South Lyon guard Isabela Nooe is a one-woman press.
At the same time, she is a one woman press break.
She is all over the court, swiping passes, flinging cross-court passes to open teammates and crowding the lane. On top of that she is a big-time scorer who has eclipsed 1,000 career points. Hartland guard Izzy DePestel had an easy job. (cough, cough).
All she had to do was match stride for stride with the Road Runner. She had to block her every path. And when Nooe made one of her seven steals Monday night, DePestel had to peddle back and limit the damage.
Nooe got her scrapper demeanor by playing tackle football with her five brothers.
Nooe, who only stands 5-foot-4, has been described as a future Division I player if she had more size. She averages 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists. She finished with 16 points, but only had two points in the deciding fourth quarter of a 44-39 Hartland victory over South Lyon in the regional semifinals at Howell High school.
DePestel didn’t know much about Nooe a week ago. But she took a crash course in film study. Nooe did not get recruited by any of the big schools. Instead, she will play at Bethel University, a small Minnesota Christian College that finished 23-6, won the MIAC regular season championship and made the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament
“She can get to the basket and I wanted to make sure she didn’t get the ball much,” DePestel said. “It was a great challenge.”
Hartland (20-5) faces an even greater challenge in Wednesday’s final against Belleville (24-1) which is ranked first in the state by the Detroit News and second by the Free Press. Belleville demolished Dexter in an earlier semifinal 79-40.
Hartland won with the usual recipe of rebounding and defense. South Lyon stayed within striking distance because of the same formula. While all eyes were on Nooe, South Lyon junior guard Sarah Nelson made her presence felt with good defense. Nooe got her hands on the most passes. But Nelson wasn’t far behind.
“We made sure we shored up on the defensive end and got some rebounds,” DePestel said. “Once we got our defense under control, we were able to win it.”
Freshman Brin Neuer could be running the show some day. She is fearless, has a good handle and can come through in the clutch. She finished with 15 points and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
“I love playing in big games and tough games,” Neuer said. “This is a lot of fun.”