KLAA CLASSIC: Northville outlasts Plymouth in down-to-wire thriller
Northville’s Sophia Knapp attempts a reverse layup against Plymouth defender Annie Flavin.
Great basketball games are like great movies: unpredictable until the final nail-biting moments.
Friday night’s Northville-at-Plymouth showdown was worthy of a Golden Globe — or a Golden Roundball — as the Mustangs won a drama-filled 45-41 thriller.
The victory improved Northville’s record to 5-0 in the KLAA West, the same mark as Howell’s. The two unbeatens face off Friday at Northville.
Plymouth, which trailed 43-41 with 25 seconds left and had possession of the ball after forcing a Mustang turnover, slipped to 3-2 in the West. Both teams are 8-3 overall.
Clutch play after clutch play
To use an old cliche, neither team deserved to lose, as they traded clutch shots and stifling defense throughout the contest.
The game wasn’t decided until the final seconds when Northville senior Carly Pelon cashed in on two pressure packed free throws to put her team up four — just seconds after Plymouth’s potential game-tying or game-winning possession ended with a turnover.
Northville’s star was junior Sophia Fraas, who netted a team-high 20 points. The smooth-shooting forward was responsible for 15 of the Mustangs’ first 20 points. Peyton Sivier scored 10 points and Harper Lee added eight.
Plymouth was led by senior Mackenzie Dicken’s 19 points. Annie Flavin, who was honored before the game for winning the MHSAA Division 1 individual golf championship in the fall, scored 10 points.
Fraas the No. 1 star
“This was definitely the best shooting game I’ve had this season,” said Fraas, who connected on four three-point bombs. “I felt really confident tonight and it showed. I couldn’t have done any of it without my teammates. They’re super supportive.
“I love this team’s culture. We’ve done really well adjusting to our new coach (Jimmy Reddy). I like him as a coach because he loves defense and I pride myself on my defense.”
The final five minutes had fans from both teams on the edge of their seats. With Plymouth trailing 36-33 and 4:40 left — the biggest lead either team owned all night was five — Wildcat senior Olivia Graham hit a driving layup to cut the deficit to one.
Northville’s Peyton Sivier answered with two free throws. Following a Mustang defensive stop, Fraas hit one of the biggest shots of the game with 2:20 to play when she used a cross-over dribble to gain a step on Dicken. She then finished with a left-handed scoop shot under the outstretched arm of Flavin to make it 40-35.
Dicken keeps producing
Dicken, who set the school scoring record Friday night, buried a long triple to bring the ‘Cats to within 40-38. Sivier, however, drained two more free throws — her seventh and eighth makes from the line in nine tries.
After Northville split a pair of free throws, Dicken knocked down two freebies with 29.7 seconds to go to bring the hosts to within 43-41.
Plymouth then forced a turnover on Northville’s in-bounds pass, but failed to get a shot off, setting the stage for Pelon, who earned a Best Supporting Clutch Performer award with 3.8 seconds on the clock.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
