Girl’s Basketball: Freshman Chargers move to 6-0 with win over Chemics

by Jason Wolverton

The Midland Dow freshman girl’s basketball team shook off a sluggish opening quarter and then dominated the rest of the way Friday as the Chargers improved to 6-0 on the season with a 32-19 win over Midland at Midland High School.

The Chemics held the Chargers to just four first-quarter points and won the intensity battle early on, but Dow rattled off an 11-6 run in the second quarter that took Midland out of its comfort zone and allowed coach Jeff Tuck’s team to take control.

“The intensity is really what it was,” Tuck said of the second quarter surge. “We’ve been starting out slow lately and not getting into the game. And the girls knew they were getting outplayed…and then all of a sudden they realized Christmas break hadn’t started yet and they better play or we’re going to get run out of the gym.”

Instead it was Dow that did all the running in the second, using a tuned-up pressure defense to force several Chemic turnovers that Midland coach Sara Jeroue said led directly to the team’s third loss of the year.

“We play hard,” Jeroue said. “But it’s just those little turnovers that are happening. When we have the lead we play great, but when they play hard and start catching up we buckle under the pressure.”

Dow led 19-10 at the half and the two teams played almost even in a physical third before both squads went cold in the game’s final quarter. Dow scored only four points in the fourth, Midland scored but one.

“We’ve got to work on starting the game and finishing the game,” Tuck said. “We talk about one dollar - four quarters. Tonight they gave me seventy-five cents.”

Four players provided Dow with all the offense it needed, as Alisha Lukins and Emily Fogg scored 10 points, while Shelby Thompson had eight and Jessica Gable four.

Ashley Cullison and Allison Vezina scored seven points apiece to lead Midland.

The Chargers and Chemics will both return to action Jan. 3 after a near two-week layoff for Christmas break. The Chargers will head to Flushing and the Chemics will play Saginaw Arthur Hill. Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

“Christmas gives them a break and gets them feeling better because we’ve been battling some illness,” Jeroue said. “Hopefully we come back hard against Arthur Hill and we come off of this and forget about the loss and play hard the second half of the season.”

As for Tuck, he’s looking forward to the matchup against a tough Flushing team, but will spend a little while enjoying the win.

“Anytime you win against Midland it’s good,” he said. “It’s a cross-town rival and everybody has friends on both sides. But at the same time, a win is a win.”

For more photos from Friday’s game click on “Photo Slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Jason Wolverton