Janiya McWilliams of Fitzgerald calls out a play during the first quarter of a MAC Silver Division game against Lamphere on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. McWilliams scored 16 points to help the Spartans defeat the Rams. (GEORGE POHLY for MediaNews Group)
Janiya McWilliams helped Fitzgerald stay in first place and made an impression on the opposing coach.
“She’s phenomenal. She’s got to be playing college ball somewhere,” Lamphere’s Mike Kobus said after McWilliams made four 3-pointers in the first half to spark the Spartans to a 65-48 victory over the host Rams in a Macomb Area Conference Silver Division basketball game Wednesday night.
McWilliams finished with 16 points, Kaylynn Milander had 24 and Cass Smith 15 as defending division champion Fitzgerald improved to 6-0 in the Silver with four games to play.
Milander sank four triples and Smith three for the Spartans, who had 11 3-pointers in the game and led after every quarter to improve to 11-1 overall.
“They put up a lot of 3s,” Kobus said. “Our goal was to plug the middle, and we did that, but a lot of their points came from 3s.”
Milander made the Spartans’ only triple of the fourth quarter, but it gave the visitors a 53-43 lead and breathing room with 6:36 to play against a Lamphere team that didn’t go quietly to its third division defeat.
“Today was just a lucky day,” Fitzgerald coach JuWan Shakespear said of the Spartans’ ability to make 3-pointers. “You’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We practice it a lot, and it worked for us.”
Fitzgerald beat the Rams by 29 points (61-32) on Jan. 11. But this time, Lamphere trailed by only three (34-31) at halftime and scored the final four points of the third quarter to trim the Spartans’ lead to seven.
“We played well defensively,” Kobus said. “This is probably the best we’ve played all year. I’m very proud of what they did.”
Jaylee Hall scored 18 points and Emilie Eritano, who made a pair of triples, added 16 for Lamphere, which is 5-3 in the Silver and 9-5 overall.
“Jaylee grabbed a lot of rebounds,” Kobus said. “She played her best game all season.”
Asia Bowman made a basket and two free throws as Fitzgerald scored the final eight points of the game.
“Lamphere played well across the board,” Shakespear said. “They brought it to us, and we had to answer.”
McWilliams, a junior guard, had eight points in the first quarter and six in the second.
Smith had to sit part of the second quarter after she was called for her third foul.
But she sank a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the third quarter and carried the Spartans with 10 points that helped the Warren team take a 50-43 lead into the fourth.
Fitzgerald didn’t lose a game last season until it ran into Regina in a Division 2 regional final.
Shakespear believes the Spartans’ 70-60 loss to South Lyon East (10-3) in December helped the team grow.
Fitzgerald’s 2022-23 team had only two seniors.
“The leadership they left carried on,” Shakespear said. “It fueled these kids to be more mature and work harder.”
Fitzgerald, winner of 31 of its last 32 regular-season games, plays at second-place Warren Woods-Tower in a Silver game Friday.