In an entry from the Rodney Dangerfield, "I get no respect,"
department, I thought I'd say a little something about the girls
basketball team at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes. Despite having
compiled a robust 15-1 overall record so far this season, the Lakers do
not a hold a spot in the latest Associated Press Class D rankings, nor
are they ever spoken about when the local prep pundits - ir..Tom
Markowksi and Mick McCabe - wax poetic on the state's hoops landscape.
Why this is, I have no idea. WOLL are one of the best girls bball teams
in Oakland County regardless of class and school size and I am quite
certain they are worthy of a place in the Class D top ten. Not only is
the omission from the AP rankings a slap in the face to head coach
Steve Robak's more than stellar bunch of lady hoopsters, to add insult
to injury, the Lakers have not even received a single vote in the tally
that decides the top ten. This is an injustice of epic proportions and
I am willing to bet that WOLL will make all the voters, not to mention
Markowski and McCabe eat their words - or lack there of - when
tournament time rolls around in two weeks. Mark it down, the Lakers are
going to make a run and are likely to be playing in the state
quarterfinals against the winner of the Birmingham Roeper district,
which pits Roeper, ranked number two in the state and Cardinal Mooney,
ranked sixth in the state, in an early tourney match-up.

If you get a chance to check WOLL out on the court over the next month,
I suggest you do it - next Sunday in the Catholic League Finals against
Cardinal Mooney at Callahan Hall is a great opportunity. I promise you
won't be disappointed as the Lakers play an up tempo, fun style of ball
that sees a lot of long range bombing and displays a great deal of
solid fundamentals on both the offensive and defensive side of the
ball. Sophomore small forward Lauren Robak, the coach's daughter, is
one of the area's fastest rising stars. She can score in a variety of
ways and has an uncanny knack at finding the bottom of the net at the
most important times of a game - Robak hit a game-winning 3-pointer
against Cardinal Mooney earlier in the month and led a fourth quarter
rally from a double digit deficit in last Saturday's Catholic League
semi-final against Riverview Gabriel Richard which was capped by her
game winning free throws with 20 seconds to play. Augmenting Robak's
high-scoring antics is a super group of seniors that are the heart and
soul of a team that has returned everybody from last year's 18-4,
district championship campaign. Point guard Jen Losiowski might now
show up much in the stat sheet under the points column, but she is one
of the best floor generals in Oakland County girls basketball. Shooting
guard Allison Robb is a one of a kind sharp shooter, who would be the
leading scoring option on most other teams. Sensational sub Taryn
Stevens is the best "sixth man" in the area and provides instant
offense off the bench with her dead eye 3-point marksmanship. Jamie
Irwin and Abby Walbrook are do everything types who leads by example
and junior center Alexis Doetch is a beast in the post.

Hoop heads, I recommend not sleeping on this squad because they are the
definition of a quality sleeper pick come March.