Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 10, 2022
Breslin Bound is returning this week just as league play is picking up serious steam across Michigan.
Whittling down to five “Can't-Miss Contests” this week started with a group of 15, including three contests featuring pairs of undefeated teams squaring off as we move toward midseason and the most local-focused part of most schedules.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Lansing 49, DeWitt 44 The Lansing area is loaded again in Division 1, with this victory possibly signaling the Trojans (5-2) as the early leader; they travel to DeWitt (7-1) for the rematch Feb. 10.
2. DeWitt 24, Haslett 22 The week was a highly-competitive one for the Panthers, and they started it by handing Haslett (7-1) its first defeat. Haslett had previously downed East Lansing.
3. Hudsonville 79, Grass Lake 51 After doubling up Grand Haven on Friday, reigning Division 1 champ Hudsonville (5-2) made it two wins in two days with this one Saturday over last season’s Division 3 winner Grass Lake (3-3).
4. Farmington Hills Mercy 35, Bloomfield Hills Marian 29 These two have decided the Detroit Catholic League Central the last five seasons, and Mercy (6-1) is a step ahead this time after this win over the reigning champ Mustangs (5-2).
5. Benton Harbor 44, Niles Brandywine 42 After starting 0-2 this winter, Benton Harbor (4-3) has won four of its last five games and handed Brandywine (7-1) its first defeat.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Traverse City Central (6-1) The Trojans opened with a loss to Grand Haven, but are undefeated since and began Big North Conference play with a 32-26 victory over reigning champion Cadillac on Friday. And this start is worth a lot more than just an impressive record: Central finished 2-15 last year and is seeking its first winning season since 2016-17. The Trojans also started last week with a 49-40 win over Traverse City St. Francis (6-2).
West Bloomfield (8-1) The Lakers are on schedule to be in the mix at the top of Division 1, where they sit No. 8 heading into this week. That lone loss came in the season opener to No. 4 Dexter, and West Bloomfield immediately followed up by handing South Lyon East what remains the Cougars’ only defeat. The run is made even more impressive in that six of the Lakers’ seven in-state opponents are .500 or better.
Division 2
Edwardsburg (6-0) The Eddies regularly are among the best from the southwest, and that hasn’t been any different this winter coming off last season’s run to 12-4 and a Regional Final. Edwardsburg is winning by an average of 45 points per game and avenged a last-year loss to Three Rivers. Undefeated Otsego (9-0) will provide a major opportunity Tuesday.
Marine City (7-1) The Mariners are another team that got started with a loss but haven’t experienced another. After falling 42-38 to Clawson (6-1), Marine City has won seven straight including over St. Clair Shores South Lake (7-2) and most recently 60-51 in overtime over St. Clair to avenge a loss from last season. The team got in only nine games last season and has already eclipsed its six 2021 wins.
Division 3
Calumet (5-0) After reaching the Division 3 Semifinals last season, Calumet again is surging among a strong Western Peninsula Athletic Conference and particularly powerful northern tip of the Upper Peninsula. The Copper Kings have handed Hancock its only defeat and came back a week later to edge Negaunee by a point in another important win. Undefeated Ishpeming Westwood and Houghton are on the slate over the next two weeks as Calumet looks to continue building on a 31-game regular-season winning streak.
Sandusky (7-0) Longtime coach Al DeMott is up to 774 wins, just 23 from tying the state coaching record in girls basketball, and he’s bound to finish this season much closer to doing so after another great start. Sandusky handed Deckerville one of its two losses and Bad Axe its lone defeat, 32-30 on Dec. 9. DeMott recently received a John Wooden Legacy Award – as part of the inaugural class for high school coaches – from the National High School Basketball Coaches Association.
Division 4
Athens (7-1) After also opening this season with a defeat, to Adrian Lenawee Christian, Athens has run together seven straight wins with only one by single digits. That came last week, 45-43 in overtime over Bronson, a possible contender in the Big 8 Conference. Athens is following up last season’s 17-2 finish and has won two straight Southern Central Athletic Association West titles.
Gaylord St. Mary (5-0) The Snowbirds’ quick ascension to the top of the Ski Valley Conference, where they are tied with Johannesburg-Lewiston, has included a 54-38 win over reigning Division 4 runner-up Bellaire (avenging three losses from last season) and a one-point victory over Charlevoix. St. Mary finished 13-4 a year ago and tied for the league title before falling to the Eagles in a Regional Semifinal. The Snowbirds host Johannesburg-Lewiston on Friday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Montague (5-1) at Hart (5-1) – Montague’s West Michigan Conference title last season came in part with seven and 17-point wins over the eventual runner-up Pirates.
Tuesday – Holt (5-0) at East Lansing (5-2) – The Rams can show they belong in the Lansing-area elite group referenced above with this Capital Area Activities Conference Blue faceoff for first.
Tuesday – Farmington Hills Mercy (6-1) at Dearborn Divine Child (7-0) – The Falcons also own an early win over Marian and are looking to take the next step in the Detroit Catholic League Central race after finishing third the last four seasons.
Thursday – Buchanan (7-0) at Niles Brandywine (7-1) – The only loss between them was Brandywine’s also referenced above, and Buchanan is seeking to repeat as Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red champion after Brandywine won in 2019-20.
Friday – Portland (6-0) at Lansing Catholic (9-0) – The reigning Division 2 champion Raiders won the CAAC White last season with 10 and 21-point wins over the Cougars, who can show how much ground they’ve made up.
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PHOTO Alma and Essexville Garber, here facing off last month, are among hopefuls in the Tri-Valley Conference 8 this winter. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)
Centreville's Road Paved with Success
February 7, 2017
By Ryan Boldrey
Special for Second Half
When the Centreville girls hoops season got underway, head coach Jill Peterson gave her players a destination for which to shoot.
And no, it wasn’t the school’s first Regional appearance since 1998 – though after the team’s 14-1 start, that is beginning to look like a distinct possibility.
The destination was Deer Lodge, Montana.
Yet why would a girls basketball coach from southwest Michigan set her team’s collective sight on a place like Deer Lodge, Montana?
“At the beginning of the season we compared our season to a road trip,” Peterson explained, pointing out that Deer Lodge was a spot along I-90 that just seemed the right distance away. “Every day we talk about how far we’ve traveled. If it’s a real good practice (or game) we travel a good distance. If we don’t have a good practice, we talk about it and then set a goal for the next day, which may just be getting to the next city.”
To demonstrate how far the team has gone, Peterson hung a road map in the Bulldogs’ locker room. And while outsiders may not get to glimpse that map and see the marker making its way across South Dakota en route to Deer Lodge, they have witnessed Centreville sprint out to an undefeated start in Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference play and rise to No. 4 in The Associated Press Class C poll – the first time the program has been ranked in recent memory.
“When my girls saw the tweet recently that we were ranked, they texted me and said, ‘What does this even mean?’” said Peterson, who played basketball for the Bulldogs from 2001-2004. “They had no concept. And like I told them, it may change the perception of what other people think of us, but we should still think the same thing we did yesterday.”
Despite the level of excitement that comes with being ranked, remaining grounded has not been an issue.
“I definitely think it caught a lot of us off guard,” sad senior point guard Skyler DeMeyer, who dishes out a team-high 6.5 assists per game. “We weren’t expecting it, but we are trying not to think about it because anything can happen on any given night and we need to keep ourselves to a higher standard. We realize that we can always get better, and every practice we push each other to do so. We know every other team we are going to see is getting better too.”
DeMeyer has been a motivating force both through her words and actions for her teammates, and prides herself on strong communication, tough-nosed defense and creating for her teammates on the offensive end.
“I’m not a huge scorer, but I like to see the floor and I feel very confident with all my teammates,” she said. “If I get them the ball they are going to do something with it. Whether it’s another pass, a score or a foul drawn, they are going to do something.”
And while the offense may run through the scrappy senior, it’s the youthful power in the post on the receiving end of so many of DeMeyer’s passes that has helped propel the program to the top of the BCS Blue and give Bulldogs fans visions of Centreville’s first league title since the school last won a St. Joseph Valley title in 1989, as well as hopes for a bright future.
Freshman Joanna Larsen – who missed the team’s only loss in the season opener against Constantine – and sophomore Samara Schlabach provide a one-two punch down low, leading a balanced attack that sees no Centreville players averaging double figures in scoring this season.
Larsen was originally supposed to be on the junior varsity team this year but impressed Peterson so much during the preseason she was called up to the varsity.
“Joanna, as a freshman, is already so far up there with everything, it’s amazing,” said Schlabach, who leads the team scoring 9.5 points per game and surprised herself when she was named to the varsity club as a sophomore. “I’m really excited to see how far she’ll go, because she is crazy good. I’m really excited for the years to come to play with her.”
Schlabach hopes that they can build in the girls basketball program what the baseball program already has – expectations of success year-in and year-out, and she is excited to be a part of it.
Right now, though, the team is focused on getting from city to city. Destination Deer Lodge and a potential District tournament rematch with Constantine, something they don’t talk about – yet.
“We might get some flat tires along the way,” Peterson said. “But our goal is to just keep moving. If today is a flat tire, tomorrow is going to be a better day. We haven’t peaked yet, and we want to do that at the right time.”
Other players who have stepped up for the Bulldogs this year include Hannah Rice, Carly Todd, Brittany Morris, Carlee Odom and Kayla Gest, the latter of whom has dazzled with her outside shooting touch and lockdown defense.
PHOTOS: (Top) Centreville works to get the offense going during a 21-20 win over White Pigeon on Dec. 2. (Middle) The Bulldogs have held opponents to fewer than 25 points six times this season. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)