Utica Eisenhower sophomore wing Leah Poggiolo kept the same steely, composed look as she sank big shot after big shot to help the Eagles make program history.
Poggiolo, who had a game-high 22 points in the MHSAA girls basketball Division 1 quarterfinal at Calihan Hall in Detroit against Fraser, only let her quiet focus and composure slip once. Poggiolo let out a fist-bump and a yell after she drilled a 3 from the wing for the first points of the fourth quarter, extending Eisenhower’s lead to four points.
“I don’t want to jinx her because she has been so poised at the end of all of our games recently,” Eisenhower coach Madison Ristovski said. “I thought she took a big step today. She hit shots when we needed them. I told Maddie [Repicky], get her the ball. She’s on fire right now.”
That 3 kicked off a 12-0 run for Eisenhower at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Eagles turned a back-and-forth affair into a convincing 57-43 win. Eisenhower (24-2) is headed to the state semifinals for the first time since 1982.
Poggiolo scored five points in that run and immediately answered a Fraser 3 at the end of the run with another layup to maintain momentum. Poggiolo hit four 3s, with three of them coming as Eisenhower’s first basket in different quarters. She had a few layups after punishing hard closeouts and stayed on the court for nearly the entire game because of her solid defense.
“We push each other and support each other through everything,” Poggiolo said. “We have a great support system at Ike.”
Fraser seized momentum late in the second quarter with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 25 entering halftime. The Ramblers jumped ahead in the third quarter by attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line. But, Eisenhower closed the quarter strong on a scoop layup from Repicky, a 3 from Poggiolo assisted by Repicky, and a putback bucket from sophomore Gabby Camaj.
Repicky did not have the best shooting night, but came up with some clutch layups down the stretch in between being a table-setter for the rest of her team. The sophomore Eisenhower point guard had nine assists, including on every 3-pointer for Poggiolo.
Repicky often gets downhill with a right-to-left crossover before passing to a wide-open teammate once the defense collapses.
“I see a lot of myself in Maddie,” Ristovski, the 2012 Mick McCabe Miss Basketball Award winner at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, said. “It is so fun to coach her because I know what she’s going through, being a player myself. I know what it sounds like at that age and you put so much pressure on yourself and you want to do well for your team.
“The best thing about her is she cares more about her teammates than herself. I love coaching that kid.”
Repicky has known Ristovski since she was 6. The point guard comes over to talk with her coach during every free-throw stoppage or quick break in play to share ideas.
“I trust her so much with everything offensively that she tells us to run,” Repicky said. “We have a great relationship.”
Eisenhower leans heavily on three sophomores, Poggiolo, Repicky and Janielle Turner, alongside two seniors in Gabby Gojcaj and Matalya Stojcevski. The balance has led Eisenhower to 20 straight wins and its first semifinal trip in 44 years.
“They are a special group,” Ristovski said. “I told them, I quoted one of my favorite movies, ‘Miracle’: ‘Great moments come from great opportunity.’ And they have been on this stage for the last couple of weeks and they’ve risen to the challenge.”
Eisenhower will face Muskegon, which beat Grand Haven 54-28, in the Division 1 state semifinals on Friday (noon) at Breslin Center in East Lansing.
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Leah Poggiolo leads Utica Eisenhower to MHSAA girls basketball history
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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