Lindsay Nelson fires for two points over Ogemaw's Alicia Brown during Thursday's 63-38 SSC victory.
The Falcons' Renee Wangler dominated the second quarter, scoring 11 points as Ogemaw came back to take a 27-25 halftime lead.
A.J. Baker
SSC's Megan Robinson pressures Ogemaw's Kelly Rosebrugh during Thursday's district semifinal contest.

STANDISH-STERLING - Nov. 16, 2006 - Standish-Sterling found again that it can't take anything for granted.

The Panthers, who most penciled into Saturday's championship game as soon as the brackets were announced, found themselves down 27-25 at halftime to Ogemaw Heights on Thursday.

That only seemed to motivate the Panthers, though, who came out with a lot more intensity in the second half and ran away to a 63-38 victory.

"Any time in the district tournament when you feel a bit of desperation, it's beneficial," said SSC coach Kevin King. "And we definitely had that feeling at halftime."

The Panthers, who struggled through much of the first half with Brooke Robinson on the bench with two fouls, were a different team with her on the floor in the third quarter. Robinson set the tone for SSC's full court press, which forced a number of turnovers that turned into points as the Panthers turned the two-point deficit into a 43-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"We go as Brooke goes in many respects," King said. "Tonight really illustrated that. She was fabulous in the second half, and everyone else played better because of what she did."

Robinson scored only three points in the decisive third quarter, but had several steals and four assists to get the Panthers rolling.

"We missed some 'puppies' early in the second half, and then they got rolling," said Ogemaw coach Tim Hansen. "We had a number of shots that rimmed in and out, and we didn't handle their pressure well in the second half."

SSC took a quick early lead, but when Robinson (No. 24) was mistakenly assigned a foul committed by Lindsay Nelson (20), King sat her down to avoid her picking up her third foul in the first quarter. With Robinson on the bench, the Falcons came back to take the lead, with Renee Wangler scoring all of her 11 points and Ashley Thompson four during a 21-10 run that gave the Falcons a four-point lead right before the half.

SSC also showed its Jekyll-and-Hyde personality at the free throw line, hitting 8-of-16 in the first half but locking the game up with an 8-of-9 second half.

Alyssa White led the Falcons with 13 points, including nine in the third quarter. Kayleigh Nelson, who scored the game's first five points, and Sarah Ostroski added 10 apiece.

Jamie Lucas led Ogemaw with 12 and Wangler added 11.

The Panthers (17-5) survive to see another day -- Saturday, specifically, when they will take on Tawas Area (17-4) at 7 p.m. for the district title.

Ogemaw wrapped up a 10-11 season in which they met or exceeded most expectations. With nearly all of last year's scoring and rebounding graduated and Hansen stepping in to the coaching position, there were a lot of unanswered questions coming into the season.

"I couldn't be more pleased with our season," Hansen said. "Our seniors (Alicia Brown, Kelly Rosebrugh, Lucas and Wangler) especially stepped up.

"I love those four kids. They're outstanding in every phase of life. They're good basketball players, but they're special people and they made this season a whole lot easier than it might have been. They'll really be missed.

"It's never easy right now."