Following an improbable 53-52 come from behind victory over Novi, the entire Hartland girls basketball team celebrated briefly before running off their home court like a pack of thieves.
This is a game the Hartland girls stole from the Wildcats. The Eagles never led in the second half until streaking 5-foot-4 mighty mite Kirstin Tomassi stole the ball and made a mad dash to the bucket where her layup with 13 seconds left gave Hartland (8-2) its first and last lead of the second half.
The Eagles reward for winning was helping set up for a weekend gymnastics meet the school is hosting
The Eagles trailed by as many as nine points midway through the fourth quarter and things looked desperate because kept Novi hitting big shots and pounding the boards. But the Eagles turned a dire situation into hope with a lethal full court press, causing a number of turnovers which startled the Wildcats.
This was a big win because it pushed the Eagles (3-2 in league play) into a third place tie in the conference with Canton (3-2) a half game behind Howell (4-2) and Brighton (4-2). This race might go down as the most exciting in history. Six of the eight teams in the West division have two conference losses.
“Man this conference is so tough,” said Hartland coach Mike McKay, pacing back and forth outside the home locker room. “You got to bring it night after night no matter who you play.”
This win might prove dangerous for the rest of the conference. The Eagles believe anything is possible after pulling off the improbable. They did it with two starting guards watching in street clothes along with 6-foot-3 center Sarah Rekowski, who signed to play at Western Michigan. They were also without leading scorer Aubree Meyer who fouled out in the fourth quarter.
But they still had Jaylen Nokovich (14 points), Kennedy Tucker Ellie Laier and Kayla Matties and Tomassi (eight points) hustling and bustling, trapping Novi players and getting their hands on a number of passes.
“Our team always has a tough spirit,” Tomassi said. “Sometimes its tough being down. But our team connects so well. Each win brings us closer. Each loss makes us even closer. We keep pushing no matter what the outcome is. We work our butts off.”
McKay kept preaching team the entire game.
“This is what being a team is,” McKay. “It’s everyone stepping up and making plays and playing hard. Your talent is only going to take you so far. It’s what you have here (pointing to his chest) and what you have here (pointing to his head). They are mentally tough. They got heart.”