Go west young man.
For the past few years I popped my head into girls’ basketball games at Walled Lake Western, Walled Lake Central and WLN. Those schools are in my backyard and I like to check in on the talent now and then.
But I kept getting this constant message from coaches, players and spectators.
Go West young man. You must check out the program at Hartland High School. You are missing out on a dynasty. This Friday (7 p.m.) I finally get a glimpse of the team I’ve heard so much about when WHMI broadcasts its Game of the Week as Hartland travels to Howell.
Am I too late?
Hartland is 9-5 this season, a record most teams would die for. However, the Eagles are coming off a 25-2 season that ended with a 51-42 loss to West Bloomfield in the Division I State Finals. Hartland has won 20 or more games for six consecutive years, compiling a 132-12 record. If you take away Howell and Brighton Hartland owned a 47-game winning streak in the KLAA.
This is a brand new team from the one that lost to West Bloomfield in the Division I state Finals last season. Hall of Fame coach Don Palmer retired and Reyna Luplow took over. Five girls who played on that team are now playing college basketball. Six-foot-3 center Sarah Rekowski and senior guard Liv Linden are the only returners with playing experience.
Brighton (7-0) leads the conference race at the midway point. Earlier, it snapped a six-game losing streak to Hartland with a 45-41 over the Eagles. Rekowski (ankle) missed the game.
Hartland and Howell is a critical game. Both teams are 4-3 in the KLAA and the loser is all but eliminated from the conference race.
Maybe I’m too late for the last dynasty but just in time for the next one.