BY TERRY FOSTER, WHMI.COM
There were a number of fascinating oddities during Howell’s 48-22 thrashing of Milford in Friday’s district final at Howell High School.
Howell guard Gabby Piepho, the Caitlin Clark of Livingston County girls basketball, missed all 10 of her shot attempts and did not score.
Milford guard Ashlyn Lutz, one of the most exciting sophomores in the state, was held scoreless in the first three quarters before erupting for 10 points in the final quarter.
Milford did not score in the first quarter and was showered with sarcastic “double digit” jeers from the Howell faithful when Lutz hit a three-point shot midway through the fourth quarter giving Milford its 12th point.
Little used backup Howell forward Emma Kanka heard MVP chants as she stood at the free throw line in the third quarter. Kanka, who is better known for throwing the shot put in track and field, outscored All-State guard Piepho 3-0.
And finally, the word disrespect came up from a team that is ranked number one in Division I with its only loss coming to No. 7 Rockford when Williams was out of the lineup.
“A lot of people are not talking about Howell,” Williams said. “We’ve got a great thing going on here.”
The word around Metro Detroit was Howell could not beat Belleville in the KLAA championship game. The Highlanders won 59-51. Now the word is Howell can’t do it again.
We find out Monday (7 p.m.) when top-ranked Howell (23-1) faces No. 2 Belleville (23-1) in the Region 4 semifinal at Northville High School.
Milford took the air out of the ball to begin the game but turnovers and stellar Highlander hustle and defense against Lutz prevented Milford from getting an edge. Howell forced five turnovers in the quarter.
Howell center Williams did not like Milford’s stalling tactics.
“I am not a fan,” Williams said. “I came here to play basketball.”
However, the Highlanders missed a number of open shots and led just 7-0 heading into the second quarter. Howell broke the game open in the second quarter when Williams asserted herself on the boards. Howell took better care of the ball and dazzled the entire gym with pinpoint passes and fast breaks off steals to take a 37-7 half time lead.
“Gabby didn’t have a great night but we have so many weapons spread around the court,” Coach Jason Piepho said. “I thought she did a great job distributing and we had kids make big shots.”
Sophomore Lyla Valentine led the way with 13 points and Williams scored 11.