Bengel Seizes Big-Play Moment, Takes Over Final Quarter to Send P-W to Saturday
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – Pewamo-Westphalia senior guard Elly Bengel wasn’t afraid of the big moment.
Bengel took charge when the Pirates were in the midst of a scoring drought while hanging on to a slim lead over Roscommon in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s first Division 3 Semifinal.
She scored seven of her game-high 20 points during the final period as P-W secured a 46-33 win over the resilient Bucks at Breslin Center.
“She’s not afraid of the moment, and that’s what big-time players do” P-W coach Steve Eklund said. “They can feel it, and they can sense that the team was a little bit shell-shocked and she decided to step up and went and got a bucket.”
It was the team’s 24th win of the season by 10 points or more and sent the Pirates (26-2) to their first Final since 2019, tipping off at 4 p.m. Saturday. They will attempt to finish a P-W Division 3 sweep, as the boys team won last weekend’s championship at Breslin.
After watching a double-digit lead dwindle to six (33-27) with six minutes remaining, Bengel took matters into her own hands and sliced through the defense for a three-point play to push the advantage back to nine.
Roscommon would get no closer.
“We moved the ball better and got her into a catch-and-rip opportunity, and she did a good job of drawing contact,” Eklund said.
Bengel scored seven consecutive points during the final quarter and made 7-of-9 shots from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point arc.
“This is my fourth year on the team, so I knew I had to step up and do it for my team,” Bengel said.
P-W’s defense held the Bucks to 29 percent (9-31) shooting from the field, while forcing 19 turnovers.
“A of credit goes to Roscommon because that was one of the finer defensive teams we've played all season, and they made us work for everything,” Eklund said. “But we love to play defense, and that’s what we base our program around and it stood up. We got some big stops late.”
P-W led 26-15 at the half after back-to-back triples by Adrianna Eklund and Bengel, but the Pirates scored only seven points during the third quarter.
Adrianna Eklund, a sophomore, finished with seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Roscommon was making its first trip to the Semifinals since 1996 and finished 21-4.
“That’s just a really good basketball team,” Bucks coach Greg Kauffman said. “I’m proud of the kids, they played hard, but they were just a little bit better. Sometimes it comes down to that.
“We returned 90 percent of our team so we felt like we could get here this year. We felt we deserved to be here, and we just ran into a team that was a little bit better than us.”
Senior guard Zoey Kauffman led Roscommon with 14 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Mara Williams added 11 points.
PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Alonna Thelen (40) moves the ball up court Thursday while defended by Roscommon’s Mara Williams. (Middle) The Bucks’ Nemiah Carper (24) and Cami Hamina defend the lane as P-W’s Adrianna Eklund (10) looks to the perimeter. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
C-D Preview: Perfection & Possibilities
March 15, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One of the state’s most impressive winning streaks in any sport this decade will take the main stage again this weekend at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Reigning Class D champion Pittsford will attempt to finish a second straight undefeated season and build on a run that has seen the Wildcats win 101 of their last 103 games over the last four winters.
Meanwhile, four of eight semifinalists in Class C and D are seeking their first championships ever, with a fifth playing for its first title in nearly four decades.
All four Class C and D Semifinals will be played Thursday, with all four championship games Saturday.
Semifinals - Thursday
Class C
Detroit Edison PSA (19-5) vs. Flint Hamady (19-5), 1 p.m.
Pewamo-Westphalia (23-2) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (23-3), 2:50 p.m.
Class D
Engadine (19-5) vs. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (17-9), 6 p.m.
Pittsford (26-0) vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (25-1), 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 C and D. 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.) The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
Class C
DETROIT EDISON PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 5
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Monique Brown, sixth season (80-35)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 58-42 over No. 10 Blissfield in the Quarterfinal, 43-39 over Flint Hamady 58-55 over Detroit Mumford, 57-56 over Class A No. 6 Southfield Arts & Technology, 57-45 over Chicago Whitney Young.
Players to watch: Gabrielle Elliott, 5-10 fr. G (17.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.2 spg); Rickea Jackson, 6-3 soph. G (17.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 3.4 spg, 2.3 bpg).
Outlook: It’s difficult to not point out immediately that Edison has no seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and nine freshmen – and that they’ve been tested this season against top teams from Classes A and B as well as C. All five losses came to larger schools, including two still alive this weekend. Elliott – one of three freshman starters – made the all-state first team and Jackson was named to the second, while Brown was named Coach of the Year by The Associated Press.
FLINT HAMADY
Record/rank: 19-5, unranked
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference Blue.
Coach: Keith Smart, 15th season (332-44)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2010), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 38-36 over No. 1 Sandusky in the Regional Final, 75-67 over Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 51-46 over Goodrich, 81-27 over Lake Fenton, 55-50 over Flint Beecher in the District Final.
Players to watch: Deajah Cofield, 5-7 sr. G (15 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg); Sasha Penn, 5-7 jr. G (statistics not available for Penn).
Outlook: Hamady was unranked after taking losses to one Class A and three Class B teams, plus Detroit Edison. But Cofield was named Class C co-Player of the Year by The Associated Press and Penn and senior Krystal Rice earned all-state honorable mentions (although Rice is out for the season with a knee injury). This is Hamady’s third Semifinal this decade; the Hawks were Class C runners-up in 2015.
MAPLE CITY GLEN LAKE
Record/rank: 23-3, unranked
League finish: First in Northwest Conference.
Coach: Jason Bradford, ninth season (146-58)
Championship history: Class D champion 1978, runner-up 1979.
Best wins: 63-52 over No. 7 St. Ignace in the Quarterfinal, 50-44 over No. 2 Traverse City St. Francis in the District Semifinal, 55-40 and 42-38 over Kingsley.
Players to watch: Kelly Bunke, 5-6 sr. G (10.3 ppg, 4,4 rpg, 2.9 apg); Jennifer LaCross, 5-8 jr. F (10.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.0 apg).
Outlook: Glen Lake has won 20 games two seasons in a row for Bradford, with two league titles, and has shown it belongs among the elite in the postseason with two wins over ranked opponents, including avenging its opening-night defeat to St. Francis. The only other losses were to eventual Class B quarterfinalist Cadillac and in overtime to McBain. This will be Glen Lake’s first Semifinal since 1995. Bunek earned an all-state honorable mention.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 6
League finish: Second in Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
Coach: Steve Eklund, eighth season (154-33)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1983 and 1984.
Best wins: 40-31 and 38-31 over honorable mention Laingsburg, 50-27 over Ithaca, 55-34 over Springport in the Regional Final, 44-28 over Bath in the District Semifinal.
Players to watch: Emily Spitzley, 5-10 jr. F (13.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.2 spg); Hannah Spitzley, 5-10 fr. F (8.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 spg).
Outlook: P-W is returning to the Semifinal for the first time since 2002, avenging its two losses by beating CMAC champ Bath to open the postseason. The Pirates start two seniors but also two freshmen – guard Ellie Droste adds 8.6 points and 2.5 steals per game. Defense is this team’s strong point; Schoolcraft (19) in the Quarterfinal marked the 15th time this season P-W held a team under 30 points, and the Pirates have given up more than 31 only twice (in those losses to Bath). Emily Spitzley made the all-state second team.
Class D
ENGADINE
Record/rank: 19-5, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Coach: Roger French, seventh season (79-64)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 44-41 over No. 8 Crystal Falls Forest Park in the Quarterfinal, 50-48 (Regional Final) and 40-39 over honorable mention Pickford in the Regional Final, 60-55 and 63-57 over No. 10 Cedarville
Players to watch: Olivia Vaughn, 5-9 sr. F (18.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 spg); Aubrey Simmons, 5-10 jr. C (12 ppg, 12.7 rpg).
Outlook: Engadine is playing in its second Semifinals after also making the final weekend in 2005. The Eagles were one of three Class D teams from their EUP conference to receive state poll votes and emerged with eight wins over their last nine games. Vaughn and starting forward Keely Fuller are the only seniors, while freshman guard Sophie Vaughn – Olivia’s sister – adds 8.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Engadine won only four games four seasons ago, but has upped its win total every season since.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference.
Coach: Damon Brown (ninth season (178-41)
Championship history: Class D champion 2014, runner-up 2016 and 2008.
Best wins: 48-37 over Frankfort in the Quarterfinal, 52-25 over Fruitport Calvary Christian in the Regional Final, 23-17 over Carson City-Crystal.
Players to watch: Scout Nelson, 5-9 soph. G (13.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 4.0 spg); Sophie Ruggles, 6-0 jr. F (14 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.4 spg).
Outlook: Few Class D teams would have this kind of success the year after graduating an all-state center and three-year starting guard. But the Irish rose again in a league featuring 19-win Class C Carson City-Crystal, and Frankfort was the only playoff opponent to score more than 30 points. Nelson and Ruggles made the all-state first team and with junior Hadyn Terwilliger (8.3 ppg) started in last season’s Class D Final.
SAGINAW MICHIGAN LUTHERAN SEMINARY
Record/rank: 17-9, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Tri-Valley Conference West
Coach: Brian Blaine, first season (17-9)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-48 over Waterford Our Lady in the Quarterfinal, 44-39 over Portland St. Patrick in the Regional Semifinal, 56-34 over Bay City All Saints in the District Final, 45-39 over Hemlock.
Players to watch: Meghan Blaine, 5-10 soph. F (12.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.7 apg); Rylee Pankow, 5-10 sr. C (10.ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.0 spg).
Outlook: MLS may not have been the pick to advance farthest from the mostly Class B-C TVC West that had four teams total win at least 16 games. But the Cardinals have won 10 straight games and did make the Quarterfinals as recently as 2012, although this will be the program’s first Semifinal. Meghan Blaine can also score from the outside, with 46 3-pointers entering the week, and total six players have scored at least 12 points in a game this season.
PITTSFORD
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Southern Central Athletic Association East
Coach: Chris Hodos, fifth season (117-8)
Championship history: Class D champion 2016, runner-up 2015.
Best wins: 62-19 over No. 6 St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran in the Quarterfinal, 59-47 over Manchester, 59-33 over Bellevue, 57-39 over Grass Lake.
Players to watch: Maddie Clark, 5-9 sr. F (16.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 3.4 spg); Jaycie Burger, 5-9 sr. G (19.2 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.2 spg, 62 3-pointers).
Outlook: Pittsford’s 53-game winning streak is just short of making the MHSAA record book list, and it’s four-season run of 101-2 can’t have many rivals although that statistic hasn’t been kept. Clark was named Class D Player of the Year by The Associated Press and Burger also a first-team all-stater as both continued to star in leading their team to Breslin for the third straight season. Junior guard Marissa Shaw adds another 8.6 points and 6.2 steals per game, and she’d made 56 3-pointers entering this week.
PHOTO: Pittsford celebrates last season's Class D championship at the Breslin Center.