CLARKSTON >> The host Wolves stormed back in the second half and slipped by their rivals from Lake Orion as Clarkston defeated the Dragons 59-56 in overtime to claim a D1 district title Friday night.

Trailing 32-19 at halftime, Clarkston came out in a press to start the second half, and it paid dividends. The increased defensive pressure from the Wolves started turning over Lake Orion, and Clarkston went on a 16-3 run that lasted most of the period, cutting the lead to just two points at 39-37. The Dragons managed to break the press at the end of the period for a couple of buckets, but the Wolves were back in the game after trailing most of the first half by double digits.

“The second half, I think the whole team really locked in, came together, and played as a team, for sure, and we got the job done,” senior captain Marley Mazur said. “We got in foul trouble in the first half. That kind of put us in a hole there, but I thought we dealt with it pretty well in the second half.”

Clarkston finally took the lead, 46-45, with 5:23 to play in the fourth quarter after the Wolves’ press created another turnover that led to a bucket by Elia Morgner. It was the first time the Wolves had led since 6-5 early in the first quarter.

Once Morgner gave Clarkston the lead, the game became a tight, see-saw affair the rest of the way, including when it reached overtime.

Once in the overtime, the Wolves were able to get to the free-throw line and make 6 of 8 free throws, including 4-for-4 by Elliana Robak, to seal the game as Lake Orion managed just three points in the overtime on a long jumper by Kara Veeder.

Lake Orion had taken an early lead, reeling off a 17-1 run to end the first quarter that helped build a 20-7 lead. It would eventually expand to 17 points at 29-12 midway through the second quarter. The combination of Isabel Wotlinski, Charlotte Peplowski, and Veeder carried the Dragons most of the night, but in the first half, the three could not seem to miss. Wotlinski finished with a game-high 22 points, Peoplowski had 17 points, and Veeder 11 points.

“We played a great first half, tough third quarter, tough fourth quarter. They (Clarkston) made a couple more plays than we did. Overall, I’m proud of my kids. They battled,” Lake Orion head coach Bob Brydges said.

Clarkston got a bit more balanced scoring with 16 points each by Robak and Brooklyn Covert, plus 10 points from Morgner, and eight points from Ellery Hernandez, who also keyed the press in the third quarter along with Covert.

That extra scoring depth would prove important in a game with 50 total fouls. Both teams had multiple starters in foul trouble all night and three players would foul out — two for Lake Orion and one for Clarkston.

“It was a lot on the defensive end, too. Everybody stepped up on the defensive end,” Clarkston head coach Aaron Goodnough said. “We started covering the girls that we knew were going to hurt us,” he added.

Clarkston (17-7) claims its second straight district title and moves on to face Utica Eisenhower in the regional semifinals on Monday at Lapeer High School.

“We’ve got two practices. We planned practices for the weekend,” Goodnough said. “We like our chances. We planned to at least get this far and beyond. Now that we’ve had yet another close game — we’ve been in a lot of them. We’re tested. So we get into those positions, and we don’t panic.”

Lake Orion finishes the season 13-11.

“I had nine brand-new kids. So it’s a tough situation. We’ll be better next year for it, so that now these kids have got some experience and understanding of how hard it is to win something like this. I expect to be here next year, playing them (Clarkston) again,” Brydges said. “I’m feeling pretty good about where we’re at. It was a real nice run we’ve made this last couple of weeks,” he added.