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Chassell beats Waterford Our Lady, makes state final

The Chassell Panthers celebrate after their 56-51 Class D semifinal victory over the Waterford Our Lady Lakers Thursday at Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids. (James Cook/Traverse CityÊRecord Eagle)

GRAND RAPIDS — At first, the narrative played out as scripted.

Oh, you know the one: a little UP school comes down to the state semifinals and is overwhelmed by a bigger, more athletic parochial school.

It didn’t happen to Chassell.

The Panthers (26-1) overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Waterford Our Lady 55-51 and earn the school’s first berth in a Class D girls basketball state championship.

Chassell will face Adrian Lenawee Christian (24-1) at 10 a.m. EDT on Saturday for the state title. Adrian topped Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (25-1) on a game-winning runner from freshman Bree Salenbien for the 46-44 overtime win.

“This means the world,” an emotional Brandi Hainault said. “I always knew that they could get here. I’m so proud of them for finishing it and doing what they had to do to win this game.”

Chassell got the ball into the hands of point guard Milly Allen and she provided the steady presence amidst all the traps and pressure WOL threw at her. And since Chassell was no longer throwing the ball away carelessly, it could set up its stifling half-court defense. 

“It was like ‘Girls, take a deep breath and calm down. It’s OK. You’re going to make mistakes, just don’t make the same mistakes,'” Hainault said about her message during halftime.

Allen led the Panthers with 17 points.

WOL utilized a 1-2-1-1 and 2-2-1 full-court press that featured a type of length and athleticism Chassell had not seen before this season. And at the top of WOL’s 1-3-1 zone, the 5-8 Isabelle Kline jumped passing lanes for deflections while forcing Chassell’s offense to spread out and work further from the basket. WOL also featured the 5-9 Kayla Sanders, who forced four first-half steals. The Lakers scored 18 points off Chassell turnovers for a 33-24 halftime lead.

But if there was any consolation during a half that included a 4:17 scoring drought where WOL went on a 10-0 run for a 19-9 advantage, it was the Panthers coming to the realization that they could play with the Lakers, despite all their struggles. 

In the final minute of the second quarter, Chassell senior Sydney Danison finished a putback before Allen came up with a steal and scored a fast-break layup for four unanswered points. It doesn’t appear like much in the grand scheme, but closing the half with some momentum finally allowed the Panthers to relax.

“We started to realize we were fine,” Allen said. “At halftime, everyone told each other, ‘We’re fine. We’re nine points away. We’re still in this, keep pushing.'”

WOL opened the second half with a layup by Sanders on an assist from Kline for one of the last uncontested shots the team would have for the night. The Lakers made just 7 of 30 shot attempts in the second half, including 2 of 16 from 3-point range. 

“I felt like we were able to get to the basket, certainly early in the game, but I thought Chassell did a better job of taking that away,” WOL coach Steve Robak said. “But even though, I thought we were still getting good looks.”

The adjustment from Chassell came when it decided to pressure the WOL guards on the perimeter. Suddenly, Allen, Jenna Pietila, Meg Hokenson and Lela Rautiola threw the Lakers offense out of sync with their tight man defense. 

“We talked at it about halftime that their point guards had time to talk their players through everything,” Pietila said. “We had to put a stop to that and start getting them frazzled, maybe get them throwing a few bad passes that we could capitalize on.”

A steal by Allen set up a jumper by Hokenson for what would be the start of an 11-0 run for Chassell. Allen capped the rally with a step-back 3, tying the game at 35 with 3:21 left in the third quarter. 

Occasionally you will see U.P. teams struggle to shoot in the bigger arenas when they get to this stage. But ironically, the Panthers had their best shooting performance of the postseason. In their last four games, they were just 7 of 33 from 3-point range (21 percent). But Allen’s 3 was part of a 5 of 10 performance from beyond the arc for the Panthers. Pietila was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, while Allen’s second 3 gave her team a 45-42 lead with 6:46 left in the fourth. The Panthers would not trail again. 

“They practice their shot, and they know how to shoot,” Hainault said. “To see them actually playing the way that they know how and shot it the way they know how is an awesome feeling.”

In the second half, the Panthers converted 12 of 21 shots thanks to their ability to get out in transition and finish around the basket. Hokenson’s final layup gave her team a 51-44 advantage with just 2:55 left. 

But the Panthers still had to hang on for dear life. 

Chassell missed two front ends of a one-and-one while turning it over twice after Hokenson’s layup. Danison split two free throws for a 52-48 lead, but WOL freshman Brooklyn Robak came down and swished a 3 from the left wing to make it a one-point game with just 40 seconds left. 

Allen split two free throws herself, and WOL had a chance to tie the game. Sophomore Macy Senerius attacked the basket, only to be met by multiple Chassell defenders in the lane as her layup bounced off the rim. 

The Lakers went for the tie once again on their next possession, but a 3 from Kline was long. 

Only after Allen made the first free throw for the 55-51 advantage with 4 seconds remaining could Chassell finally relax. 

Whew. 

“I still can’t even believe it,” Hainault said of reaching the state title game. “Never have I doubted them that they couldn’t do it, but it’s just this weird feeling. I don’t know how to explain it … I’m so proud of them.”

Overall, Chassell finished 22 of 44 from the field and had just two turnovers in the second half. Danison finished with 15 points, while Pietila had 11 and Hokenson added 10.

WOL 17 16 8 10 — 51

Chassell 9 15 18 13 — 55

WATERFORD OUR LADY (51): Weddle 3, Robak 5, Kline 5, Senerius 19, Sanders 18, Hanke 1. F: 16 (Senerius fouled out). FT: 10-14. 3PT: Senerius 3, Kline, Robak. 

CHASSELL (55): Pietila 11, Hokenson 10, Huhta 2, Allen 17, Danison 15. F: 10. FT: 6-16. 3PT: Pietila 3, Allen 2.

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