DEARBORN — A week ago, Gary Morris witnessed something he couldn’t recall seeing in his near quarter-century of coaching on the CYO and CHSL levels: his team making just one basket in 26 attempts.
That occurred in the first half of Farmington Hills Mercy’s encounter with Bloomfield Hills Marian on Tuesday, Jan. 28. The Marlins shot 7 for 22 in the second half, but the damage had been done.
It was costly. The Marlins lost their first game of the season and dropped into a first-place tie in the Central Division with Marian, whom they had defeated 36-29 three weeks earlier.
Three nights later, on Friday, Jan. 31, as Mercy was about to face Divine Child, Morris hoped that the dismal shooting wouldn’t be “contagious.”
For the first half, it looked like the virus was still in the Marlins’ system. They made just three of 16 shots and, combined with a dozen turnovers, found themselves on the short end of a 28-14 score.
The antidote was not a call to the Centers for Disease Control. Rather, a pep talk. Morris said he “challenged” them. “You’re working hard, you’re competitive. You’re a better team than what the scoreboard says,” he told them.
The second half was a complete reversal of form for both teams. Mercy doubled up on Divine Child, 41-20, for a 55-48 triumph.
The energized Marlins shot a very healthy 12 for 28 (43%) and reduced their turnovers to seven, while the Falcons, facing a reinvigorated opponent, made 14 turnovers (19 for the game) and 17 of 58 attempts (29%).
One other significant factor: Mercy, which missed 16 of 26 free throws against Marian, failed on only nine of 33 attempts this game.
Juniors Julia Bishop and Ellie Tisko led Mercy’s revival. Bishop scored all her game-high 17 points in the second half, and Tisko tallied 11 of her 13 points. Both also controlled the boards.
Bishop sank a triple from beyond the center of the arc to draw Mercy to within 37-36, and ahead on a pair of free throws, 40-38, with 4:43 to play.
Two minutes later, Tisko intercepted a pass and raced the length of the court for a layup for a 49-43 lead.
Divine Child, who was limited by Mercy’s pressure to only one point in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter, closed to 49-47 with 1:14 to play on a basket by Makayla Rybak and two free throws by Brianna McCormick.
That was as close as the Falcons would get.
Freshman Maya White had 10 and junior Alexis Roberts 9 for Mercy.
Nine players scored for Divine Child. Senior Mia Bidolli had 11 of her team-high 13 points in the first half. Freshman Kennedy Blair had 12. The Falcons were 10 for 16 at the free-throw line.
“I was disappointed,” Falcons coach Mary Laney said. “We played hard and came up short.”
CHSL playoffs for girls begin Feb. 14-15
At stake is playing for the CHSL Championship on Feb. 22 at the University of Detroit Mercy's Calihan Hall.
Central Division (Bishop Trophy) — Marian and Mercy share first place with identical 7-1 records and have secured byes in the first round Feb. 14. The remaining playoff slots will be filled by Divine Child (5-3), Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (3-6), Macomb Lutheran North (1-7), and Warren Regina (0-8).
Double A/Intersectional 1/Intersectional 2 Divisions (Cardinal Trophy) — A pair of 7-0 teams who have locked up their respective divisions, Royal Oak Shrine, of the Double A, and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, of Intersectional 2, will clash in the opening round Saturday, Feb. 15.
The Double A teams vying to fill three slots are Wixom St. Catherine (4-1), Riverview Gabriel Richard (2-4), Ann Arbor Greenhills (1-5), and Allen Park Cabrini (1-4). Greenhills hosts Cabrini on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Madison Heights Bishop Foley, atop Intersectional 1 standings with a 7-0 mark, has a playoff spot set.
Contenders for two other spots from the Intersectional I Division are: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (4-2), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (3-3), and Marine City Cardinal Mooney (2-4). These squads will be facing one another over the next 10 days.
