A-B Preview: Return of the Champs
March 15, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three 2016 MHSAA champions will take the floor for Friday’s Semifinals in Classes A and B.
Warren Cousino is back attempting to repeat in Class A, and Marshall is seeking to do the same in Class B. The third guarantees there will be a new Class C champion this weekend; Ypsilanti Arbor Prep won that title last year but is in Class B and earned the top ranking during the regular season.
All four Class A and B Semifinals will be played Friday, with all four championship games Saturday.
Semifinals - Friday
Class A
Warren Cousino (24-2) vs. Flushing (22-3), 1 p.m.
East Kentwood (25-1) vs. Southfield Arts & Technology (22-4), 2:50 p.m.
Class B
Detroit Country Day (24-1) vs. Marshall (23-2), 6 p.m.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (26-0) vs. Freeland (26-0), 7:50 p.m.
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6 p.m.
Class C - 4 p.m.
Class D - 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $8 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit, the Class D, A and C Finals on the network’s PLUS channel and Class B on the primary channel. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
And now, a look at the semifinalists in Class A and Class B. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals, except Freeland’s are through the end of the regular season.) The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
Class A
EAST KENTWOOD
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 9
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Jimmy Carter, sixth season (79-57)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 57-43 over No. 7 Muskegon Mona Shores in the Regional Semifinal, 59-45 and 63-46 over Grand Haven, 51-49 (District Final) and 52-43 over Grand Rapids Christian.
Players to watch: Lazurea Saunders, 6-0 jr. C (14 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 spg); Alona Blackwell, 5-10 soph. F (10 ppg, 3.0 apg);
Outlook: East Kentwood has its second 20-win season under Carter, but also has increased its win total each of the last four winters. The Falcons are 11 victories better than a year ago and won their first Regional title last week. The only loss was to Class B No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in East Kentwood’s second game. Eight players average at least five points per game; sophomore guard Mauriya Barnes (11.5 ppg) and junior center Corinne Jemison (10) add plenty of scoring off the bench.
FLUSHING
Record/rank: 22-3, unranked
League finish: First in Flint Metro League.
Coach: Larry Ford, 13th season (228-67)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 45-39 over No. 4 Midland Dow in the Regional Final, 47-25 over Flint Hamady, 65-37 and 50-39 (District Final) over Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
Players to watch: Lauren Newman, 5-8 sr. G (11.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg); Shelby Morrow, 5-7 jr. G (10.9 ppg, 2.5 spg).
Outlook: Flushing has advanced to its first Semifinal since 1976 and won 21 of its last 22 games after opening 1-2 this winter. The Dow win in the Regional Final avenged one of those early losses, and the others were to No. 3 Saginaw Heritage and Class B top-ranked Arbor Prep. Only league rival Fenton (41) has scored more than 40 points against the Raiders since Dec. 6. Senior 6-foot center Bre Perry adds to a balanced attack with 8.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
SOUTHFIELD ARTS & TECHNOLOGY
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 6
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Michele Marshall, 22nd season (276-92)
Championship history: First season as a program.
Best wins: 55-51 over No. 1 Detroit Martin Luther King in the Regional Final, 68-52 over Detroit Renaissance in the District Final, 52-38 over Ann Arbor Huron in the Quarterfinal.
Players to watch: Deja Church, 5-10 sr. G (20.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg); Alexis Johnson, 5-10 soph. F (14.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg).
Outlook: Although Southfield A&T technically is a new program, Marshall formerly built Southfield Lathrup into a top program before that school and the former Southfield High merged last fall. Lathrup won the Class A title in 2005. Church was a Miss Basketball finalist and will continue at University of Michigan. Freshman guard Cheyenne McEvans adds another 10.3 points and six rebounds per game and with Church is among three who had at least 22 3-pointers this season entering the week.
WARREN COUSINO
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 2
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Mike Lee, eighth season (150-43)
Championship history: Class A champion 2016.
Best wins: 47-41 over Farmington Hills Mercy in the Quarterfinal, 41-39 over Bloomfield Hills Marian in the Regional Final, 53-51, 52-34 and 66-45 over No. 7 Port Huron Northern.
Players to watch: Kierra Fletcher, 5-9 sr. G (22.7 ppg, 13 rpg, 6.2 apg, 5.2 spg, 2.1 bpg); Erin McArthur, 5-6 sr. G (13.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.4 apg, 4.1 spg, 65 3-pointers).
Outlook: Cousino was as big a surprise last season as a 23-win team could be – but definitely won’t be this weekend. Fletcher was a Miss Basketball finalist after starring in last season’s Finals, and she’ll continue her career at Georgia Tech. In addition to Fletcher and McArthur, senior Rachel Hayes and sophomore Mackenzie Cook also started in last season’s championship game and current starter senior Aubrey Fetzer played 21 minutes off the bench. Cousino also picked up two wins over league foe Macomb Dakota, which also made the Quarterfinals.
Class B
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Frank Orlando, 36th season (757-113)
Championship history: Eleven MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 55-46 over Class A No. 1 Detroit Martin Luther King, 56-46 over Class A No. 4 Midland Dow, 60-51 over Class A No. 6 Southfield A&T, 53-35 over Ann Arbor Huron.
Players to watch: Destiny Pitts, 6-0 sr. G (22.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 71 3-pointers); Kaela Webb, 5-7 jr. G (14.8 ppg, 3.0 apg, 36 3-pointers).
Outlook: Country Day returned to the Semifinals last season and will try to send off Pitts with a second title in three seasons. She also was a Miss Basketball finalist and will continue at University of Minnesota. She was named Class B Player of the Year by The Associated Press, and Webb also made the all-state first team. In addition to an impressive Class A lineup and its Class B run, the Yellowjackets beat Class C semifinalists Detroit Edison PSA and Flint Hamady during the regular season.
FREELAND
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 5
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central.
Coach: Tom Zolinski, 10th season (198-45)
Championship history: Class C champion 1998.
Best wins: 68-45 over No. 9 Bay City John Glenn in the District Semifinal, 57-35 and 39-38 over Saginaw Swan Valley, 53-38 over Cadillac in the Quarterfinal.
Players to watch: Jenna Gregory, 5-10 sr. F (10 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 spg); Alyssa Argyle, 5-9 soph. F (9.7 ppg, 2.7 spg);
Outlook: The Falcons are back in the Semifinals for the first time since 2012 and with only two wins decided by fewer than 10 points. Freeland is 47-3 over the last two seasons and has dominated this one with a balanced lineup; five players average at least seven points per game, and five entered the postseason with at least 20 3-pointers. Bullock Creek was the other opponent to get within 10 points, and the Falcons beat the Lancers in the District Final by 40.
MARSHALL
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 6
League finish: First in Interstate Eight Athletic Conference.
Coach: Sal Konkle, 17th season (305-95)
Championship history: Class B champion 2016, runner-up 1981.
Best wins: 49-27 over No. 4 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Quarterfinal, 55-29 over Comstock in the District Semifinal, 41-40 and 50-29 over Jackson Northwest.
Players to watch: Nikki Tucker, 5-10 sr. F (15.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg); Jill Konkle, 5-6 sr. G (11.3 ppg, 43 3-pointers).
Outlook: The reigning Class B champion is surging again, avenging its second loss by beating GRCC in the Quarterfinal; the other defeat came to No. 3 Williamston on opening night. Four senior starters are back from last season’s Final. Balance and defense are again the names of Marshall’s game: six players score at least 4.8 ppg, and of the 23 wins, only that first over the league rival Mounties came by fewer than 10 points.
YPSILANTI ARBOR PREP
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Rod Wells, sixth season (129-17)
Championship history: Class C champion 2016.
Best wins: 41-39 over No. 3 Williamston in the Quarterfinal, 53-38 over No. 8 Ida in the Regional Semifinal, 38-28 over Flushing, 53-33 over Ann Arbor Huron, 72-31 over Detroit Mumford, 57-39 over Class A No. 7 Muskegon Mona Shores.
Players to watch: Adrienne Anderson, 5-7 sr. G (13.7 ppg, 4.2 spg); Ro’zhane Wells, 5-5 sr. G (10.6 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2.9 spg).
Outlook: Arbor Prep’s encore to last season’s Class C title has been to move to Class B and go undefeated. Senior forwards Cydney Williams (9.1 ppg) and Kayla Knight (4.8) joined Anderson and Wells starting in last season’s championship game, and 6-0 junior forward Lasha Petree adds another 10.4 ppg this winter. Only Williamston and Dearborn Heights Robichaud in the District Final have gotten closer than 10 points as the team has given up more than 40 only five times. Arbor Prep also downed Class C quarterfinalist Detroit PSA.
PHOTO: Freeland downed Ithaca last week to claim a Class B Regional title. Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Edison Closes Dominant Run as Champ Again
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 23, 2019
GRAND RAPIDS – The Detroit Edison girls basketball team has been leaving people in awe all season.
On Saturday night, the Pioneers' own coach was a bit star struck after they defeated Freeland 77-58 to claim the Division 2 championship.
“This is a phenomenal group that I have,” Edison coach Monique Brown said. “I don’t even know where to start with this group and what we’ve accomplished together as one unit. Today up and down with our defense, they had so many 3s on us, but we just kept fighting and fighting and pushing and communicating. I’m just so happy to be up here with these young ladies and to say I’m their coach.”
The title is the third straight for Edison, with the previous two coming in Class C. Edison is the sixth school in MHSAA history to win three straight girls basketball titles, and the Pioneers’ run was a dominant one. Through its first seven postseason games, their average margin of victory was 48.7 points, with their closest game prior to the Final coming in a 27-point win against Haslett in the Semifinal.
With that type of run, it could have been easy for the Pioneers to lose focus, but they never did.
“The way we were able to stay focused was our practice and each other,” Edison junior forward Gabrielle Elliott said. “We were always on each other’s back in practice. We were blowing people out, so we had to stay focused. Our biggest competition was ourselves, and we were going so hard in practice. That’s what people didn’t see as to why we were beating people by 50.”
Unfortunately for the rest of the state, Edison’s powerhouse may not be going anywhere. While graduating senior Rickea Jackson, this year’s Miss Basketball Award winner, is certainly going to hurt, she’s the only senior on the Pioneers’ roster.
“Many, many years with more state championships,” Jackson said when asked what’s to come. “It doesn’t just run on me, it was a team effort. There are other great teammates and great shooters, scorers, rebounders that are still here, so I think it can go a long time.”
Jackson was the star again Saturday night, scoring a game-high 28 points and adding five rebounds in her final game. Next year, she’ll be playing at Mississippi State.
“Amazing,” Freeland coach Tom Zolinski said. “She really is. We would make a little run then she’d come back and hit a quick shot, a mid-range shot or even a three. She’s tough.”
During the Division 3 game, which directly preceded the Division 2 Final, Jackson was awarded the Miss Basketball trophy. It could have made an already large target on her back even bigger, but she said that she used it as motivation.
“It made me feel like I had to win this championship even more,” Jackson said. “Why not finish your season with Miss Basketball and a third state championship? If we didn’t get it, I would have been very hurt. It made me more confident. Getting that award definitely made me way more confident just knowing that I could go out there and play my game. There was nothing more I could do to go out there and prove to nobody. I could play my game.”
Edison did struggle from the perimeter in the first half, hitting just 1 of 10 attempts from 3-point range. But the Pioneers made up for that with 12 second-chance points and 11 points off turnovers to lead 37-24 at the half.
Freeland didn’t back down from the state’s top-ranked team, and every time it looked like Edison was about to blow the top off the game, the Falcons found points either from the field or the free-throw line to remain within shouting distance.
While they weren’t great from the field, shooting just 6 of 23, they were perfect on their 10 first-half free-throw attempts.
In the second half, those perimeter shots started falling for the Pioneers as they hit their first four attempts from beyond the arc, three coming from sophomore guard Damiya Hagemann.
“We were rushing a little bit offensively and settling for the 3-point shot,” Brown said. “In the first half we were 1 for 10, and when I’m looking at these numbers, we were 7 for 19 (for the game), so we went 6 for 9 in the second half, which is pretty good. That says a lot about who we are and how we listen and pay attention, and how we go out there and work together as a unit.”
While the lead grew to 19 heading into the fourth quarter, Freeland hit its own shots to again keep the game from getting completely away.
The Falcons were able to cut into the lead a bit in the final quarter, but never got closer than 14 points over the final eight minutes.
Elliott scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for Edison, while Hagemann had 13 points and nine assists.
Alyssa Argyle led Freeland with 18 points and five rebounds, while Kadyn Blanchard had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Autumn Kloha had 11 points and five assists.
“They made history in Freeland,” Zolinski said. “Tonight, they gave it their all. It was a tough task tonight, and a lot of credit goes to them. But what a group of girls right here. In four years, they won 94 games and lost 11. Never lost a conference game, and I’m definitely going to miss them. They’ve set it up for the future.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Edison players raise their Division 2 championship trophy Saturday night at Van Noord Arena. (Middle) Rickea Jackson gets an open look in the lane.