EAST LANSING – And they say growing up is no fun.
Seasoned by last year’s Final Four run, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest came out swinging in Thursday afternoon’s D3 semifinal and weathered a late push from Calumet, winning 43-38 to book the program’s first title game appearance.
“I think having the experience from last year, we knew what to expect,” Crusaders junior forward Charlotte Gramzow said. “Coming out in warmups, we were just trying to build our own energy within one another, just keep it relaxed. We warmed up really well, and you could tell we were ready to play.”
“I would definitely say this year (we collectively had) more excitement,” added junior teammate Paige Macavage. “Last year, we didn’t know what to expect (or) what we were really getting into. This year, being on the court a second time and knowing what to expect, we were more excited than nervous, for sure.”
That bravado translated into an ideal stretch to open the game for the Crusaders. Leading 7-4 just over midway into the first quarter, Lutheran Northwest had a stretch from that point of nearly seven minutes where it forced five turnovers and didn’t allow the Copper Kings to score at all.
A 1-2-2 and 2-2-1 press by Lutheran Northwest was responsible for the pressure that led to the turnovers and the dozen points overall that resulted from them by halftime.
“We knew they were a good team, and they reminded us a lot of us,” Crusaders head coach Jimmy Mehlberg said when asked about what the tape showed of the Copper Kings. “They had a pretty aggressive half-court defense, but we just kind of hung our hats on trying to control the tempo, being up top on defense. We’ve got some long arms (and were) trying to get tips to throw their timing off and all that. We’ve been switching back and forth on our presses, and some of them work sometimes, some of them don’t. But we just executed really well today.”
They remained balanced offensively, but the Crusaders’ big shots Thursday came from Macavage.
Lutheran Northwest’s junior guard connected from beyond the arc with 11 seconds left in the opening quarter, putting the Crusaders ahead 13-4 at its close. Macavage came up big when called upon in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter, too. After knocking down another 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half, she picked off a pass for a layup 15 seconds after the previous bucket, giving Lutheran Northwest a 14-point lead heading into the lockers.
“Like Charlotte kind of said, before the game, we were just excited, and I was making all of my threes, I felt good,” said Macavage, who ended with a game-high 14 points. “I definitely wanted to get a lot of shots up. Me and my dad talk about it a lot, just shooting outside stretches the defense out, so I definitely think that’s (what helped get) a lot of our layups in the second half, at least.”
After hitting just six of its 26 shots from the field before halftime, the Copper Kings collected themselves for a much better second half, but they only outscored the Crusaders 10-7 in the third quarter, leaving doubts about a comeback attempt.
Calumet answered those doubts, cutting what was once an 18-point deficit near the beginning of the second half down to nine on a 3-pointer by Millie Loukus with 1:47 left, then to seven 30 seconds after that thanks to a steal and later a layup by Jackie Kilunen.
Another turnover by Lutheran Northwest led to a difficult 3-pointer by Loukus over the reach of Gramzow with 42 ticks remaining, making it 42-38. Morgan Griswold split a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to add another point to the lead of the Crusaders, who defended well on the other end, then got a steal by sophomore Scarlet Brown to seal the win.
“I think the nerves got to us a little at the end there, but I don’t have much to say other than I’m happy for the team and these girls,” Mehlberg said.
Photo gallery of Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest vs. Calumet in a D3 girls hoops semifinal
Jess Anderson led Calumet (22-6) with 10 points and added a handful of steals, while Kilunen, Loukus and Bailey Strom all finished with eight points.
In addition to the 14 points from Macavage, senior Morgan Griswold scored a dozen and hauled in 11 rebounds for Lutheran Northwest. Gramzow had seven points, and sophomore forward Keaira Speighs added five points with nine boards, including four on the offensive end.
Lutheran Northwest, who returned four starters from last year's Final Four squad, will look to add the ultimate first to its list of recent accolades when it goes up against defending D3 champion Yspilanti Arbor Prep in the title game Saturday at 4 p.m. The Gators defeated Niles Brandywine 31-29 in Thursday's other semifinal in what was also a rematch of last year's championship.
"To get here is something special, especially for the first time in school history," Mehlberg said. "We've been trying to preach all year, especially after Tuesday, this is something you don't take for granted. It's hard to get here, just to the semifinals, let alone to our first final ever. Just to be here is pretty cool.
