SOUTHGATE — Two local girls’ basketball teams stepped outside their respective conferences to square off against one another Friday night as Farmington made its way to the Downriver area to take on Southgate Anderson.

Both teams came into the non-league battle looking for some semblance of a mid-season spark. Farmington was hoping to shake a four-game losing skid, while Anderson their last time out more than a week ago earned just their second win of the campaign and snapped a seven-game slide in the process.

A big second half allowed for the hometown Titans to pull away for the eventual 32-20 victory over the visiting Falcons.

The win for Anderson gives them back-to-back victories overall since the tail end of the 2022-23 season. The Titans with the victory have also already matched their win total from the previous two seasons combined.

In fact, both Anderson and Farmington are in the midst of rebuilds after each team finished just 1-21 a season ago. And Friday’s matchup was one that both clubs have found themselves in often throughout this winter: tightly-contested, low-scoring affairs.

It was a slow burn offensively for both teams, who combined for just a dozen first-half points. Farmington, in particular, was held to just one made basket in the first 16 minutes of game action, that coming on a three-pointer from Sydney Nogas.

Nonetheless, the Falcons stayed within striking distance heading into halftime before Anderson started to create some separation. The Titans nearly matched their entire scoring output from the first half in the third quarter alone before turning in a 16-point fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Low-scoring outcome aside, both teams displayed depth as each saw seven different players find the scoring column.

Anderson got a big lift all evening long from sophomore Scarlett Sage, who was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. Aiding in Sage’s efforts was senior Jenna Hinzmann, who finished with eight points on just one made basket from the floor but went 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

In addition to the triple from Nogas, Farmington got four points each out of Grace Lamott and Edimari King. It’s a very young Falcons squad with the sophomores Nogas and Lamott being two of nine underclassmen. King meanwhile is just one of two seniors.

UP NEXT

After returning home to host Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in another non-league affair on Jan 28, Farmington (3-9) will officially begin OAA Gold Division play when they visit Ferndale University two days later on Jan 30.

Anderson (3-8) meanwhile will jump back into Downriver League play with a makeup game at home vs Taylor on Jan 27. It will be the first of three games next week for the Titans, who will then do battle with conference foes Wyandotte Roosevelt and Allen Park on Jan 28 and 30, respectively.

PHOTOS: Girls Basketball – Farmington vs Southgate Anderson

ALLEN PARK — It was a relatively busy slate of high school girls basketball games around the state of Michigan Monday night with one non-conference matchup seeing Bloomfield Hills Roeper traveling to Allen Park Cabrini.

Both teams came into the new week heading in opposite directions as of late. Roeper was hoping to avoid a third straight loss after opening the season with a win back on Dec 3, while Cabrini was looking to make it five straight victories to open the campaign.

A balanced scoring attack led by Kassie Kozlo guided the hometown Monarchs, who rolled to a 52-18 win over the visiting Roughriders.

The win marks the best start to a season for Cabrini since 2010-11 when they started with six consecutive victories and made it all the way to the regional final round of the state playoffs.

Cabrini on Monday continued doing what they had done in the early stages of the season. Following the win over Roeper, the Monarchs through five games have outscored the opposition by an average of just over 30 points per game.

The hosts essentially buried any chance of suffering their first loss of the winter from the opening tip as they raced out to a big lead early, outscoring Roeper 27-8 in the first half and holding the Roughriders to just one made basket in the second quarter.

Leading the way early on and throughout the night for Cabrini was the aforementioned Kassie Kozlo, who finished with a game-high 13 points. The sophomore scored seven of her points in the first quarter alone and was responsible for three of the team’s four made three-point shots.

Kozlo was also one of eight different Monarchs to score in the win. The Class of 2027 product was on full display for the home team as Aleza Pizzo joined Kozlo in double-figures with 10 points while Gabby Portmann scored eight of her nine points in the second half.

Monday was unfortunately another tough night offensively for Roeper, whose scoring output comes after being held to a season-low 12 points in their most recent loss vs Clawson back on Dec 13. The Roughriders with the outcome have already matched their loss total from all of last season when they finished 19-3.

Despite the scoring woes, the visitors did get a solid effort from senior standout Sofia Salinas, who finished with a team-best nine points, five of which came in the first quarter.

UP NEXT

Cabrini (5-0) will put their undefeated start to the season on the line once more when they open up Catholic League-AA Division play this Friday, Dec 20 on the road against Macomb Lutheran North. The Monarchs have dropped three of their four meetings with the Mustangs over the past two seasons.

Monday was actually the last game of the calendar year for Roeper (1-3), who is not tabbed to take the floor again until Jan 6 when they return home to host Michigan Independent Athletic Conference foe Novi Christian Academy.

After then welcoming in Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart on Jan 8, the Roughriders will begin MIAC-Blue Division on Jan 10 at home vs Plymouth Christian Academy.

PHOTOS: Girls Basketball – Bloomfield Hills Roeper vs Allen Park Cabrini