Mavericks defeat Brighton before falling to Brighton

Huron Valley Milford split two games last week to fall to 1-2 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA) West Division.

Milford began the week with a 34-28 win at home over Brighton. The Mavericks (4-4 overall, 1-2 in the KLAA West) never trailed in the game, as they had a 14-8 lead after the first quarter before building it up to 20-9 advantage at halftime.

“Unlike our previous games, we played a fantastic first half,” said Milford Head Coach Jennifer VanGoethem. “From the beginning we played with great intensity. We applied pressure on their guards and were rebounding on both ends of the court very well.

“The third quarter got very physical and we struggled offensively,” she said. “However, we maintained our composure and were able to finish the game strong.”

Paige Smith led Milford with 9 points, while Lindsey Bandyk scored 7 points and Lauren Smith had 7 points and 12 rebounds.

Milford then traveled to Hartland on Friday, Jan. 14 and suffered a 45-36 defeat.

The Mavs trailed 22-20 at halftime but things started to fall apart in the third quarter, as they had three turnovers on their first four possessions and only scored 3 points in the quarter and yet trailed by only 4 points to start the fourth.

However, Hartland pulled away with an 18-13 run to secure the win.

Milford committed 25 turnovers and shot 5-of-13 from the free-throw line, while the Eagles shot 15-of-31 from the charity stripe.

“Our turnovers, missed opportunities from the line, and second-half rebounding were the differences in this game,” VanGoethem said.

Claire Slaughter scored 9 points and had 3 rebounds to lead Milford. Bandyk scored 8 points and had 2 rebounds.

Milford played at Pinckney on Tuesday, Jan. 18 after press time and will host Grand Blanc on Tuesday, Jan. 21.