Detroit – What would you expect?

When Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes and Mt. Clemens Cardinal Mooney basketball teams meet on the court – as they did yesterday for the third year in a row to decide the CHSL Girls C-D Championship at U-D Mercy Calihan Hall – concession stands may as well shut down.

The fans are glued to their seats not wanting to miss a second of one of the area’s spellbinding rivalries.

The Lakers ran out to an 18-11 first quarter lead, which they promptly lost in the opening two minutes of the second quarter, but regained it for good with three minutes left in the third quarter, and then had to hang on the rest of the way for a 54-45 victory for a three-peat C-D title.

"It wasn’t pretty," said Coach Steve Robak, "but a win is a win."

For Cardinals coach Susan Everhart, the game had to be pretty, too: exhilarating – and frustrating.

She opened the second quarter with her triple towers – 6-foot-1 senior Breagh Beaton, 5-foot-11 junior Sarah Theut and 6-foot-1 freshman Michela Coury – and they responded just the way she hoped they would. In a matter of 71 seconds, each scored a basket and Coury added a free throw and, presto!, the scored was knotted at 18.

But the fun for the Cardinals (and agony for the Lakers) wasn’t over. Junior Rachel Torry’s basket put Mooney in front 20-18, Coury added a basket and two free throws, and when Beaton scored at 3:56, the Cardinals had put together a 15-0 run for a 26-18 lead, which, as the game evolved, would be the largest lead for the Cardinals in the game.

The Lakers trimmed the deficit to 31-27 at the intermission, but momentum was on the Cardinals’ side.

Here’s where the frustration set in for Everhart.

In the third quarter, Mooney’s height advantage evaporated on a deadly combination of turnovers, missed shots and overall sloppiness.

"We were standing around, not making any adjustments," Everhart said. "It wasn’t so much what they (the Lakers) were doing. It was more we were not doing what we’re responsible for."

Robak opened the second half in a zone. "I had to negate their height, to try to take them out of their rhythm."

The Beaton-Theut-Coury triumvirate, which combined for 25 points in the first half, could manage only seven in the second half – half of the 14 points the entire team scored in the third and fourth quarters.

Meanwhile, the Lakers regained their poise amidst the rubble of the Cardinals self-destruction. Junior guard Carlee Cottrell, who played an outstanding game and led all scorers with 20 points, raced down the floor with a loose ball for a basket and a free throw to reduce the Cardinals lead to 36-35.

Sophomore guard Lexie Robak connected on back-to-back triples 90 seconds apart – the first to put the Lakers ahead 38-36 at 3:02 and the second, for a 41-36 lead.

Guard Rachel Torry’s first basket of three she scored in the fourth quarter in a vain attempt to give the Cardinals a glimmer of hope, shaved the Lakers’ lead to 41-40 in the first minute of the final stanza, but the Lakers went on a 13-5 run to seal the deal.

Lakers’ senior forward Lauren Robak scored 11 points in the 24 minutes she played. Her father-coach said she’s "about 50 percent" in shape from recent mononeucleosis.

Now the Lakers’ attention turns to the state tournament, where they are the defending Class D champions. If they want to repeat, barring any kind of major upset, it’s likely they will meet up with Cardinal Mooney in the regionals.

It’s recommended that fans bring their goodies with them.

OUR LADY OF THE LAKES – Meghan Topolewski 4 0/1 8; Ava Doetsch 2 (1) 7; Lauren Robak 4 3/4 11; Carlee Cottrell 4 (1) 9/10 20; Lexie Robak (2) 0/0 6; Jessica Parry 1 0/0 2. Totals: 15 (4) 12/15 54.

CARDINAL MOONEY – Michela Coury 4 3/3 11; Sarah Theut 5 2/6 12; Breagh Beaton 4 1/4 9; Rachel Torry 6 1/4 13. Totals: 19 7/17 45.