Jansen's free throws ice District win over Groves

March 1, 2023

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – The clock struck March first and March Magic truly struck for Marian High School as they defeated Birmingham Groves in thrilling fashion Wednesday Night, 30-29.

After earning the number one seed in the regular season as determined by the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) formula, Marian received a bye in the quarterfinal round of the District #27 bracket.

Groves on the other hand needed overtime to defeat Bloomfield Hills High School on Monday, 56-45, to earn the right to play the Mustangs in the semifinals.

The Falcons capitalized on their opportunity early, jumping out to a 12-3 first quarter lead on 5-of-12 shooting.

Marian clawed back into the game and clamped down defensively despite losing sophomore point guard Molly McLeod to an apparent injury in the first half.

Groves was only two-of-19 in the second quarter in what proved to be a low scoring affair. In fact, Groves only led 19-14 at the intermission.

Both teams had difficulty scoring in a closely officiated, physical game. Both squads combined for nine total third quarter points.

The fourth quarter saw head coach Michelle Lindsey move to a bigger lineup and the move paid off with the Mustangs wearing down Groves in the post and on the boards.

With 55 seconds remaining in the game, Groves held a slim 27-24 lead following a Lilly Gallaher free throw. Gallaher missed the back half of the one-and-one, Marian's Mckenzie Swanson rebounded the ball and Marian took a time out with 49.8 seconds remaining.

Abby Landa was fouled setting a screen shortly after the Marian inbound pass and went to the line, making the front half of the one-and-one. Groves rebounded the ball and Marian was forced to foul sending Jacey Roy to the line.

Roy hit both shots and with under 39 seconds left, Groves held a 29-25 lead.

Marian advanced the ball quickly and Swanson swung the ball to Charlie Bingham who knocked down her only 3-point shot of the game from the right wing, cutting the Groves lead to one.

After Marian's final timeout, the Mustangs implemented a full court press resulting in a Groves turnover to Abby Landa. The officials conferenced following an initial foul call on Groves. The call was reversed and a travelling violation was called against Marian.

The Falcons inbound went to a streaking Kaitlyn Sanders who missed a layup after being challenged at the rim by Marian's Ruby Jansen.

Bingham quickly swung the ball to Swanson who dropped a bounce pass back to Jansen. With 3.5 seconds remaining Jansen was fouled by Gallaher.

The sophomore forward proceeded to the line and hit both free throws, pushing Marian to their first lead of the ballgame, 30-29.

Bingham intercepted the Groves inbound pass and held the ball, securing the Marian victory.

Kaitlyn Sanders led Groves with ten points and eight rebounds. Jacey Roy added six points and three assists for Groves, who ends the season 7-17 and 3-11 in the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) Red Division.

Mckenzie Swanson scored half of Marian's total points with 15 to lead all scorers. Her 17 rebounds was also clearly a game high.

Charlie Bingham added seven points and the hero of the game, Ruby Jansen, added five points and four rebounds in the winning effort for Marian (9-14).

The Mustangs now advance to the District championship game against Birmingham Seaholm. Originally scheduled for Friday, the game has been postponed to Saturday, March 4^th at 1:00 p.m. due to weather and road conditions across the metro area.

Seaholm (7-15) advanced to the final following a 62-34 semifinal win over Troy. Tickets are $7, available only at gofan.co.

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