GIRLS HOOPS: Flint Northern vs. Marian

**Chaniese Turner goes up for 2 of her 29 points**
**Michelle Lindsey brings the ball up the floor**

**Kierre Bell fouled while shooting**

**LaTosha Beasley lays in 2 of her 14 points**

Flint- Flint Northern has high hopes this season with the Lady Vikings boasting their first veteran team in quite some time. The core of the Lady Vikings' team are now in their third year of varsity basketball with Chaniese Turner and Kierra Bell leading the way. But Northern's season got off to a rocky start as Birmingham Marian came up I-75 to take a 69-62 win in the season opener.

After trailing 8-9 Marian went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter and start the second. An offensive put back from Northern's LaTosha Beasley finally ended the run with six minutes to go until halftime to trim the lead to 26-11. Coming out of a time out Northern inserted their full court press and it instantly gave Marian problems. Consecutive steals from Bell helped cut the deficit to 12 points and a mid-range jumper from Turner made the halftime score 35-25.

The Lady Vikings continued to pressure the Marian guards in the third quarter and a 3-pointer from Turner followed by a lay-up from Bell made the score 39-37 late in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Marian made a defensive adjustment of their own, by falling back into a 2-3 zone. The zone slowed the game down and Northern struggled to find easy paths to the basket.

Northern stayed close through out the fourth quarter but three consecutive turnovers gave Marian some cushion. Marian's Mara Mulroy's offensive put back while being fouled, followed by a technical foul from Northern's Shanae Williams made the score 67-57, closing the door on any hope of a comeback.

BREAKDOWN

Marian- the Mustangs are going to be tough this year. They don't have a pure point guard but they have plenty of size. They easily had a three inch advantage at every position over Northern, and this allowed them to control the boards which was the key in their win.

Northern- Northern should of won this game but they were flat in the early on and got down by as many as 21 points. To their credit they fought back to get within 2 points but then they started turning the ball over. Too many veterans on this team to have so many turnovers, especially with guards like Turner, Bell, and Williams.

PLAYER OF GAME: Chaniese Turner, Northern despite the loss, Turner was fantastic as she had a game high 29 points. She had a good shot selection and didn't take many shots but just made what she threw up.

NOTABLE STANDOUTS

Mara Mulroy, Marian- at 6-1 Mulroy gave Northern plenty of problems on the glass. She finished with 19 points and most of it came off of offensive rebounds.

Michelle Lindsey, Marian- a combo guard who isn't a true point but has good enough handles to be effective. She has a consistent shot that led her to a 19 point performance.

Kierra Bell, Northern- I just love Bell's aggresiveness and mental toughness, the combo guard got her hand on 7 steals to go with 13 points. She was aggressive attacking the basket and was able to get inside the Marian zone.

LaTosha Beasley, Northern- at 5-11 Beasley is Northern's only true inside force. The pressure was on Beasley to hold down the paint and she did a solid job of it. She scrapped her way to 11 rebounds and 14 points.

Shanae Williams, Northern- the speedy guard comes off the bench and supplies Northern with instant energy on both sides of the floor.