Mercy jumps on Groves early and never lets up, rolling to regional semifinal win
By Matthew B. Mowery For MediaNews Group
DETROIT — No Mercy.
Facing a young Birmingham Groves squad in Monday’s regional semifinals, Farmington Hills Mercy wanted to jump on the Falcons early, knock them down and never let them up.
They gave them no room to maneuver, no time to think, no space to operate, no chance to amp up the pressure, no air to breathe.
No mercy, no quarter, and ultimately no chance.
Mercy rattled off a 23-0 run after Groves’ first bucket of the game, and never let up, winning in running-clock fashion, 66-14, to advance to Wednesday’s Division 1 regional championship game.
“I thought we came out in the right mindset. We know they’re a young team, and a talented team. We thought our experience on a bigger stage (was an advantage), and that was our intent, jump on them right away,” Mercy coach Gary Morris said. “We kind of anticipated some pressure, but it didn’t come. We like to think we would’ve been ready for it, but … you couldn’t have scripted this any better. Everybody gets to play, we get through it. Advance, and you’re happy to go on.”
The Marlins (15-3) will face regional host Detroit Renaissance (10-4) in Wednesday’s regional championship game at 7 p.m. The Phoenix beat Grosse Pointe South, 59-43, in the first regional semifinal of the evening.
The Marlins were efficient enough on offense — and the Falcons cold enough themselves — that Groves could never get into its pressure defense.
“We couldn’t get into it. We couldn’t hit shots,” Groves coach Ant-Juan Simpkins said. “Sometimes, the moment gets a little too big, especially for a young group, and I think this moment was a little too big for us.”
For Groves (9-9), it was not the ending the Falcons had been hoping to script for the successful first season under Simpkins, after finishing third in the Oakland Activities Association’s Red Division, and winning a district title.
Not many things went the way the Falcons hoped Monday, though.
“Not many things at all, but what I can say is that I’m still very, very excited to coach this team. We did some things that people didn’t expect us to, and we did some things that people expected us to. But that’s part of building a program. These girls have to learn what it takes, every single play. For a lot of them, this is their first year. They’re still excited, and we’re still motivated. We’re not holding our heads down. We’re just going to get back in the gym and work,” Simpkins said. “Big congrats and shout out to them. They did what they were supposed to do. They took advantage of a young team. We won’t be young next year though. We’re going to learn from our mistakes.”
Groves came in averaging 47.9 points per game, and hadn’t scored fewer than 27 points in a game all year. The Falcons had topped 50 points seven times, 60 three times, and 70 twice.
Mercy did not allow them to score more than five points in any quarter on Monday, holding the Falcons to just five made field goals, and no more than one in any quarter.
Mercy led 20-2 after one quarter, 44-7 at the half, and 59-11 going into the fourth quarter.
“Our game plan was, we knew who our shooters and drivers were, and play defense accordingly,” said Mercy senior Ellie Tisko, who had a game-high 14 points, 11 of those in the first quarter. “I was just ready to play. I came out, knew what we had to do. Play the game, and move on to Wednesday, to play Renaissance.
Led by the 14 points from Tisko — who found herself a comfortable spot at the elbow, playing the high post against Groves’ zone defense — and 10 from Madeline Kenney, the Marlins had 10 different players score in the game. Mercy ran off streaks of 23-0, 13-0 and 12-0, followed by a 6-0 run later, when mercy rule had the clock running continuously in the second half.
Tisko even hit her first 3-pointer of the season in the third quarter, causing the Mercy bench to erupt.
“I went on the bench I was like ‘You know what? I think I’m going to shoot a 3 today.’ It worked out, went in,” she said with a laugh. “It did feel really good.”
“She’s had a really good year. She’s been very consistent,” Morris said. “That kid is a remarkable athlete. A rare, three-sport athlete, varsity volleyball, varsity basketball and varsity soccer. She definitely had it going.”
Freshman Nevaeh Otis led the Falcons with eight points. She was one of four freshmen on the roster for Groves, along with three sophomores and two juniors. Groves graduates just two seniors: Kaitlyn Quinn and Rachel Sample.
Unlike many teams at the moment, the Falcons weren’t dealing with anyone missing for spring break or anything.
“We did have everyone here, but we lost one of our better players a couple of weeks ago (sophomore Kaitlyn Sanders). We had some other people that left for different reasons,” Simpkins said. “We’re just in the building process, and I’m just excited about what we have.”