T ake
'We Ran Out Of Gas'
Says Lakers' Mentor
MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to The Jewish News
R
onna Greenberg feels
that her West Bloom-
field High School
basketball team was meant to
reach the girls' Class A state
final game, but not to win it.
Perhaps she is right. After
all, 1989 was the year some
other Lakers finished second
— in the NBA playoffs.
Destined or not, West
Bloomfield's Lakers won
seven straight tournament
games to reach the champion-
ship contest, only to lose to
Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills,
61-35, on Dec. 2 at Grand
Valley State University.
"We didn't play very well,"
said Cocah Greenberg, whose
team finished 24-4. "We kind
of ran out of gas, really. I
think we just played so many
tough games in a row that we
just ran out."
After winning the district
on its home court, West
Bloomfield won the Berkley
regional with a 45-39 victory
over the host Bears and a
55-44 triumph over Detroit
Cass Tech. On Nov. 29, the
Lakers downed Taylor Center,
52-49, at Southfield High in
the quarterfinal. The Lakers
then gained the final with a
45-40 victory over Plymouth
Canton on Dec. 1 at Grand
Rapids Union College.
"Every game, we were able
to respond in the pressure
situations," Greenberg said.
"And we basically not only
performed in that tough
situation, but we out-willed
our opponents, time and time
again:"
Greenberg said her players
enjoyed the ride all the way to
the title game. "They loved it.
They had a great time. It was
thrilling to play in front of
3,200 fans. It's the experience
of a lifetime:'
It was Greenberg's second
trip to the state final. She
played in a championship con-
test as a junior at Livonia
Ladywood High School,
losing that encounter against
a taller squad. But she was
pleased with her return trip.
"It was just a great ex-
perience, just to take my team
as far as I have," she said.
"It's really rewarding to see
some of your dreams come
true after you work so hard,
so long. Sure, we've only been
working two years together,
but the amount of work that
has gone into these two years
feels like it's been 50 because
it's been just tons and tons of
work.
"It's great to be able to get
such great dividends in such
a short time. -People wait their
whole coaching career for this
and I was lucky enough to
have this happen to me so
soon:
Greenberg said her team
was sad after the final-game
loss, but "They think second
place is great. They're really
happy with it; they're proud
of themselves."
In the semifinal against
Canton, West Bloomfield fell
behind, trailing 16-11 at
halftime. They closed to
within three points after
three quarters with a
pressure defense, then won it.
"That was an amazing
game," Greenberg said. Can-
ton "cracked. under the
pressure. They could not han-
dle our press at all and we
just took it right to them .. .
We wure going to be in that
final game if it was the last
thing we did."
In the final, they again fell
behind, 10-0. This time, the
Lakers never got closer than
five points. Their pressing
defense caused 15 turnovers
in the second quarter, but
they could not translate those
opportunities into . baskets.
"That's how off we were,"
Greenberg said. "It was a
nightmare."
West Bloomfield, Metro
Suburban Activities Associa-
tion champions with a perfect
14-0 mark, beat three ranked
teams in a row to reach the
finals, and were underdogs
each time.
"No one in the world ever
expected us to achieve what
we did," Greenberg said, "ex-
cept ourselves. Basically, we
showed everyone, didn't
we?" ❑
•
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