“Cougars Defense On A Roll Against the Norsemen”

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Grosse Pointe North High School

They say defense wins championships and while they have a ways to go before a state title, the Dakota Cougars defense definitely won them the game.  They went on the road to take on Macomb Area Red rival Grosse Pointe North for both teams final game before the MAC Tournament.

The 1st quarter featured a complete shutdown of the young Norsemen team, only two of their girls are upperclassman, as the Cougars aggressive defense only allowed one basket, a triple from freshman guard Michelle Bodnariuk.  Meanwhile on the other side of the ball the Cougars stayed aggressive as junior forward Tara Bieniewicz puts up an alley-oop halfway through the quarter.  That would be followed up by a beautiful pick and roll layup by senior forward Lauren Szalai which led to the Cougars ending the 1st on a 7-0 run.

Dakota kept on building that run heading into the 2nd quarter as it would swell to become a 15-0 run capped off by a triple from senior guard Emily Langolf.  Finally, with just under 5 minutes to go, Grosse Pointe North ends the drought with a triple from sophomore guard Meghan Gallagher but the Norsemen would only get one more basket before the half.  Heading into the locker rooms, Dakota built up a 22-8 lead.

The Norsemen did adjust at halftime as they clamped down and hold the Cougars to just 2 points for the opening 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter.  At the other end of the court, Gallagher would sink another three followed moments later by a layup from junior guard Josephine Ciaravino.  Bieniewicz would find a spark for Dakota though getting back to back layups, both on fast breaks which would help put the Cougars up 31-18 heading into the final quarter.

Dakota kept on rolling in the 4th, Langold would put together a triple as well as a layup in the 4th.  Bieniewicz would get a big break off a missed Norsemen free throw as she gets the ball all alone under the Grosse Pointe North net to help put this one away.  Dakota improves to 11-5, 6-3 in the Red division while Grosse Pointe North falls to 9-7, 6-6 in the Red division.  Final score, 42-30 Cougars.

Leading scorers of the night: Dakota: Emily Langolf 14, Tara Bieniewicz 9, J’may Simmons 6.  Grosse Pointe North: Meghan Gallagher 8, Michelle Bodnariuk 5, Josephine Ciaravino 4.

Game and Team Highlights

Dakota:

• The Cougars used size to their advantage especially with J’may Simmons and Taylor Williams using their height to their advantage when it came to passing, driving to the net and their team’s aggressive defense.
• Emily Langolf showed off her skills on offense by putting up three 3-pointers as well as a nice layup with less than three minutes to go to seal the deal for Dakota.

Grosse Pointe North:

• The Norsemen struggled early in the game thanks to many missed opportunities in their zone but they improved in the 3rd quarter especially when it came to rebounding which help finally spark their offense.
• Sophomore Julia Ayrault finished the game strong for Grosse Pointe North as she would get a layup early in the 4th and then with two minutes to go she would sink a three from downtown.