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 did that today.”

Their 35 points scored is a season-low for the Falcons.

Offensively, Beal got a better understanding of Ford’s defense and started finding better looks. It resulted in her scoring 10 points in the second half.

As the team’s only returning key player from the state championship, her role has been invaluable.

“She’s a scoring machine, but this year, she’s really gotten to the point where she understands how to score and when to score and getting her teammates involved,” McAllister said. “That’s the most important thing, and that’s the thing I love seeing. And she’s a pretty good defender, but moreover, the bigger thing, she’s a leader.”

Beal’s 17 led all scorers. Breasia Gamble-Jones scored 11 points and Breanna Gamble-Jones made two 3-pointers and had five points in the fourth quarter to finish with 1.

Ava Lord scored nine points and Londyn Hall, who dominated the glass and defensive post for the entire game, had eight.

Ford’s season ends with a 24-3 record.

Season highlights include beating Eisenhower to split the MAC Red title in their first season in the league, winning a district then winning the school’s first regional title in 41 years and setting a program record for wins in a season.

Seniors Wright and Davis led the team with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“I think they (the seniors), you know, set the standard, and you hope that the underclassmen follow,” Joseph said. “I’ve said it before, that the senior class was our hardest workers in practice, and they loved that. I mean, they just bought into that, and they wanted to be the hardest workers on the court and everybody followed. I never had to talk about, you know, effort at practice, and that makes things easy for me, because now you just coach, right? You just coach. And, you know, we had good team chemistry, which is huge. And kids play for each other.”

Chemistry was a big talking point for McAllister, too, and that it’s been a driving force toward keeping the Division 1 title in West Bloomfield — whether their doubters like it or now.

“I mean, chemistry is like a strong wind,” he said. “You can’t see it, but you can see the results of it. So our chemistry is there. We’re getting better.

“And you know, like I told people, that the road to the Breslin starts at 4925 Orchard Lake (Road), and we got a lease on that. So we know we’re going back to the Breslin Center again.”