The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Milan gets first two wins in style
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2008
After the Big Reds put a scare into Huron League heavyweights Grosse Ile and St. Mary Catholic Central the week before, head coach Jeff Davis expected his Milan girls' basketball team to grab its first wins of the season against Monroe-Jefferson and Dundee.
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What he didn't expect was for the Big Reds to not only win, but to dominate.
Milan pulled away in the second half for a 59-40 win at Jefferson Saturday and crushed the visiting Vikings in Monday's Senior Night game, 71-39.
"I knew we'd play well, I knew we'd improved, and I felt we'd win. But I didn't think we'd have that kind of margin or that we would play as well as we did," Davis said. "I'm proud of them. They deserve it. They've worked hard all year; they never quit. They believe in each other."
With the wins, Milan improved to 2-15 overall and 1-11 in Huron play.
After an emotional Senior Night pre-game ceremony, the Big Reds victory took control of the Dundee game almost from the opening tip. A Brittany Auten three-pointer gave Milan the first points of the game and after Dundee took its only lead of the game at 5-3, a second Auten three helped kick start a 17-3 Big Red run capped by a Kasey Splitt three with 1:51 to play in the first quarter.
The second quarter started with a Milan three from Ashley Agar and proved to be more of the same Big Red domination. An Auten basket capped an 8-0 run and gave the Big Reds a commanding 21-point lead, 33-12, with 3:14 to play in the half.
"I think we got a lot of confidence," Auten said afterward of the Reds' hot start. "After that we knew it was going to be a good game for us."
"The seniors are the ones that did it for us," Davis said. "The start was huge. I think they were pumped up after the ceremony. We hit a couple big shots early, and after that we were in control."
The Vikings would trim the lead to 35-17 at halftime and to 14 points early in the third quarter. But Milan would hold the Vikings to a single field goal over the next six minutes, eventually going up 53-24 on a Lani Ernst basket and by 22 when Devon Cosner's 30-foot bomb fell through at the third-quarter buzzer.
With the game comfortably out of reach, the fourth quarter focused on the efforts of Milan's seniors, who walked off the court 22-point winners and with all 10 dressed Big Red players having made the scoresheet.
"This is going to be a good memory," said Auten, one of six Milan seniors honored Monday along with Splitt, Stephanie Roe, Meagan Bolog, Whitney Farmer and Kaitlin Ludwig. "We got off to a rough start. But after our team meeting, it was like a whole different team. We've been communicating a lot better and really relying on each other."
"This was a coach's dream," Davis said. "Not only did everybody get playing time, but everybody scored, everybody played well. It's the kind of night you dream about."
Milan put up its best shooting night of the season, hitting on 7-of-17 three-pointers, 10-of-14 free throws, and 39 percent from the field overall.
The Big Reds also owned the glass with 40 rebounds, a team-high eight coming from Allie McAfee and five each from Ernst and Farmer.
The Big Reds were led in scoring for the second straight game by Lindsey Lammers, who continued her recovery from her early-season knee injury to finish with 11 points. Following her on the scoresheet were Auten and McAfee with 10 points each, Agar and Splitt with eight, Ernst and Cosner with seven, Roe with six, and Bolog and Farmer with two each.
At Jefferson, Milan led 8-7 after the first quarter and 24-17 at halftime before the homestanding Bears trimmed the gap back to three points midway through the third quarter. The Big Reds responded, finishing the third on a tear and taking a 40-28 lead into the fourth. Led by Lammers' game-high 17 points, Milan would continue to pull away and won by 19.
Lammers was joined in double figures by McAfee with 12 points. Also scoring were Agar with nine points, Roe with six, Ernst with five, Auten with four, Cosner with three, Splitt with two, and Farmer with one.
Milan also won the JV game by a score of 44-35. Samantha Harmon led the Big Reds with 13 points.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or jhinnen@heritage.com.
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