Detroit — Forget being just a good young team. Utica Eisenhower is just simply good.
After winning its first regional title since 1982 last week, Eisenhower took advantage of a chance to get to the state’s final four, pulling away late for a 57-43 win over fellow Macomb County foe Fraser in a Division 1 quarterfinal at Calihan Hall on Tuesday.
Featuring a roster with seven sophomores and a freshman, Eisenhower advanced to a semifinal against Muskegon at noon Friday at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.
“We have two great seniors leading us and I know primarily we have a lot of underclassmen, but they don’t play like underclassmen,” Eisenhower head coach Madison Ristovski said. “They’re so competitive and they work so hard. The poise and maturity I’ve seen from them last year and this year, is just unbelievable.”
Leading the way was sophomore Leah Poggiolo, who had 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals to help Eisenhower (24-2) win its 20th straight game.
“We just play as a team and we’re just pushing each other ever day,” Poggiolo said. “It makes us better.”
Eisenhower broke open a what was a close game late in the third quarter and in the fourth.
Fraser took a 40-39 lead with 2:37 remaining in the third, but it was all Eisenhower after that.
Eisenhower took control with a 16-0 run to take a 55-40 lead with 2:22 left in the game.
Fraser finally scored on a 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining to make it 55-43 Eisenhower, but by then the damage was done following a scoring drought of 8:34.
Eisenhower made it a point in the fourth quarter to push the pace, using the fact that it played more players to wear down Fraser with a fresher group on the floor.
“We’ve been in situations where we faced adversity throughout the year playing some really competitive teams,” Ristovski said. “There was a timeout and I said, ‘You know, this has been a great game so far. We just got to turn the corner on them.’”
Fraser entered the game on a 22-game winning streak and was making its first quarterfinal appearance since 2006, when it was state runner-up.
Freshman center Nylah Bell had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to lead Fraser (24-3).
“Obviously the pace that Eisenhower plays at, they get up and down and they get out in transition, and it wore on us a little bit,” Fraser head coach Rob Fulgenzi said. “Credit to them. They played a great game and they did the little things in the fourth quarter that you need to win a game. They made shots, they grabbed rebounds, they got loose balls.”
Now, Eisenhower will head to East Lansing to take its chances in what all of a sudden is a way more open Final Four thanks to DeWitt’s stunning upset of defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Belleville.
“They’ve been on the stage the last couple of weeks and they’ve risen to the challenge,” Ristovski said of her team. “I think that they’re deserving of this. I think they’re going to continue to step on.”
Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Utica Eisenhower pulls away from Fraser in state quarterfinal
Reporting by Keith Dunlap, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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