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The Hornets celebrate Autumn Larsen's basket before the buzzer. Larsen was playing her first game since returning from an ankle injury that kept her on the bench for seven weeks.
Three days after their first loss of the season, the Saline girls' basketball team bounced back with a 63-27 victory over Lincoln.
In a game played in front of a boisterous Friday night crowd at Saline High School, Saline stormed out to a 17-2 lead and never looked back.
"Dexter was a really good team. They're just like us. It was really good to come out with the atmosphere - with the band, the dance team and the Junior Hornet team - and just get a solid Lincoln team that we knew we should beat," said senior Sophie Canen, who led the Hornet charge with 16 points, 3 rebounds and five steals.
Saline improved to 6-1 in the SEC Red and 11-1 overall.
Saline opened the game with three pointers by Ella Dean, Anna Hesse and Sophie Canen to take a 9-0 lead.
Late in the first quarter, it was the Kadyn Maida show. First, she put back a Canen shot to make it 11-2, showing her ability under the basket.
Then she showed power and quickness game, as she dribbled through two Railsplitters and then scoring while being fouled - before turning it into a three-point play with a shot from the stripe.
Just a few seconds later, she hit a three-pointer.
After the game, Maida, who finished the game with 10 points modestly credited her teammates for great passing. But coach Leigh Ann Roehm said the talented freshman is adapting to the varsity game and taking her game to the next level. She had a strong game at Dexter Tuesday and Friday she had 10 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks.
"It's always hard as a freshman to learn the systems, to understand the rotations, to understand what passes to make and what not to make. But she's a freshman on varsity for a reason - because we see greatness in her. It's great to see her come along. She had a double-double tonight," Roehm said.
Saline went into the second quarter with a 17-2 lead and never looked back. Every Hornet dressed for the game scored. The loudest cheer of the game came when Autumn Larsen scored late in the fourth quarter. Larsen was making her season debut after missing seven weeks with an injury.
Roehm said the eruption of applause from the Saline bench was an example of what gives the Hornets an advantage over many teams. Roehm's talking about the team's motto: Being "fiercely united."
"We're all about being fiercely united. It's different than just saying, like most teams, 'we're family.' It's reality. This is what we live by. This is what we feel is the edge we have in our system," Roehm said. "They show it. We get excited for people. There's no room for jealousy on championship teams. We always cheer and enjoy it when people have success."
Here are the stats:
- Sophie Canen 16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 steals
- Kadyn Maida 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks
- Kate Stemmer 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists
- Anna Hesse 7 points 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks
- Ella Dean 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
- Beth Ann Ford 4 points, 6 rebounds
- Hadley Griffin 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals
- Josie Cayen 3 points, 5 rebounds
- Kailee Cahill 2 points
- Autumn Larsen 2 points
Here are the interviews:
Here's the Photo Gallery:
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