Detroit Country Day Girls Fall in Quarterfinals 66-50 to Goodrich

LINDEN – What happened to the Detroit Country Day girls basketball team Tuesday was clearly unexpected.

Goodrich didn’t just beat Detroit Country Day in the quarterfinals, it nearly ran the top team in the state in Class B out of the gym in a 66-50 win.

“I said all year when I saw (Goodrich) play, they’re a disciplined team, they’re a well-coached team and they have all the ingredients of a great team,” Country Day coach Frank Orlando said. “And they played that way today. I give them credit, they deserved to win, they were better than us tonight.”

Last year, Country Day beat the Martians (24-1) in the quarterfinals 64-49, but beyond featuring the same teams, the two games almost had nothing in common.

Goodrich’s quickness was on display right from the start. The Martians opened the game with six points in the first 90 seconds and Orlando quickly called timeout.

“The first quarter they came out ready to play,” junior guard Aerial Powers said. “They started off great, (with) their fast breaks. We weren’t getting back in time. They executed and scored off (their chances).” 

On offense, Country Day wasn’t in sync either. The Yellowjackets (24-1) didn’t shoot the ball well in the opening quarter and some uncharacteristic turnovers led to a four-minute scoring drought to end the first. Down 20-8, Country Day was facing one of its biggest deficits of the year going into the second.

“I tried to get a semblance of an offense going and we just had a hard time with that,” Orlando said. “(I) give credit to their defense. We just couldn’t get any fluidity with what we were doing."

The Yellowjackets tried to slow things down in the second quarter and work the ball inside to Mary Kate MacLean. Goodrich did a good job guarding the post and Country Day had to settle for outside shots, which it didn’t hit, sending the game into halftime with the Yellowjackets down 39-22.

Goodrich must have sensed they had the Yellowjackets on the ropes. They started the second half with an 8-1 run. Junior guard Frankie Joubran hit two back-to-back 3-pointers during the stretch, extending the Martians' lead to 47-23.

The last real run Country Day put together was a 6-0 scoring burst later in the quarter. It stole the ball three straight times and converted easy layups. But Goodrich didn’t blink, it simply answered back with a 6-0 run. 

“Every time we got up, they brought us back down,” Powers said.

Goodrich needed only nine points in the fourth quarter to seal the win and send Country Day home with the loss. The Yellowjackets won’t be headed to the Breslin Center for the semifinals for the first time since 2005.

Orlando said with three starters that didn’t even play last year on varsity, he was happy with all that his team accomplished, including a run to the quarterfinals and undefeated regular season.

He only has two seniors graduating and his two all-state guards, Powers and Amber Deane, will both be back next year.

The Martians are also a young team. Goodrich has only four seniors on its team and an outstanding class of sophomores, including Taylor Gleason.

Asked if he’s hoping for a third straight quarterfinal matchup next year with Goodrich, Orlando admitted he was. 

“I hope it is,” Orlando said. “I hope it is, because they’re a very good team and I think we’ll be a better team next year.” 

Powers agreed with him. 

“I’m going to work hard this summer, so they better be prepared,” she said.