It just wasn’t Powers Catholic’s day.
The Chargers made it to the Class B girls’ basketball state title game on March 16 against Goodrich at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. But they could never get their game together and sustained a 51-34 loss. Powers trailed 15-2 after the first quarter and 28-6 at halftime.
“Once we got down that big, it was difficult for us to dig out,” said coach Thom Staudacher. “Going into halftime, at Powers, it’s a not really a guideline, it’s a rule, that we’re never going to give up.”
The Chargers were 3 of 31 in shooting from the floor in the first half for 9.7 percent and 8 of 23 in the second half for 34.8 percent. For the game, they were 11 of 54 for 20.4 percent and were out-rebounded 42-33.
Power ended the season with a 21-7 record and the state runner-up trophy.
No one for the Chargers scored in double figures. Guards Sara Ruhstorfer and Ally Haran each swished in nine points. Michela Coury collected 19 of her team’s 33 rebounds.
The Chargers were 7-0 during the postseason before playing Goodrich.
“It’s a tribute to these ladies,” Staudacher said.
In order to have a chance to beat Goodrich, Staudacher said that his strategy was to “contain and limit the the number of turnovers, those were the two biggest things. When you only score six points in a half, it’s really difficult to do much, and our downfall, from an offensive standpoint, is that we were a little timid. We were shooting but it wasn’t falling the way we had planned on it.”
Staudacher is hoping that the Chargers return for another shot in the future.
“We’ll continue to build off what we have,” Staudacher said. “Powers built a new school, and there’s a lot of buzz around the campus.”
To get to the final, Powers defeated Bullock Creek in overtime in the semifinals, 48-45. Bullock Creek had led 23-21 at halftime.
Ruhstorfer was the top scorer in that win with 16 points, while Coury added 14 points and Haran, 12.
Powers defeated Detroit Country Day 50-30 in the quarterfinals. They had upended Freeland 61-53 in the regional semifinals and Croswell-Lexington 57-31 in the regional final.