Chelsea head Coach Andrea Cabana marched back and for from the scorer’s table to the back of the bench barking orders, clapping her hands and wearing the biggest smile seen in some time at the Pinckney High School gym.
She appeared to be on cloud 9 as her reserves performed mop up duty during Chelsea’s 94-68 victory over the Pinckney Pirates Friday night. These seemed to be her happier moments, watching her reserves perform at a high level, during an evening where there was plenty cheer.
“For me it’s a whole team effort,” she said. “It’s not just about who’s on the court during games. It’s about the effort and energy. It’s what everybody puts into every practice to make sure we are good and that’s player one through 12. Sometimes when the bench comes in and shows what they are capable of that’s exciting, not only for me, but for the other people on the bench at the time.”
Chelsea boys basketball is about defense, rebounding and team work. That all for one and one for all mentality was full display against the Pirates.
Players were not entirely happy over their performance. The interior defense was stout whenever Pinckney tried to work the ball into work horse Drakon Mayes. However, that left the perimeter open. The Pirates, who put up 1,000 three-point shots per day, were unable to take advantage.
Maybe the Bulldogs were looking ahead to Tuesday’s showdown with Adrian (12-2, 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference White Division. Chelsea (4-0 in conference play) holds a one-game lead over Adrian because of a 97-87 victory earlier.
There are bigger fish to fry than Pinckney. The Bulldogs not only want to lock down the conference title, but they have their eyes on winning a Division 2 state championship. A year ago they got within a game of making the semifinals at Breslin Arena in East Lansing, but they were beat 68-62 by Romulus Summit Academy North in the D-2 quarterfinals.
“I think this is a team that can go all the way,” Andrea Cabana said. “Of course things have to go perfect. You have to be a bit lucky at the end. But they’ve got that potential.”
Cabana emphasizes defense and toughness every time the Bulldogs walk into the gym. That’s why it was important for them to lock into Pinckney Friday night. They must have the same intensity for every opponent. Pinckney became the fifth straight opponent to scorer fewer than 50 points against Chelsea.
“When it comes to basketball I want them to play lockdown, solid defense and to get excited when they pull it off,” said Coach Andrea Cabana.
Chelsea seemed to play solid defense, although its perimeter defense allowed too many open three-point attempts to the Pirates.
“It kind of comes and goes,” said guard Joey Cabana, the coach’s son.
Midway through the fourth quarter leading scorers Joey Cabana (27 point) and Jake Stephens (13 points) were on the bench cheering on the reserves because the game was out of hand.
Pinckney leading scorer Caden Carlson was held well below his 18 points per game scoring average, finishing with 13.