Arbor Prep Closes in on 2nd Straight Title
March 17, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Absolutely, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep has noticed differences playing in Class B this season after winning the Class C title a year ago.
As expected, it’s tougher. There’s structure, more athletes. The Gators still pride themselves on suffocating defense, but at times it’s hasn’t been as bothersome against some of these new opponents.
And yet, the results have been the same – if not better.
Arbor Prep entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in Class B, and it remains undefeated after handing previously-undefeated and No. 5-ranked Freeland its first and only loss 54-46 in Friday’s last Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The Gators now have won 36 straight games and will try to finish a perfect run against No. 2 Detroit Country Day in Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship game.
“It’s our last time playing together, and we just want to make it as special as we can,” Gators senior guard Ro’zhane Wells said. “And that’s winning the state championship. There’s no other way to go out than that.”
“Like Ro’zhane said, we’ve won the state championship. What better way to go? 28-0?” senior Adrienne Anderson added. “So that’s what we’re going for, and that’s our goal.”
Two teams had that goal Friday, with the assurance the season would end for one of them. Freeland’s strengths – especially outside shooting – were almost enough to send the Falcons (26-1) on instead.
Their 46 points were the second-most Arbor Prep (27-0) has given up this season despite facing a schedule that has included Class A finalist Flushing, another Class A power in Muskegon Mona Shores and a pair of ranked Class B teams during the playoffs in No. 3 Williamston and No. 8 Ida. Only Dearborn Heights Robichaud, with 54 in a four-point District Final loss to the Gators, put up more points against them.
Freeland made nine 3-pointers on 23 tries and shot better than 40 percent in two quarters, finishing just under 40 percent from the floor for the game. Leading Falcons scorer, senior guard Jessica Piper, made 6 of 9 shots including three 3-pointers on the way to 18 points.
But Arbor Prep’s defense did make a difference when it came to possessing the ball. The Gators took advantage of 21 Freeland turnovers, while giving the ball up only 10 times.
Still, a Piper 3-pointer pulled the Falcons to within 49-46 with 2:31 to play. At 5:55, they trailed Arbor Prep by 13.
“We’re like, we’re a good 3-point shooting team. We needed to get the 3 off, and the shots started falling; they didn’t fall the rest of the game,” Piper said. “And we looked at each other and we’re down by six. And we’re like, that’s two 3s, just look to shoot. We got it down to three at the end and almost pulled it off.”
Arbor Prep made five free throws down the stretch as Freeland had two turnovers and missed two shots.
“I knew we would never give up. We came out, I think we were a little hesitant, maybe a little nervous,” Freeland coach Tom Zolinski said. “(But) this team at any point could score 20 points in five minutes, and I think that’s half the reason we didn’t give up. We knew our firepower and what we were able to do.”
Wells had 14 points and six steals to lead Arbor Prep, and Anderson and Williams both added 10 points, with Anderson grabbing eight rebounds.
There are certainly some similarities as well between this run and Arbor Prep’s last two to Breslin (the Gators made the Class C Semifinals in 2015). They aren’t fazed by the stage, the different shooting perspective and other differences that might throw off first-time finalists – which should put them on at least even footing from that perspective with a Country Day team they know plenty about from playing against and with many of those players growing up.
“The girls believe they can play against anybody,” said Arbor Prep coach (and Ro’zhane’s father) Rod Wells. “We don’t really look at the jersey of the other team. We just think we can beat anybody. The girls still don’t get the attention they deserve. But they work extra hard, and you’ve got to respect that. I’ll probably never get a group (again) that works this hard.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Arbor Prep’s Lasha Petree stops Freeland’s Jenna Gregory (11) during Friday’s Class B Semifinal. (Middle) The Gators’ Cydney Williams (20) puts pressure on a driving Alyssa Argyle.
Heritage Earns 'A' with Championship Effort
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS – Nothing could wipe the smiles off the faces of the Saginaw Heritage players and fans Saturday – not even a trophy to the head.
“Did you see our fans today? They’ve been out in full force all weekend long,” Heritage coach Vonnie DeLong said. “We’ve got a kid that’s been probably at every game and just split his head open on the trophy in the celebration, like he’s bleeding, our trainer is having to tend to him right now – I don’t know if he needs stitches or what. But, he’s got a smile on his face. He’s loving it.”
There was plenty to love for the Hawks at Van Noord Arena as they rolled to a 57-36 win in the MHSAA Class A championship game against East Lansing.
It was the first MHSAA title since 2002 for the Hawks (27-1), who were making their third appearance in the championship game.
“It’s just been a tremendous run,” DeLong said. “These kids have just gotten better every day, and I think that today we played a lot better than we did (in the Semifinal). I don’t think we played great (in the Semifinal), but I think today they came out with some resolve and they really wanted this state title today, and I think they played like it.”
Heritage used a balanced offense and dominant efforts on the glass and at the defensive end of the floor to hand East Lansing its first and only loss of the season.
The Trojans (26-1) shot 10 of 43 (23.3 percent) from the field as they struggled to figure out Heritage’s 2-3 zone defense, often having to settle for 3-pointers, which accounted for 22 of their 43 field goal attempts.
“They were moving on the flight of the ball, which is really good in the 2-3 defense,” said East Lansing senior and 2018 Miss Basketball winner Jaida Hampton, who finished with six points. “They got to where we were on the passes, and they were not allowing (passes into) the middle of the zone. It was open, but when you got there, they were tipping it, so they were just moving really, really well.”
East Lansing was held scoreless for a span of 7 minutes, 40 seconds during the first and second quarters, which allowed Heritage to initially put some space between the two teams. The Hawks took a 13-point lead into the break, and while East Lansing was able to get within nine in the second half, it couldn’t score consistently enough to fully mount a comeback.
It was the third time this season Heritage had broken out the zone defense, according to DeLong, who said she wanted to counteract East Lansing’s speed.
“I thought they were pretty quick for us, and we’ve traditionally played a lot of zone, but this year we played almost all man,” DeLong said. “I thought in our zone, it just gives us a different look, and it’s a struggle, I think – you might have seen that today with East Lansing – it was probably a little bit of a struggle for them to attack it.”
On the other end, Heritage had four players in double figures, and the one starter who wasn’t was Moira Joiner, the leading scorer during the season. She added six assists and nine rebounds to her four points.
Senior Madison Camp led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Shine Strickland-Gills had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Jessica Bicknell had 12 points and Mallory McCartney had 10 points.
A good chunk of those points followed offensive rebounds, as the Hawks had 15, compared to 14 defensive rebounds for the Trojans. Heritage had a 43-23 rebounding edge overall.
“We are a team that doesn’t have a lot of size; it’s a necessity for us to box out to win games,” East Lansing coach Rob Smith said. “Tonight, we were victimized 43 times on the boards to only our 23. You’re not going to win too many basketball games in that situation. I gotta say, the Strickland kid there, she was just really, really good tonight. She was very, very tough down low, and we just didn’t have an answer for her.”
The secret for Strickland-Gills’ performance was a simple one – work hard.
“I don’t really expect it, I just kind of come out and I go hard,” Strickland-Gills said. “Most people would say I’m a defensive player, and that’s what I like to do; it’s effort. That’s all it takes to get 12 rebounds is effort. I know my teammates will get me to score, so I don’t really worry about that. My thing is just to play defense.”
Aaliyah Nye led East Lansing and all scorers with 18 points, all coming on 3-pointers as she was 6 of 10 from behind the arc. No other Trojan scored more than Hampton’s six.
“I’m so proud to be the coach of this fine program, and most importantly these wonderful ladies that are sitting next to me and the other 11 that are in the locker room right now,” Smith said. “I know they’re disappointed with the outcome today, but the body of work is truly amazing.”
PHOTO: (Top) Saginaw Heritage celebrates Saturday after clinching the Class A championship at Van Noord Arena. (Middle) Heritage's Shine Stickland-Gills (32) battles East Lansing's Amelia McNutt for the ball.