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November 30, 2005Next stop: BreslinFrankfort advances to first semifinal by beating Leland
Frankfort junior guard Nicole Marshall goes up for two of her 15 points during the Panthers' win over Leland in a Class D quarterfinal. Finally. After high expectations went unfulfilled with short playoff runs in 2003 and 2004, the Panthers advanced to the Class D Final Four for the first time in school history by holding off Leland 37-27 in Tuesday night's quarterfinal basketball contest at Traverse City Central. Frankfort (23-2) will take on Engadine (21-4) in the semifinals on Thursday at 7:50 p.m. in the Breslin Center at Michigan State University. "It's one thing to get to the Breslin Center and another thing to show people what we can do when we play Frankfort basketball," said Panthers junior Nicole Marshall. "We want to be on top, and nothing less than that." The Panthers played 'Frankfort basketball' in the first quarter - jumping out to a 17-2 lead - but Leland slowly worked its way back to within striking distance in the fourth quarter. Comets all-state senior Alisha Glass sank two free throws to pull Leland to within 37-27 with 3:19 left, but longtime head coach Larry Glass decided not to foul and send Frankfort to the free throw line. Neither team scored again as the Panthers ran out the clock. Larry Glass, coaching his final high school game, said the shooting ability of Frankfort's Marshall, Jenny Loney and Brenna Banktson had a lot to do with that decision. "You could foul, but you'd be fouling the wrong people," Glass said. Glass, who coached 21 seasons at Leland in two separate stints, is ending his coaching career to coincide with the end of his granddaughter's high school basketball career. Alisha Glass has accepted a scholarship to play volleyball at Penn State in Happy Valley, Pa., next fall. "I've never been there before, but when Alisha gets to college my plan is to see as much of Happy Valley as I can," Glass said with a smile. Glass, who coached from 1977-'92 and again from 2000-'05, won three state titles in his career. Under his guidance, the Comets made five Final Four appearances and reached the quarterfinals "at least eight times," he said - including the last three. So knows what he's talking about when he says Frankfort has a chance to go all the way. "They're really a good, well-balanced team," said Glass, who coached the Northwestern University men's team for three seasons in the 1960s. "They have a shot at winning the whole thing. "Except for a few seconds here and there, this would be their third straight trip down there. I hope they do it." For eight minutes it looked like the Panthers would advance with ease. Frankfort held Leland (18-7) without a field goal and broke open a 2-2 tie with a 15-0 run that included three three-pointers - two by Marshall and one by Loney. Banktson nailed another triple with 6:50 left in the second quarter to push the Panthers' lead to 22-5, but the Comets responded with a 9-0 run. Frankfort regained some breathing room over the final two minutes of the first half with an 8-2 run, capped by Marshall's triple at the horn that increased the margin to 30-16 at intermission. The Panthers later led 36-21 after three periods, but Leland closed the gap with a 6-1 advantage in the fourth quarter. The game had a very different pace than when the two teams met on Sept. 15 and Frankfort rolled to a 47-19 win. "We played very sloppy," Panthers coach Tim Reznich said about Tuesday's performance. "We played a great first quarter, then we decided to play 'not to lose' instead of playing to win. "Larry's the master. He had his girls play patient," Reznich said. "The more patient they played, the more impatient we were. "We're lucky we had that big lead in the first quarter." Marshall led Frankfort with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Loney added 11 points, four assists and two blocked shots, while Banktson had nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Alisha Glass scored 20 of Leland's 27 points. Reznich said he and his players are looking forward to playing at Breslin Center, especially after they were able to participate in a shoot-around there when they traveled to Lansing Christian in mid-October. "(Reaching the Final Four) is extremely exciting," Reznich said. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity." Engadine advanced with a 54-47 win over Ewen-Tout Creek. Portland St. Patrick, which eliminated Frankfort in each of the last two seasons, takes on Lansing Christian in the other semifinal.
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