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On Monday, when the Spartans needed both ends of their game to work in order to move on in the playoffs, Topie's squad came up against a team that just would not allow them to get those two aspects working.

Imlay City fell behind early on Monday night against Pontiac Notre Dame in the first round of Districts, and the Spartans fell prey to the physical play of the Irish, losing 44-30. The Spartans end the season with a 14-7 overall record.

The Spartans scored just four points in the first quarter, as Notre Dame tallied 11, and Topie pointed out that his offense just was not getting into the rhythm that they normally do.

"We had some early looks," Topie said. "We just didn't knock them down. They shut down our best players and we just didn't step up and execute.

"We couldn't get the turnovers we normally get that lead to fastbreaks."

In the second quarter, the transition game of Imlay City finally began to click, as the Spartans outscored the Irish 14-12 to make it a 23-18 game at the half.

Imlay City's Alizabeth Caldwell and Josefine Egholm both hit one three-pointer in the second, which is something that Topie says acts as a springboard for his team in terms of gaining the momentum against their opponents.

"We've lived on the press and forcing turnovers all season long," Topie said. "We use those turnovers to hit three's, so when it works to our benefit, we win ballgames.

"We had some decent looks in the second half, but we just could not get them to drop."

Imlay City scored just seven points in the second half, as the physical play of the Lady Irish began to wear on the smaller Spartans' club.

The Spartans scored just one point in the fourth, as they were held without a field goal.

"I think we got tired," Topie said. "They gave us 110-percent during the whole game, and I think we just ran out of gas. We play in a pretty physical league (BWAC), but Notre Dame really pushed us around the court in a way that we were not accustomed to.

"I give them a lot of credit. They're a real decent ballclub."

For Imlay City, Egholm led with eight points. Brynn Bertrain had seven and Caldwell had five.

Lauryn Hammond of Notre Dame led all scorers with 14. Molly Coldren finished with 10.

"We've lived on that press all season long," Topie said after the game. "We had some wide open three's throughout the whole game.

"We just never really made the big shot when we needed to."

Andrew Selich is Sports Editor at The County Press. He can be reached at (810) 664-0811 ext. 8124 or andrew.selich@lapeergroup.com