'Hooping for a Cure' a Slam Dunk
March 29, 2012
Brent Crossman was 12 years old in 1982 when his mother, now Sonja Reithan, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
It was impossible for him to understand at that point all that she went through with chemotherapy and a mastectomy. Thankfully, she survived.
He was much older when his sister Kenna Crossman died in 1998 after battling a brain tumor.
Charlotte High School's “Hooping for a Cure” players vs. teachers basketball games began as a way to honor his mom and raise money for the American Cancer Society. But this month’s game, the fifth in what is now an annual event, hit home again for the Orioles community.
On Jan. 2, Tina Droscha – whose son Adam is the senior class president – died after a 14-year battle against breast cancer. Then, on Feb. 4, former standout athlete Blake Rankin (class of 2011) died after fighting mouth cancer.
“I tell people, I wish I was one of these guys who just picked this cause and decided to be passionate about it. But it picked me,” said Crossman, who was the girls varsity coach from 1998-2007 and also has coached baseball and golf at the school. “When I lost my sister in 1998, it changed my life. I watched her go from a wonderful, healthy person with no issues to bed-ridden and I’m-carrying-her-to-the-bathroom kind of stuff.
“It got me all fired up. I was passionate and gung-ho about it. And when I started coaching basketball and became a teacher here, I was active and involved anyway and I knew I had avenues others didn’t have.”
This season's Hooping for a Cure game was played March 10 and raised $6,500.
It is set up with the usual four quarters – but with freshmen playing the first, sophomores the second, juniors the third and seniors the fourth. Each grade has 15 players made up of both boys and girls. They take on a team of teachers and staff that also rotates in and out of the line-up.
The first game raised roughly $2,000. That donation doubled the next year.
This year, Crossman’s crew sold more than 900 “Hunt for a Cure” shirts in honor of Rankin, a passionate outdoorsman (and the teams also wore them for the game). Balls autographed by Michigan State coaches Tom Izzo, Suzy Merchant and Mark Dantonio were raffled, and spectators also were treated to performances by local and school dancers and the Orioles’ drum line. Droscha and his band Smash the Hall played after the game.
PHOTOS courtesy of Charlotte High School.
All-Around Solid Play Sends Bellaire Into 1st Title Game
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – Patience explains much of why the Bellaire girls basketball team finds itself on the brink of history.
The Eagles charged into their first Division 4 championship game with a methodical 48-29 win over Petersburg Summerfield in Wednesday's Semifinal at Van Andel Arena.
Bellaire wasn't necessarily flashy, but used a hefty rebounding edge, a stingy defense that allowed just three second-half baskets and a balanced offense to earn the trip to Friday's 10 a.m. championship game at the Breslin Center against Fowler.
Doing a bit of everything right is why the Eagles will play for their first-ever Finals title, coach Brad Fischer said.
"We want to be patient offensively," he said. "It's hard to key on any one person for five or six passes. We like to work the ball around and keep the team concept. (Defensively) we've played against teams with 3-point shooters, and we don't want to let too many 3-pointers off."
Bellaire (17-3) never trailed after taking a 20-19 lead with 1:34 left in the first half. Summerfield cut a seven-point deficit to as little as 28-25 with 4:10 left in the third quarter, but Bellaire scored 12 of the next 13 points to lead 40-26 with six minutes left in the game.
The Eagles' defense was superb, allowing just two field goals in the final 11 minutes. Bellaire forced 15 turnovers while holding the Bulldogs (15-5) to just 24 percent shooting from the floor. Bellaire, meanwhile, shot 42 percent.
"We keep telling the girls defense, defense, defense," Fischer said. "It's a cliché, but it comes up again. It was kind of an odd game in that we didn't move our feet at times, and we were a little undisciplined. But the longer a game goes, the stronger the girls get in ratcheting it up."
Senior guard Katie Decker and sophomore center Jacey Somers each scored 10 points with Madi Evans and Emersyn Koepke each adding eight. Decker added 11 rebounds as Bellaire held a 37-22 edge on the boards.
Senior Noel Mann, who chipped in six points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals, said the ability to overcome Summerfield's defense was a key.
"Their ability to anticipate, to extend our zone took us off guard," she said. "Once we got through that, it opened things up for us. Their defense was longer than we expected."
Summerfield coach Mickey Moody said the sagging rebounding number was mostly the result of Bellaire's aggressiveness.
"They outworked us, outrebounded us," Moody said. "They put more bodies on us, and we didn't attack the basket like we usually do. We pretty much went side to side. I thought we played pretty decent in the first half and got their best player in foul trouble, but we missed a lot of opportunities. We should have attacked a lot more. But in the first half we were fine, we just missed some opportunities."
Summerfield got nine points from Destanee Smith, while Grace Kalb and Breanna Smith each had six points.
"They were aggressive and put pressure on us," Kalb said. "It was a lot like our Regional Semifinal. When we'd drive on them, they weren't afraid to put a body on us."
PHOTOS: (Top) Bellaire's Delaney Goodwin (2) brings the ball upcourt Wednesday with Madi Evans (32) and Katie Decker (3) also on the break. (Middle) Bellaire's Jacey Somers gets up a shot against Calumet. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)