HSBB: Saline's Stemmer impresses in regional semifinals
The Saline Hornets defeated the Wayne Memorial Zebras, 51-40, in the Michigan regional semifinals in a game that included a handful of highly skilled athletes. Saline was led by the dynamic duo of Ella Stemmer and Steffi Bentley, who combined for 40 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists. Wayne Memorial, on the other hand, got a lot of production from their center Alana Micheaux and a couple of guards. Here are my top-five players from the two teams.
1. Ella Stemmer (Saline): The junior guard has been phenomenal for the majority of her career but she was downright special in Saline’s recent playoff victory over Wayne Memorial. Stemmer scored a game-high 30 points (13 in the second quarter), to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. She was also 12/12 from the free throw line in the win. Stemmer has earned offers from Hillsdale, Northwood University, Saginaw Valley State, and Wayne State.
2. Alana Micheaux (Wayne Memorial): Micheaux, a 6’2” junior, was also very impressive, despite her team coming up short. She was the main reason why Wayne Memorial led 16-11 after the first as she had seven points in the opening period. After being outscored 21-0 in the second, she helped her team get back into the game with six rebounds in the third. Micheaux, who has an offer from Eastern Michigan, finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
3. Steffi Bentley (Saline): Bentley has proven to be a really solid second option. And at times, she has the potential to be a go-to player. When Saline was struggling early on, Bentley kept them within striking distance. She had four points and three assists in the first quarter, before finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, which is really impressive, especially from the center position. Bentley is one of three Saline seniors.
4. LaChelle Austin (Wayne Memorial): Austin was the clear second best player on the Zebras as she totaled nine points, two rebounds, and two assists in the 51-40 loss. She still has work to do as she will learn to take better shots and make better decisions but the talent is there and she’ll continue to improve heading into her senior season. Austin was really impressive in the third quarter as she helped her team cut Saline’s lead from 20 points down to three.
5. Sophie Canen (Saline): The last player I want to spotlight has to be Canen. Although she isn’t a pure scorer, she has the ability to get to the rim with ease and finishes well with both hands. With Stemmer and/or Bentley on the court at all times, Canen isn’t looked at to score in bunches but she did provide an important eight points, four in the dominant second quarter. She also finished with three assists and two rebounds, helping her team to their 22nd win.
Photo Credit: Saline Sports.
