Tuesday’s roundup: King girls rally past A.A. Huron

Southfield — Detroit King needed a rally in regulation.

And then it needed one in overtime.

So it was only fitting King found a way to win its Class A quarterfinal over Ann Arbor Huron, 58-54, on Tuesday.

Jordan Lewis and Del’Janae Williams proved to be the catalysts as King (22-1) rallied late in the fourth quarter and then overcame a four-point deficit in overtime to advance to the semifinals Friday at Breslin Center.

Lewis, a 5-foot-10 sophomore forward, scored 16, shooting 7-for-10. And she was never better than late in regulation, scoring inside off a pass from senior guard Micaela Kelly as time expired to make it 50-50.

Williams, a 5-8 freshman guard, scored nine, six down the stretch after getting fouled on consecutive 3-pointers the final 1:20 of regulation (she made two both times). She also made a runner off a baseline move with 45 seconds left in overtime for the winning basket.

“I think the difference was Jordan, stepping up and making some key baskets when we needed them,” King coach William Winfield said. “We had a lot of different players come through for us at different times. Del’Janae Williams made some big plays, especially in pressure situations and she’s just a ninth grader.

“We didn’t make as many threes as we usually do, but we hit some in a timely matter. Each time we had an open look we were able to knock it down. (Huron coach Steve Vinson) had a good game plan.

“They weren’t sagging, they just played tight man to man on each player so we couldn’t run anything.”

King, which lost to two-time state champion Birmingham Marian in last year’s semifinals, has experience in the backcourt, led by the Kelly (DePaul), junior Tia Tedford and junior point guard Alicia Norman.

Norman (ankle) played sparingly, making two free throws in the final seconds of overtime. Tedford (leg) played for the majority of the game, scoring 10.

Kelly (16 points, 6-for-9) played well on both ends filling in for Norman at the point.

Still, it was Lewis who got the job done.

“Instead of shooting, because our threes weren’t falling,” Lewis said, “I started driving and I told our team to do the same.”

Huron (20-4) still had its chances, but missed a breakaway layup with 1:45 left in regulation and shooting 13-for-25 on free throws, missing all four attempts in overtime.

“Those were critical ... and I guarantee you they (King) did a better job at the line (13-for-18),” Vinson said.

Cheah Rael-Whitsitt, a 6-0 senior, scored 18 for Huron despite being in foul trouble.

More Class A

Warren Cousino 41, Northville 29: Warren Cousino earned its first trip to the Breslin Center with a strong defensive effort.

Kierra Fletcher, a junior guard, showed why she is being recruited by Division 1 coaches, scoring 25, including 13 in the first half, to set the tempo and give Cousino a 22-15 halftime lead.

Fletcher also led an 8-0 run to close out the game after Kendall Dillon’s 3-pointer pulled Northville (21-4) within 33-29 with 3:50 left.

“Tonight we talked about 32 minutes just to get to the Breslin to have a shot and keep this dream season going for sure,” Cousino coach Mike Lee said. “Kierra is obviously the heart and soul of our offense, but five girls have to play defense and to hold a great team that had 21 wins under 30 points says a lot about the total team effort on defense.”

Fletcher talked about Cousino’s game plan to shut down Northville’s perimeter shooting.

“We were watching film and could tell they were a good 3-point shooting team, so we wanted to get out on their shooters and also protect the paint,” Fletcher said of Cousino’s zone. “We played zone and threw in some other things as well.”

And, on her offensive performance, Fletcher replied: “Coach (Lee) told me to keep attacking, keep attacking and try to get their best players in foul trouble and in the third quarter (Jessica Moorman) had four fouls so that’s when we had a chance to blow this thing out of the water.”

Freshman guard Kate McArthur scored eight for Cousino (21-4), which will play in a 2:50 p.m. semifinal Friday at Breslin. She made two 3-pointers, her second to open up a 33-26 lead with 4:20 left.

Brook Adams, a 6-1 junior, scored 12 for Northville and 6-0 junior Jessica Moorman had seven, but just two during the second half.

Class C

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 60, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 22: Roshane Wells scored 15 and Cydney Williams nine for Arbor Prep (23-2). Liggett finishes 20-5.

Tuesday’s girls quarterfinals results

All semifinal and final games at Breslin Center, East Lansing

CLASS A

Detroit King 58, Ann Arbor Huron 54 (OT)

St. Johns 48, Port Huron Northern 35

Friday’s semifinal: 1 p.m.

Warren Cousino 41, Northville 29

Hudsonville 40, East Lansing 32

Friday’s semifinal: 2:50 p.m.

CLASS B

Detroit Country Day 70, Detroit Mumford 41

Grand Rapids South Christian 67, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 51

Friday’s semifinal: 6 p.m.

Marshall 41, Grand Rapids C.C. 30

Bay City John Glenn 55, Manistee 47

Friday’s semifinal: 7:50 p.m.

CLASS C

Niles Brandywine 40, Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 24

Traverse City St. Francis 48, St. Ignace 44

Thursday’s semifinal: 1 p.m.

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 60, Grosse Pointe Liggett 22

Ithaca 51, Flint Hamady 43

Thursday’s semifinal: 2:50 p.m.

CLASS D

Waterford Lakes 51, Kingston 43

Pittsford 71, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 30

Thursday’s semifinal: 6 p.m.

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 27, Gaylord St. Mary 26

Stephenson 60, Newberry 35

Thursday’s semifinal: 7:50 p.m.