After a first half seemingly dominated by blowouts, "close finish" was the name of the game on the final Friday of January.
THREE POINTER
1. Girls: Lakewood 34, Portland 29 -- What is going on in Lake O? In one week the Vikings beat the area's two best Class B teams (DeWitt on Tuesday) and improved to 8-4.
2. Girls: DeWitt 59, Haslett 55 -- Two starters down, the Panthers just kept battling despite a healthy deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
3. Girls: East Lansing 57, St. Johns 51 (OT) -- The Trojans needed an extra period to hold off the Redwings after St. Johns went on a 22-8 run to end regulation.
Game ball: DeWitt's Kait VanderMaas. Twice now I've been impressed with her rebounding -- she had eight Friday despite measuring in at 5-foot-6 or so. As she was hitting some big baskets, I was thinking she could be huge while the Panthers play without two starters for an unknown amount of time. When I realized she finished with a game-high 20 points including 13 of 13 free throws, I decided it was one of the most clutch performances I've seen this season. Honorable mention to Lakewood's Anna Lynch, who had 10 of her 15 points in the final 1:36 of the win over Portland.
Upset alert: Lakewood girls, for the second straight Final Buzzer. Although after beating both DeWitt and Portland this week, the Vikings are no longer underdogs.
WOW factor: East Lansing boys 82, St. Johns 60. It's just the third loss for the Redwings -- and it looks like the one-loss Trojans are ready for Tuesday's game against Eastern.
Three more that caught my eye:
1. Boys: Charlotte 57, Eaton Rapids 54 -- The Orioles were my sleeper in the CAAC Gold and might still make a mess for some teams this season although their league chances are probably through.
2. Girls: Holt 54, Okemos 33 -- The Rams are on a roll and now all alone in second place in the CAAC Blue.
3. Girls: Waverly 58, Jackson Northwest 37 -- The Warriors had little trouble with the 8-3 Mounties despite missing two starters out with injuries.
Final Five from the games I covered: Haslett boys 61, DeWitt 52; DeWitt girls 59, Haslett 55.
1. I have to give the Haslett seniors a lot of credit. If the Vikings win the girls game, guard Jessica Ray is the player of the game with a gutsy performance, while the rest of her classmates also played with a lot of heart. DeWitt has owned this rivalry again for quite a while, but the Vikings gave the Panthers a great run in what might be the seniors' final game against them (although I expect them to face off in districts).
2. It's always great to see how players raise their games to fill in for injured teammates. With Stephanie Twait out for the season and Emily Goodenough out for this game, DeWitt needed a boost. Senior center Hannah Acre helped provide it, as did senior guard Kait VanderMaas and senior forwards Averie Conn and Kelly McGiveron among others. All-stater Dena Droste will hardly have to go it alone over the next two months.
3. The best part about the Haslett boys is how well they work together. Whether it's as part of a zone defense, on the break or in the halfcourt on offense, it's really smooth. Senior Zach Parker said after that it's all about chemistry, and I've got to believe it. The Vikings have a bunch of athletes that each bring a few things to the gameplan without dominating it -- kind of like Lansing Catholic of the last two years.
4. DeWitt will bounce back as more players get comfortable helping Jordan Johnson with the scoring load. He's really leading the way, but in this one had only one point before the final three minutes. That's going to happen as the focal point against a physical defense-built opponent. And other Panthers will need to give him more help. Junior Nick Iacobellis showed he can be one of them with 19 points.
5. Finally, a sizable crowd stuck around for the girls game of a CAAC doubleheader I covered, and it was well worth it for those fans -- the girls game was the best of the two by far. My theory has been that spectators would take advantage of the doubleheader opportunity when it featured a strong girls matchup, and the difference between this and other games was that at least some students for both schools stayed to support their classmates in the late game. I hope this is just the start.
State Journal rankings
GIRLS
Class A-B: 1. East Lansing (9-3), 2. Waverly (10-2), 3. DeWitt (11-2), 4. Olivet (12-1), 5. St. Johns (10-2), 6. Holt (8-4), 7. Lakewood (8-4), 8. Portland (8-4), 9. Okemos (7-5), 10. Lansing Catholic (9-4).
Class C-D: 1. Pewamo-Westphalia (12-1), 2. Bath (11-1), 3. Laingsburg (9-3), 4. Lansing Christian (12-2), 5. Portland St. Patrick (9-4), 6. Morrice (9-5), 7. Leslie (5-7), 8. Fowler (5-7), 9. Dansville (6-6), 10. Ithaca (4-8).
BOYS
Class A-B: 1. Sexton (9-0), 2. Eastern (10-2), 3. East Lansing (10-1), 4. Okemos (9-2), 5. Williamston (10-1), 6. Lansing Catholic (7-3), 7. Waverly (8-3), 8. Haslett (8-3), 9. Owosso (8-3), 10. Olivet (7-4).
Class C-D: 1. Pewamo-Westphalia (8-2), 2. Bath (8-2), 3. Fulton (8-2), 4. Laingsburg (8-2), 5. Ithaca (6-5), 6. Morrice (6-7), 7. Ashley (5-6), 8. Portland St. Patrick (6-4), 9. Maple Valley (5-5), 10. Dansville (4-6).
High school sports editor 
