Tales of the West Bloomfield girls’ demise were greatly exaggerated.

After starting the season 1-4, the defending Division 1 state champion Lakers have since gone 18-5, including their 57-35 victory against the Ford Falcons on Tuesday in a state quarterfinal game at Calihan Hall.

“We put together a brutal schedule back in December,” said West Bloomfield head coach Darrin McAllister. “At one point, we were 1-4 because we played some of the best teams. A lot of people counted us out. But right now, we’re one of the top four teams, and we’re still standing.”

West Bloomfield started the season against Saginaw Heritage, Belleville, South Lake, Southfield A&T and Tecumseh in their first five games. Of those five, all of them finished with at least 13 wins and two (Belleville and Tecumseh) eclipsed 20.

The Lakers and Tigers will rematch in the state semifinals on Friday, March 21 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The Tigers won their previous matchup 84-49 as part of the KLAA/OAA Challenge in early December.

West Bloomfield started Tuesday’s game better than they did their season, scoring the first five points of the game and taking an 8-5 lead into the second quarter.

And while Sheridan Beal — the only returning starter from last year’s state title winning squad — kept the offense going, the Lakers’ defense was giving Ford fits. Grand Valley State signee Anayya Davis scored all five of their points in the first quarter and went into halftime with eight of their 16.

McAllister said their defense was able to key in on her tendencies, and with the Falcons’ go-to scorer neutralized at times, the rest of the offense went into a panic.

“We got real impatient on offense and their zone, you know, they’re big and thick, and we just weren’t patient enough, and we took some bad shots,” said Ford head coach Matt Joseph. “And it just kind of, you know, got contagious, and then all of a sudden, you start to hurry and think, ‘Oh my gosh.’”

Ford used a 7-0 run fueled by five points by Tyra Wright to close some distance before the end of the first half, but they still trailed 23-16 going into the locker room.

Then, as the game went on, the Lakers’ offense seemed to grow more comfortable while Ford’s did not. Davis scored just four more points and was held without a made 2-pointer all night, while Wright got four of her seven points in the second half off free throws.

West Bloomfield’s defense held Ford to just three made field goals in the second half and nine altogether.

“Just understand our assignments (defensively),” McAllister said. “That’s the biggest thing, just understanding our roles. Understanding our assignments and counting on each other. And we