Howell girls basketball coach Tim Olszewski gathered his screaming and barking team one more time in the back halls of Brighton High School.
He didn’t want to send the girls home without telling them how proud he was of their tense 55-53 victory over Brighton on the newly minted Highlander revenge tour. He praised them for being tough and for remaining calm even after Brighton jumped out of the gates by scoring the first 12 points of the game.
In the crowd of giddy girls stood senior Sophie Daugard (14 points, four rebounds and three steals) who wore locks of purple and green in her hair and refuses to melt under pressure. And freshman Gabby Pieho (14 points) who is enjoying the heck out of playing rivals for the first time in her career.
Daugard made the key buckets down the stretch, including a three-point basket with 1:58 remaining that snapped a 48 all tie. She later hit another three to put Howell up five points. Pieho hit four of five free throws down the stretch to keep Brighton (9-7 overall, 7-3 in the KLAA) at bay.
“I love leading the girls in a game like this,” Daugard said. “Like Gabby. I yell at her a lot in the games, but she takes it and does well with it.”
Even though Daugard yells, it’s all about love and all about pushing through the latest predicament. Brighton is fading down the stretch with its fourth consecutive loss, but the Bulldogs are not going down without a fight. Senior guard Mary Copple does not look like a person cashing in her tickets. She hit her first two three-point shots on her way to a 25-point game.
This was a big blow to Brighton’s title hopes. The loss, coupled with first place Salem’s 59-45 victory over Canton places the Bulldogs two games behind the leaders with four games to play. Meanwhile Howell (13-4, 7-3) pulled into a second place tie with Brighton after avenging a 57-41 loss earlier in the season.
Last week Howell beat Hartland 44-27, a team that beat the Highlanders by eight earlier in the season.
Howell sophomore Alison Farr finished with 13 points, but here biggest contribution was trying to slow down Copple, who mixes in talent and aggressiveness. No matter how hot Copple got, the Highlanders were thinking about remaining calm.
“It’s going to be a game of runs,” Daugard said. “You are going back and forth. I just say stay calm because the other team is going to get their run. You have to believe you are going to come back.”