game.

  Played at Caro, the Frankenmuth varsity girls’ basketball team met Flint Powers Catholic for the second straight year in the post season.

  The Lady Eagles held a 15-10 first-quarter advantage, however, the Chargers poured it on in the second and third quarters to earn a 57-37 victory.

  ‘Muth finishes the season 19-4 overall; 14-0 in the Tri-Valley Conference East Division. Their lone losses came to top five ranked teams this season, including Midland Bullock Creek, Reese, Williamston and Powers Catholic.

  All four teams combined had a 77-9 overall record and all are alive in regional action.

  Powers came out in a man to man defense in the first quarter and the Lady Eagles did a nice job of getting into the lane, kicking it out, moving the ball and getting good looks against it.

  “We finished the first quarter shooting 5 of 8 from the floor, including 3 for 3 from beyond the arc,” FHS Coach Tom Keller said. “Right at the end of the quarter, they switched to a zone defense. They played it the rest of the way and we really struggled against it.”

  FHS started the second quarter with seven turnovers and not one shot attempt as Powers went on a 20-2 second-quarter scoring spurt to lead 30-17 at halftime.

  “While we were struggling mightily on the offensive end, their shooters really got going on the other end of the court. We definitely knew that they had two excellent three-point shooters going into the game and I thought that we did a good job early of finding them and contesting shots,” Keller explained.

  Frankenmuth finished the second quarter with 11 turnovers, did not make a field goal and scored just two points on a pair of free throws as the half ended.

  Powers followed with a 19-6 third quarter.

  “Powers started the second half the way a championship team is supposed to. They sensed an opportunity to put the game out of reach and they definitely put it to use,” Keller lamented. “They continued with their hot shooting and although we were a little better offensively, it was pretty inconsistent and not nearly good enough to keep up with what they were doing at the other end.”

  Keri Frahm paced the Lady Eagles with 14 points, shooting 50-percent from the floor and canning 4 of 5 free throws, and pulled in nine boards, three deflections and two blocked shots. Madison Wiskur scored eight points, swishing 2 of 3 three-point shots and adding five rebounds. Kelsie Kujat had three assists and two blocked shots.

  “To the girls’ credit, they battled to the end, playing their hearts out. Unfortunately, it was not enough. This was probably the first time all season we had been out-rebounded and it wasn’t even close,” Keller said.

  For the game, Frankenmuth was 13 of 36 from the floor (36 percent), including 3 of 11 from the three-point line, and 8 of 13 from the free throw line. The team totaled 25 rebounds, seven steals, seven assists, 10 deflections and five blocked shots while committing 21 turnovers and eight fouls.

  “I’m very proud of the girls. It was a great season with tremendous successes – sweeping the TVC crossover games, going undefeated in the conference again – certainly nothing to be ashamed of. The best part of this season is that all of these girls have the opportunity to come back next season. Hopefully, we will be taking the next step and making a deep run towards a state championship,” Keller concluded.