HIGH SCHOOLS

Tanderys propels Livonia Stevenson girls past Harrison

Eric Coughlin
Special to The Detroit News

Livonia — For much of the second half in its season opener, Livonia Stevenson couldn’t pull away from Farmington Hills Harrison, never stretching its lead to more than 10.

Then senior captain and point guard Sarah Tanderys got hot.

Tanderys drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, propelling Stevenson to a 51-32 victory over Harrison (0-2).

“I can feel it. I know when I’m going on a good run. I like shooting,” Tanderys said.

Tanderys was laboring with asthma for much of the game, but it didn’t affect her rhythm. She put up an impressive 19 points, including a career-high five threes.

“We talked about how basketball is a game of peaks and valleys,” Stevenson coach Karen Anger said. “We had a valley there where they went on their little run, and then Sarah went on a little run of her own.”

After several years of coaching junior varsity, Anger is in her first year as Stevenson’s varsity coach, and on Friday night she notched her first win.

“I definitely had butterflies before the game, but my team actually had my back. They said, ‘We got it, Coach. Sit down. Take a breather. We’ll play hard for you.’ And that they did.”

Anger said that intensity is what separates coaching junior varsity from varsity. She stressed that the win and loss columns really mean something now.

Senior forward Kelly Newman had a standout game for Stevenson, finding the soft spot in Harrison’s zone defense to net 11 points.

Even more impressive? She did it all with three torn ligaments in her pinkie finger.

“Her pinkie was like a ‘Z’ in practice a couple weeks ago,” Anger said. “They did an MRI and found out she has three torn ligaments, but she taped it up, and she was huge for us tonight.”

Coach Shavon Caldwell highlighted turnovers as a particular problem for her young squad, which graduated its two best players after last season.

“We weren’t taking care of the ball. Even when we got through the press on our side of the floor, we forced things instead of running our regular offense,” Caldwell said. “We’re expecting a turnaround very soon.”

Harrison’s best player Friday was senior guard Teddi Pickens, who scored 12 points.

“She’s used to playing a fast-paced game. The majority of our team doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience, so they can’t always play at her speed,” Caldwell said.

Stevenson also beat Harrison on the boards, racking up 38 total rebounds.

Grace Lamerson had eight points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals for Stevenson. Casey Baldwin scored four points and had seven rebounds and three steals. Elisa Lebron and Jackie Green chipped in with two points and five rebounds each.

Stevenson plays Howell on the road on Tuesday.

Harrison’s next game is on Thursday at North Farmington.

Eric Coughlin is a freelance writer