With an emphasis on ‘D’, Northville girls hoops team tips off with a ‘W’

Defense and experience win championships, the timeless basketball saying goes.

Northville’s new-look girls basketball team — Shaun Dicken is taking over as the new coach of the Mustangs, who graduated seven seniors — is equipped with the first before-mentioned ingredient, but it will take some some season-long seasoning to secure the second.

“The thing I like best about this team so far is that the girls are working hard every day in practice and they worked hard during the summer,” said Dicken, a former NHS boys basketball assistant coach. “The minute they step into the gym, they’re hustling.

“We have six returning seniors who saw limited game action last season, saw the experience isn’t there yet. We’re building our team with a defense-first mindset and we’ll take it from there.”

Nice start

Dicken is seeing promising early returns from his hard-working unit, which stifled White Lake Lakeland’s offense in Tuesday night’s season-opening 48-35 victory.

Among this season’s leaders will be senior Nikki Grech, who Dicken labeled as an effective three-level scorer.

“She can get to the rim, knock down threes and hit mid-range shots for us,” said Dicken, a Northville Public Schools special education teacher. “Nikki is one of our top perimeter threats.”

Dicken has also been impressed by the offensive versatility of senior Miranda Link, who is capable of piling up points in the paint and around the arc.

Northville’s offense will be engineered by sophomore point guard Carly Pelon, who will take advantage of an opponent who hesitates for even a split second.

Lightning-quick player

“Carly is a missile on the court,” he said, smiling. “She gets up and down very quickly … sometimes a little too quickly, so we’re working on her not forcing something that’s not there. But she can pass, shoot and defend and she has a lot of energy.”

Senior forward Lily Berringer and senior guard Audrey Pelon (the older sister of Carly) are also expected to play important roles for the Mustangs.

The team’s solid group of seniors is rounded out by center Lauren Marnocha and forward Caroline Meloche.

Like most teams that are being guided by new coaches, the Mustangs have been asked to learn a new system, which they’ve embraced with enthusiasm, Dicken revealed.

Start from scratch

“Once I took over, we basically started from scratch (compared to the former coaching staff’s system),” Dicken said. “I’ve been impressed how the girls have put in the time over the summer and in the weight room to improve their games.

“They hit the ground running and their effort hasn’t dropped off at all.”

Due largely to its inexperience, Northville was selected to finished seventh in the eight-team KLAA West Division, according to a pre-season coaches poll.

Among the Mustangs’ most intriguing games this winter include their encounters with West Division foe Plymouth, whose roster includes Dicken’s niece, Mackenzie Dicken.

Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.