Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 1
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 6, 2021
Winter has moved in across Michigan, and this time we’re on time with the start of girls basketball season.
Last season’s delayed start isn’t too distant of a memory yet, but a number of teams tipping off last week are putting disappointing finishes behind them, and we’ve features some of those below.
Every Monday with “Breslin Bound” we’ll take glances at five scores that especially jumped out from the previous week, provide snapshots of two teams in each division to watch as the winter progresses, and then give a glimpse of five intriguing matchups on the schedule during the week to come.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Plymouth Christian Academy 65, Detroit Country Day 49 The Eagles wasted no time making a statement with this win over a returning Division 2 semifinalist; Country Day had won last season’s matchup 57-43.
2. Parma Western 43, Grass Lake 30 The Panthers put an exclamation mark on a 2-0 opening week with this win over the reigning Division 3 champion.
3.Essexville Garber 50, Saginaw Nouvel 49 The Dukes began rebounding from last season’s 4-11 finish immediately last week, edging a Nouvel team that went 17-2 last winter and came within a bucket of the Division 4 Semifinals.
4. Bloomfield Hills Marian 54, Clarkston 48 This rematch of a Regional Final again went Marian’s way, but a little closer than the 63-50 Mustangs win in March.
5. Saginaw Arthur Hill 43, Flint Hamady 29 The Lumberjacks won one game last season, and lost to Division 3 perennial power Hamady by 16 in an early-March matchup.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Grandville (3-0) After just a week, the Bulldogs are one win from equaling their win totals of each of the last three seasons – which all finished with four victories. Grandville opened with a 49-33 win over Middleville Thornapple Kellogg, then defeated Petoskey 40-37 and Marquette 42-37 to win the Northmen’s tournament.
Portage Northern (2-0) The Huskies opened with a championship at the Kalamazoo Loy Norrix Tournament, defeating Lansing Everett 43-14 and then the host Knights 49-34. Northern won only one game last season, also against Loy Norrix, and with two more wins will guarantee their best finish since 2016-17.
Division 2
Ovid-Elsie (2-0) The Marauders won 15 games two seasons ago and finished 12-5 during last winter’s shortened campaign. They lost the first game both of those seasons – but not this time, as they’re instead building off a pair of opening victories over Ionia (54-52) and Bath (50-29).
Sparta (2-0) The Spartans finished 12-4 last season and had won 10 straight before ending their season with a District Final loss to Newaygo, the eventual Division 2 runner-up. Sparta picked right back up last week with a 41-23 win over Muskegon Oakridge and 44-35 victory over Greenville.
Division 3
Harbor Springs (2-0) The Rams are coming off a 2-14 finish that included 11 straight defeats to begin last season. But Harbor Springs opened last week with a 52-38 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston and followed with a 60-45 victory over Indian River Inland Lakes. Those opponents went a combined 18-9 last winter.
Montrose (2-0) After winning two games a season ago, and six in 2019-20, the Rams won both of their games during the first week – in some dramatic fashion. Montrose edged Burton Bendle 43-42 on Monday and came back with a 44-42 win over Genesee the following evening. Genesee is coming off its second-straight winning season.
Division 4
Cedarville (2-0) The Islanders – 10-3 last winter – are off to a fast start with wins last week over two teams also coming off winning seasons. They opened with a 57-37 victory over Hillman, which was 10-7 last winter, and then emerged 50-47 over Frankfort, which was 13-5 and reached the Regional Finals a season ago.
Plymouth Christian Academy (2-0) As noted above, the Eagles – 10-4 last season – opened with the win over Detroit Country Day. They then defeated Schoolcraft at the Kalamazoo Central Icebreaker; Schoolcraft went 14-3 and made the Division 3 Quarterfinals last winter.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Midland Dow (2-0) at Hudsonville (1-0) – This is a rematch of a Division 1 Semifinal from last season; Hudsonville won 49-37 and went on to claim the championship.
Tuesday – Sault Ste. Marie (1-0) at Marquette (2-1) – Sault Ste. Marie went 14-2 last season and the Redettes finished almost the opposite, but they did hand the Blue Devils their only regular-season defeat.
Wednesday – Lansing Catholic (1-0) at Detroit Cass Tech (0-0) – These are two more teams looking to build on double-digit wins last season.
Saturday – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (0-0) vs. Wayne Memorial (0-0) at Belleville – This Best of Michigan Classic matchup features teams that went a combined 31-6 last season.
Saturday – Buchanan (2-0) vs. Grosse Pointe South (0-1) at Belleville – Another Best of Michigan game matches Buchanan – 13-1 last season – against a South team that lost its opener last week but also won 13 games last winter.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Williamston’s Reese Gaytan works to get a shot up with Portland’s Alexa Weber defending Friday. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)
'Double-Double Machine' Bowman Leading as Alanson Begins To See Success
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
December 6, 2024
Times are changing for Alanson’s girls basketball opponents.
Simply put, the Vikings are no longer an easy win.
And by the way, they are undefeated at this early-season junction.
Mother nature’s snow machine caused a postponement of Wednesday’s scheduled game against Traverse City Christian. Alanson’s “machine” is Gretchyn Bowman, the leading reason the Vikings are no longer an easy “W.” Bowman, a 5-foot-7 senior center making a move to shooting guard, is a threat to score double digits and grab as many rebounds every game.
Such a threat, she was labeled a double-double machine by a local newspaper as the Vikings entered the season.
“I think it is really cool that I am being called that – like I am a machine?” Bowman humbly asked with a little laugh. “That actually makes me real happy.”
It makes her team and her coach even happier. The results Bowman gets have led to many more victories than the Vikings have been accustomed. In fact, at one point early in Bowman’s career, the Vikings played through a 28-game losing streak. That ended with a win over Pellston in early December of the 2021-22 campaign.
It’s not the personal stats motivating Bowman, who will sign next week to play basketball for North Central Michigan Community College.
“I work really hard to try to put up as much stats as possible for the team for a win,” Bowman said. “I usually get double-doubles in points and rebounds, and I’ve been working toward my triple-double.”
Bowman would like to add double-digits in blocked shots to her game stats. She will leave steals to her younger sister, sophomore Hazel, the Vikings’ point guard.
“They are the dynamic duo,” said Alanson coach Nikki Leech. “It is really special when they get out there.”
The Vikings are 1-0 with the season tipping off this week. They were 5-22 last year. They won’t play again until Dec. 13 at Northern Lakes Conference rival Mackinaw City.
Alanson will go into the game with aspirations of winning a league title. The other conference foes are Wolverine, Boyne Falls, Ellsworth, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian, Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian and Alba. Boyne Falls, Northern Michigan Christian and Harbor Light could be District opponents as well, along with Harbor Springs and Pellston.
“Even though we are small, we are definitely mighty and we are building momentum,” Leach said. “People used to think, ‘We are just playing Alanson. No big deal. We’re going to win.’”
Leech took over the Vikings’ girls basketball program a few weeks before the end of the 2021-22 season. Alanson’s tiny enrollment had led to eighth graders regularly starting for the varsity, and Bowman herself played as an eighth grader on the team. Leech’s focus has been on fundamentals, sportsmanship and confidence-building.
Her work has really paid off for the Vikings. Things are moving so far forward, Alanson now has a junior varsity girls team.
“That year we scored 200 points the whole season,” Leech recalled of her first season. “So going into the next year it was fundamentals, and we were really starting from the ground up.”
The focus on fundamentals were welcomed by all, especially Gretchyn Bowman.
“Gretchen did a really good job of embracing the fact we had to start with a foundation of the house before we built the team,” Leach said. “The best thing is all of these girls have been working together for the past four years. This year is finally the first year everything has clicked, and Gretchyn is a big part of it.”
The Vikings opened the season with a 28-27 win over Atlanta. Bowman had six points, six rebounds and five blocks. Her career stats to date are now 402 points, 376 rebounds, 134 blocks and 55 steals. She’s racked up the points despite scoring just 35 as a freshman as the Vikings struggled.
Bowman’s tenacious play has also led to foul struggles. It’s no secret the Vikings play better with her on the court. Her desire to block shots led to her fouling out in almost half of her freshman and sophomore games.
“There is no question that when Gretchyn is off the floor, we miss her because she just has the presence that kind of pulls the team together and she has the magnetism that just makes us successful,” Leach said. “The last two years it’s been a lot better, but the first couple of years it was like every other game she founded out.”
The coach and captain developed a foul-tolerance strategy.
“We’ve been working really hard on you can have four,” the coach said with a laugh. “We try to push like two (fouls) per half.”
Bowman, an all-conference selection last year, has been almost as much an assistant coach as she has a captain and player.
“She goes over if someone is struggling in practice and gives them tips on how she does it or how to move or how to dribble back and do a fade,” noted Leech, who also serves as Alanson’s athletic director. “She is good at reaching out and helping people but not making them feel bad about not knowing how to do it. She is a natural leader, and her presence on the court is definitely going to be missed next year.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Gretchyn Bowman, here against Atlanta this week, is expected to lead a much-improved Alanson girls varsity team this season. (Middle) Bowman shoots a free throw during the season opener. (Photos by Danielle Plastino.)