Bowers Finds Shot Just in Time to Lead Kent City Back to D3 Finale

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

March 17, 2022

EAST LANSING – Kent City junior guard Lexie Bowers didn’t waste any time breaking out of a rare shooting slump.

After struggling offensively in her team’s Quarterfinal, Bowers redeemed herself with an impressive shooting performance two days later.

Bowers scored a game-high 22 points to help lead the Eagles to a 47-30 win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley in Thursday’s second Division 3 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.

The unbeaten Eagles (26-0) with return to the Finals for the second consecutive year and play Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Gators (24-2) defeated previously-unbeaten Glen Lake in the other Semifinal, 57-44.

“I haven't had a good shooting night in a while, and I knew coming in that I was going to have to pick up my shooting because that’s what I am, a shooter,” said Bowers, who had a season-low six points in a one-point win over Schoolcraft in the Quarterfinal.

“I was more calm (today), which is weird because I'm in the Breslin, but I set my feet more and I just had a lot more confidence in myself. I just let it go.”

Bowers drained three of her five 3-pointers during the second quarter as Kent City shrugged off a slow start to lead 30-13 at the half.

“We started hitting shots in the second quarter, and our offense started moving,” Eagles coach Aleah Holcomb said. “Our shooting percentage was great in the first half, and I was very happy with how well we played tonight. We hit a lot of shots, and defensively we shut them down and played good team defense.”

Kent City/Bishop Foley basketballBishop Foley coach Ray Joseph was impressed by Bowers’ shooting prowess.

“She was on fire, and she was hitting all kinds of shots,” Joseph said. “We put someone on her to try and slow her down, and it worked for a little bit. She didn’t score that much more in the second half than the first. She’s a good player.”

One of Bowers’ most memorable moments in the game happened in the fourth quarter when she was knocked down attempting a 3-pointer.

“No, I didn't see it go in,” Bowers said. “I just got hit and then everybody was around me and I was like, ‘What, did I make it?’ Yeah, it was crazy, but it was a good shot.”

Bowers converted the free throw for a four-point play to give the Eagles a commanding 42-23 lead. 

“We all played really hard, and it's taken a lot of hard work to get to this point and we are just really glad to be back,” Bowers said. “The two-point loss in the state finals last year has been motivation and made us work even harder.”

Kent City sophomore Madelyn Geers played well on both ends of the court. She made 7 of 13 shots and finished with 16 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Bishop Foley, which was led by Ryan Moorer’s seven points and 10 rebounds, made its first trip to the Semifinals in school history.

The Ventures (20-4) weren’t able to recover from being outscored 20-7 in the second quarter.

“It was a tough game, and in the first half we really didn't play our game,” Joseph said. “In the second half we played them pretty evenly, but they had the height on us and got a lot of rebounds. We didn't quit, and we fought till the end.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Kent City’s Emmalyn Geers (41) sets a screen on Bishop Foley’s Ryan Moorer (23) as the Eagles get into their offense Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Bishop Foley’s Melanie Moore (34) works for position against Geers. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Be the Referee: Pregame Dunks

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

December 13, 2022

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Pregame Dunks - Listen

Both basketball teams are on the court warming up before the game starts. All three officials are on the floor, as teams are in their traditional lay-up lines.

In an attempt to get their fans fired up, a player for the home team dunks it when it’s his turn in line, followed by a teammate also dunking one.

Can they do that? What’s the call?

Once the officials are on the floor, as they are in this example, they should assess a technical foul to any player who dunks in pregame warmups. In this case, the visiting team would receive four free throws to start the game – two for each dunking violation – and would start with possession. The technical fouls would also count as personal fouls and count towards the team foul count. And the head coach would receive an indirect technical foul.

Dunking or grabbing the rim during warmups is not allowed.

Previous Editions:

Dec. 6: Gymnastics Judges - Listen
Nov. 22: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 15: Back Row Illegal Blocker - Listen
Nov. 8: Swim Turn Judges - Listen
Nov. 1: Soccer Referee Jersey Colors - Listen
Oct. 25: Cross Country Tie-Breaker - Listen
Oct. 18: Soccer Shootouts - Listen
Oct. 11: Safety in End ZoneListen
Oct. 4: Football Overtime Penalty - Listen
Sept. 27: Kickoff Goal - Listen
Sept. 20: Soccer Timing - Listen
Sept. 13: Volleyball Replays - Listen
Sept. 6: Switching Sides - Listen
Aug. 30: Play Clock - Listen
Aug. 23: Intentional Grounding Change
- Listen