Ypsilanti Arbor Prep Punches Ticket To Calvin College, Downs Adrian Madison 59-31 -

Tecumseh, MI. – Adrian Madison faced off against the Arbor Prep Gators in their first quarterfinals ever and came out strong supported by a large crowd of yellow and blue who turned out to support their Trojans. After a good back and forth and a quick first quarter they led by 1 but Arbor Prep Head Coach Scott Stine has been in this situation before and after a few quick adjustments saw his Gators dominate the game the rest of the way to send them to the semifinals for a 6th straight year.

The Gators young freshman sensation Mya Petticord made the first shot of the game for the Gators and Madison’s strategy would be to try to take her excellent ball handling and court vision out of the game to slow Arbor Prep down. But the Gators are stocked with a deep bench of great talent and one player stepped up when another was shut down.

With the game still close in the second, senior Karli Waddell made a long three forcing Madison to call a timeout. On the ensuing Madison drive, Petticord stole the ball and set up Waddell for another 3 point shot. Waddell would drain another big three right before the half to divide the scoring gap further as Arbor Prep took a 27-19 lead into the locker room at the half.

After the half, Madison came out fast and furious but a smothering Gator defense held the Trojans to just two points in the third, both off free throws. As Madison tried to open up their scoring game more, the Gator offense really came alive as Senior Mahri Petree cut the defense and drove right to the hoop several times making big shots to expand her teams lead.

In the final stanza, it was all Gators as they outscored and outrebounded the Trojans and allowed Gator Coach Stine to sub in several of his younger players to obtain some good playoff experience. The Gators student section would rush the court after the customary handshakes congratulating their classmates on a huge 59-31 victory.

“We have 4 days left in this season,” Petree stated. “It feels good to be getting back to Calvin because we know that’s where we belong but like coach always says, “not too high, not too low”. We’re locked in, there’s no going back now.”

Petree, an Arbor Prep legend as her sister Lasha before her, led her Gators with 18 points and 4 rebounds. She is committed to Bradley University and her future Head Coach Andrea Gorski was present to watch her future player. Petree’s sister also plays for the Braves.

Petticord scored 17 points for the Gators, along with 7 steals and 5 assists, while Waddell had 9 points with her big three’s.

The Trojans were led by Carly Anschuetz with 14 points, while senior Laura Teunion-Smith had 7. The Gators defense was able to shut down the Trojans allowing no baskets from the floor the whole second half. The Trojans only points came off free throws.

The Gators will be headed to the semifinals game Thursday at Calvin College at 2 P.M. where they will be taking on the 6th ranked 25-1 Pewamo Westphalia Pirates.