In Championship Rematch, Heritage Holds the Upper Hand

ELHS junior Aaliyah Nye and her Trojan teammates suffered their second loss of the season Tuesday night, 55-53, to defending Class A state champion Heritage. Photo by Fletcher Wyble.

In a game that featured a rematch between the finalists in last year’s Class A girls basketball state championship game, Heritage High School handed East Lansing its second setback in three games Tuesday night on its home floor.

The visitors from Saginaw, ranked No. 3 in this week’s Associated Press poll behind Southfield A &T and Birmingham Marian, overcame a 12-point deficit late in the first half behind 6-foot-1 senior forward Shine Strickland-Gills (18 points, 11 rebounds) and senior guard Moira Joiner (15 points). Joiner’s two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play provided the margin of victory for the Hawks, who improved their overall record to 17-2. (Check out the box scores here.)

Fourth-ranked East Lansing, co-champions of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue Division, finished the regular season with an 18-2 mark. The Trojans have now won or shared 14 of the past 15 CAAC Blue titles.

“Great high school basketball game, and a lovely atmosphere,” said East Lansing coach Rob Smith, whose team benefited from the raucous support of the whited-out student section. “What a great lead-up to the tournament. We played what seemed like a quarterfinal game tonight.”

East Lansing junior guard Ahlura Lofton scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the first half by converting four treys and three of four free throws. Trojan teammate Aaliyah Nye scored 12 of her 15 points as East Lansing built a 37-30 margin at halftime.

Heritage completed a 15-1 run midway through the third quarter and took the lead 39-37 but East Lansing answered with a 9-2 run to gain a 46-41 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Heritage regained the lead 48-46 on a Joiner three-pointer with 4:35 to play, and led by three with under 30 seconds play before East Lansing sophomore Annelise Lebeda’s trey tied the game at 50 with :25 to play.

Heritage called timeout and tried to set up a shot for Joiner but the swarming Trojan defense made it difficult for her to get open. She eventually did get the ball near the basket and missed her shot attempt but was fouled on the play by Nye, thus setting the stage for the game-winning free throws.

“I was very proud of them,” said Heritage coach Vonnie DeLong. “Down 12 in the first half … to be perfectly honest with you, we’re not used to that. If we’re down, it might three or four or five; it’s not 12.

“I said, ‘Let’s chip away at this thing, we don’t need it all back at one time. Let’s get a couple of buckets before halftime and then go to work in the second half.”

Joiner, a three-time all-stater who had not played in almost three weeks because of a sore ankle, calmly sank both free throws.

“She’s used to those situations,” DeLong said of Joiner, a Michigan State recruit. “She’s made several game-winning shots for us, including a couple at the buzzer.”

East Lansing will be a district host next week when postseason play gets under way. The Trojans will play the Okemos-Jackson winner on Wednesday, March 6, in the semifinals. The winner of that game will play for the district championship on March 8 against either Holt, Mason or Everett.

“Our team will grow throughout the playoffs,” said Smith, who has one state title (2010) and two runner-up finishes (’08 and ’18) in his 17 years as head coach of the Trojan girls team. “We have eight days to get ready for our next game, and I’m excited to improve our defense, especially our rebounding.”

East Lansing-Heritage box score here.

East Lansing boys to face Everett for a third time in district semifinal

The East Lansing boys begin postseason play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Everett in the semifinals of the Okemos district. The Trojans split their two CAAC Blue games with the Vikings during the regular season, winning 64-61 at Everett (Jan. 18) and losing 67-62 at home this past Friday night.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will meet the winner of the second semifinal – Okemos v. Jackson – in Friday’s district championship.