The South Lake Cavaliers went into Friday night’s marquee Macomb Area Conference Blue game against Chippewa Valley without much prep after not being able to practice all week.

That’s where coach Wilbur Jones’ seniors come in.

Christina Gibson scored 21 points, Rylee Mott had 11 and Dania McClain dazzled with an 18 point, 13 rebound and 12 block triple-double to down the Big Reds, 58-48, on Friday night in St. Clair Shores.“That’s what you expect of your seniors,” Jones said, “is to carry.”

The Cavaliers exhibited the predictable signs of a rested yet rusted team in the first quarter. Though they only trailed Chippewa Valley 13-11 after eight minutes, they consistently turned the ball over in uncharacteristic ways, be it a throw out of bounds or simply not looking for the ball as it’s passed.

Early in the second, the Big Reds extended their lead by as many as six points before South Lake ripped off a 9-0 run as part of a dominant 29-point frame, after which they wouldn’t trail again.

McClain scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half. Then, when Gibson turned it on for 14 in the second half, McClain was able to lock in on the other end, where she made scoring in the paint nearly impossible for the Big Reds.

That combined with relentless defense by Mott on Chippewa standout Gracyn Carrier and hard-nosed post play from Gracie George allowed South Lake to hold CVHS to just 21 points in the second half.

McClain relishes every chance she gets to return a shot.

“I love it,” the Robert Morris commit said. “Ever since I started playing basketball, blocking’s been my thing. I love it.”

Gibson missed a stretch of games earlier this season, during which the Cavaliers took three of their four losses this season. Her presence on the floor, obviously, makes a huge difference.

“It definitely makes it easier,” McClain said of her teammate. “She opens up the court and allows for everybody to get a chance. And when she’s not, like how we had it when she’s not in the game, we’re like, flustered, because she’s a big piece of the team. She opens up the floor for everybody. She does her part and she makes a big part of our team.”

The loss is the second in a row for Chippewa Valley, who lost 48-38 to Port Huron Northern two days prior.

As their leading scorer, Gracyn Carrier, struggled from the floor against South Lake, so too did their offense all-around. The sophomore scored just nine points, and though her co-star, MyKenzi Harris, had 15 points, it wasn’t enough to overcome the MAC Blue favorites.

“(Carrier struggling) makes it a challenge,” said CVHS head coach Jackie Maurer. “But you know, MyKenzi steps up for us, and she does a good job of finding ways to get to the rim, and I thought she played a fantastic game. We just need both of them to play really well to beat good teams.”

Maurer admitted that, after not getting some calls early, her team was thrown off-kilter. And though both teams had players with four fouls, there were several instances where the officials opted to let them play instead of blowing the whistle.

“I feel like there’s some games we can play really physical, and then there’s some games where we got to kind of back off a little bit,” Maurer said. “So it’s tough to kind of find that happy medium where you can just play your game every night and not have to worry about, you know, what’s getting called or not.”

South Lake, now 11-4 and a sterling 4-0 in the MAC Blue, will play a pair of league games next week at Fraser (Jan. 28) and at Marysville (Jan. 30).

The Big Reds (8-3, 2-2) will look to return to the win column against Stevensob and Fraser on the same nights.

Jones is confident that his group will continue to get it done.

“I got the best guards in the county,” he said. “I don’t care what nobody says. I got the best two guards in the county and the best big girl. When it comes to a forward, I think I got one of the best forwards in Gracie George.”