Martin has captured the MHSAA Division 4 district girls’ basketball championship, but there’s some serious work ahead.
The Lady Clippers improved their overall season record to 17-3 Friday evening and hoisted the district trophy after defeating Lawrence 41-31 in the final round. But now comes the more difficult task Monday evening in the opening round of the regional tournament at Mendon.
Martin will be playing on its opponent’s home floor at 5:30 p.m. Monday. The Hornets Friday night defeated Decatur 45-26 to advance to the regionals and lift their season record to 18-3 overall.
It wasn’t as easy this time for the Lady Clippers to subdue a Lawrence team they beat 41-22 in their season opener last November. The Tigers finished their season with a 5-16 overall record.
Martin was sluggish offensively in the first eight minutes, leading only 6-5 aft6er the first period. Things perked up a bit in the second quarter and the Lady Clippers were ahead 19-13 at intermission and were nursing a 29-21 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
Guard Kiaya Warner led the offensive attack with 11 points and she came up with six steals. Faith Guritz collected 10 points and seven rebounds. Briana Warner nailed a three and gathered nine rebounds, eight on the defensive end. Jaclyn Hildebrand dished out five assists.
On the down side, Lawrence had 34 rebounds as a team to Martin’s 29 and the Lady Clippers struggled once again at the free throw line, making only 8 of 22 for a dismal 36.4 percent.
They’ll have to play better to get past a pretty good Mendon outfit. Also at stake is Martin’s undefeated record this season against fellow Division 4 schools, as all three of its setbacks have been at the hands of Division 3 opponents.
