Source: C & G News

Author: Mike Moore

FARMINGTON HILLS — There was a certain bit of revenge sought in this one.

Roughly a month after the Dearborn Divine Child girls basketball team handed Farmington Hills Mercy its only league loss of the year, the teams met for a second time Jan. 26.

There would be no repeat performance.

“This was a big win for us,” Mercy coach Gary Morris said of the 46-31 victory. “This is a league where every game is tough. All season, we’ve been involved with close games. Really, this one was too until the fourth.”

Close, but never in doubt. The Marlins put together one of their most complete efforts of the year, and in doing so, took firm control of the Catholic High School League Central Division.

“Things have been going very well for us,” Morris said of his team, which was 11-2 overall and 9-1 in divisional play at press time. “We’ve had some close games, but have found a way to come out on top almost every time.”

And this game was like so many that had come before it.

The Marlins used a constant rotation, swarming defense and timely offense to keep Divine Child at bay.

“We don’t have anyone averaging double figures,” Morris said. “We get good balance from our scorers. We defend hard. Mainly, this is a very competitive team. We’ve had to grind out some wins, but this is a team that thrives on that. We’re a tough team to play against.”

Chloe Godbold led the scoring attack with 10 points for Mercy.

Teammates Jackie Bauer and Jenna Schluter each scored nine.

“We’re a team where all five girls on the court play together,” Bauer said afterward. “Everyone gets it. We work together.”

“The defense is pretty strong, and I think that has a lot to do with how hard we work,” Schluter added. “We’re also a very athletic team.”

The Marlins won the regular-season title in the Catholic League last year and, barring a complete collapse, will do so again this winter.

Then the goal becomes winning the league playoff, something last year’s team failed to do after falling to Birmingham Marian in the final.

“It’s cliché, I know, but I think any team in this league can beat anyone,” Morris said. “We want to use the time we have from now until the playoffs start to play solid basketball and be ready for what could happen in a semifinal or final.”

What needs to be better?

“When we’re hitting shots, we’re a very good team,” Morris said. “I’m sure a lot of coaches will say that. But we’ve had some stretches where we don’t score because of our shooting.”

And the fix to that is, well, better shooting.

“It’s really a matter of just doing it,” Morris added with a laugh. “In a game against (Macomb) Lutheran North, we shot 2 for 23 from the field and were down 15 at halftime. We came out in the second half, started to hit some shots and won by eight. So, it’s really just one of those things we have to do. We have to have that belief, no matter what, that the next one is going to go in.”

“We want to keep this going, make a run in the state playoffs,” Bauer said when asked how good the team could be. “When we play the way we can, we’re tough.”

“It’s a fun team to coach,” Morris added. “You can rank our players one through 14, and one through 14, they bring it every single day during practice. That makes the whole team better. Even when all 14 aren’t playing in the game, they have each other’s back.”