Breslin Bound: Girls District Preview
March 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first games of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament tip off Monday evening, a restart for every team after three months of grinding toward these final three weeks of the season.
To kick off Districts, this week's Breslin Bound report looks at five teams in each class that have made some of the biggest waves throughout this winter.
Click to “track the tournament,” with results as we receive them and interactive brackets.
CLASS A
Bloomfield Hills Marian (19-1) – The reigning Class A champion remains undefeated against Michigan competition; its lone loss was Jan. 17 to Chicago Whitney Young, which finished its season 27-2. The Mustangs handed Detroit Martin Luther King its only loss, 50-49 in Thursday’s Operation Friendship game, and also own wins over Farmington Hills Mercy, Flint Powers Catholic, Benton Harbor and Class C contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Detroit Martin Luther King (19-1) – As noted above, King didn’t fall this season until Thursday against Marian, and then by only one point – giving the Crusaders only two regular-season losses total over the last three winters. King earned a 25-point win during holiday break over Port Huron Northern, now 17-3, and continued to build strength through a perfect Detroit Public School League run.
Flushing (20-0) – The Raiders opened strong with wins over eventual league champions Flint Powers Catholic and Midland Dow and kept on cruising to improve significantly on last season’s 13-9 finish. Flushing added another big victory last week – 50-48 in overtime over Saginaw Heritage, which is 17-3 – and should enjoy that momentum heading into the tournament.
Marquette (20-0) – The Redettes built on a great 19-3 finish a year ago to end up even better this regular season. In addition to again winning the Great Northern Upper Peninsula Conference title, Marquette shined against strong competition from downstate, beating Brighton (16-4) and Traverse City West (17-3) during the first month.
Southfield Lathrup (19-1) – Only a two-point loss to Toledo Rogers (Ohio) on Dec. 13 has kept the Chargers from a perfect record. Lathrup sandwiched that loss with impressive wins over the PSL’s Detroit Cass Tech and Renaissance during the first two weeks and have since added impressive victories over Arbor Prep (17-3), Southfield (18-2) and Grosse Pointe South (16-4).
CLASS B
Midland Bullock Creek (20-0) – The Lancers have added to their two straight MHSAA Semifinals runs with a perfect regular season keyed by a trio of 1,000-point scoring seniors in Halee Nieman, Ellie Juengel and Hannah Heldt (read more from the Midland Daily News). Bullock Creek dominated a Tri-Valley Conference Central with six teams that have at least 10 wins, plus won its crossovers against Frankenmuth and Ithaca – both are 18-2.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (18-2) – The Cougars earned a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference title on Feb. 20 with a 22-point win over Wayland that avenged an earlier double-overtime loss to their league rival. The only other loss was to Arbor Prep – which came at the end of a two-week run that featured impressive wins over Sparta (18-2) and Class A Grand Rapids Christian (16-4) by 37 points.
Plainwell (20-0) – The Trojans’ perfect run has included three wins over Class A opponents and a Wolverine Conference East championship after they tied for second in the league last season. Plainwell has won six straight by double digits including over Paw Paw and Otsego – the two teams that each beat the Trojans twice during last season’s 18-4 finish.
Spring Lake (20-0) – The Lakers jumped from 13-8 last season to win the Lakes 8 Activities Conference title outright and 17 games by double figures. Spring Lake was 7-15 only two seasons ago, but this winter won 10 games against teams that sit .500 or better.
Wayland (19-1) – The Wildcats split the O-K Gold with Grand Rapids Catholic Central (see above). But Wayland bounced back with two big wins last week and still should carry some confidence from an early slate of victories over Class A Grand Rapids Christian (16-4), Caledonia (14-6) and Wyoming (16-4) and then a one-point win over GRCC on Jan. 23.
CLASS C
Blissfield (19-1): The Royals closed the regular season with a 47-41 win last week over Tri-County Conference runner-up Britton Deerfield, also tonight’s District opponent. Blissfield split the Lenawee County Activities Association championship with Class B Brooklyn Columbia Central, which also gave Blissfield its only loss this season. It may been two months ago, but the Royals also picked up a nice win over Class D contender St. Ignace, 46-33.
Gobles (20-0) – The Tigers, MHSAA semifinalists last season – cruised through their second straight perfect regular season. Gobles won the Southwestern Athletic Conference South title, then beat North champion Decatur 51-35 in their crossover game. Gobles also added a nice one-point victory last week over Class B Otsego, runner-up in the Wolverine Conference East.
Laingsburg (20-0) – The Wolfpack have improved from 13 to 15 to 20 wins over the last three seasons, winning a Central Michigan Athletic Conference with another strong Class C contender in Pewamo-Westphalia (17-3) and a Class D hopeful in Portland St. Patrick (14-6). Laingsburg also added a nice pair of wins over Class B Durand (13-7) in the season opener and Perry (15-5) near the midpoint.
Niles Brandywine (19-1) – The Bobcats' only loss this season was to 17-win Class A Kalamazoo Central, and that came in double overtime. Brandywine won seven games over teams with at least 13 wins this winter and went 7-1 against Class A and Class B opponents.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (17-3) – Arbor Prep’s list of wins this winter provide plenty of confidence the team will eclipse last season’s Quarterfinal run: 59-55 over Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 52-39 over Flint Powers Catholic, 54-39 over Detroit Country Day, to name a few. The losses were to Class A Southfield Lathrup, Marian (both mentioned above) and Ann Arbor Huron (18-2).
CLASS D
Bellaire (19-1) – The Eagles won the Ski Valley Conference despite splitting with rival Johannesburg-Lewiston, a Class C team that's 18-2. One win this week will give Bellaire more than 20 for the second straight season, with 10 this winter coming against teams above .500.
Frankfort (18-1) – An MHSAA quarterfinalist a year ago, Frankfort has continued its stellar play with five wins over Class B teams and four over Class C this winter – the only loss was to Class B Portland during holiday break. The Panthers finished perfect in the Northwest Conference, sweeping runner-up Maple City Glen Lake, a Class C team that sits 14-6.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (16-4) – The Irish, last season’s Class D champion, should be more than prepared for another run featuring some of last season’s heroes – center Averi Gamble and guard Riley Terwilliger among them – and after playing only three Class D opponents during the regular season. The losses were to Class C Carson City-Crystal (18-2) twice, Morley Stanwood (16-4) and Saginaw Nouvel (14-6) – and two Class D wins were over Gaylord St. Mary (16-4) and Big Rapids Crossroads Academy (19-1).
Pittsford (20-0) – The Wildcats finished their second straight perfect regular season as the only undefeated team in Class D. In addition to winning the Southern Central Athletic Association East title for the second straight season, Pittsford added wins against solid Class C teams Sand Creek (14-6), Manchester (17-3) and Britton Deerfield (16-4) and held opponents to fewer than 20 points in 10 victories.
St. Ignace (15-5) – The Saints are another team with a few more losses but expectations of being around at the end of the Class D tournament after winning Class D in 2013 and finishing runner-up in Class C last winter. They opened with a loss to Class A Brighton and all of their losses were to larger schools with between 12-16 wins this winter. All but four of St. Ignace’s games were against teams that finished with at least 11 wins.
PHOTO: Class A contenders Bloomfield Hills Marian and Detroit Martin Luther King met last week in a regular-season finale; Marian prevailed 50-49. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Flushing Downs Champ to Reach 1st Final
March 17, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Warren Cousino girls basketball coach Mike Lee saw a lot of his 2016 team in watching Flushing move past his current contender during Friday’s first Class A Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The Patriots had stormed to their first MHSAA championship a year ago seemingly out of nowhere with an awe-inspiring run that remained the talk into this season.
Just as unheralded entering these playoffs, Flushing is one win way from accomplishing a similar feat after getting past Cousino and Miss Basketball finalist Kierra Fletcher 52-36.
The Semifinal was the Raiders’ first since 1976, and Saturday’s noon championship game against East Kentwood will be the program’s first appearance on the season’s final day.
“I felt that at the beginning we knew we were going to have to get respect,” Flushing senior forward Bre Perry said. “After we got out of the District, people were doubting us, but I felt that if we just stuck together, we’d be just fine. Because we know each other well, we play together as a team really well, we always have each other’s backs … (and) I knew if we stuck together, we’d be able to get very far.”
The Raiders really have been together for a while. They’ve played on the same teams since middle school, and Perry and seniors Kamryn Chappell and Lauren Newman are four-year varsity starters. Senior Carson Wilson joined them as a sophomore, and over the last three seasons the team is 66-7 with three league and two District titles plus the Regional championship won last week.
Flushing (23-3) didn’t lose a game during the Flint Metro League season, and its losses were to Class A top-five teams Saginaw Heritage and Midland Dow early and Class B No. 1 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at the end of the regular season. The Raiders avenged that loss over Dow in the Regional Final and have broken opponents with a balanced offense and stifling defense that has given up 40 points in a game only three times.
“When you’ve never been here you’re certainly never overconfident in your ability to get here,” Flushing coach Larry Ford said of Breslin. “But watching these guys prior to seventh and eighth grade, and in middle school and then when they got into high school, this is the most athletic team I’ve ever coached in my 13 years as head coach at Flushing. Then they’ve got basketball skills to go with it, and they work so well together.”
Ford thought last year’s team was capable of making this run, but Perry – who will play next season at Temple University – tore a knee ligament and was lost for the end of the season.
And besides, 2015-16 belonged to Cousino and Fletcher, who enjoyed a similar under-the-radar status on the way to Breslin – but didn’t surprise anyone this winter.
Cousino entered the postseason ranked No. 2, and Fletcher – who will play at Georgia Tech – averaged 22.7 points, 13 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game entering this week. She put up 30 points in Friday’s Semifinal despite being taken to the floor by a painful cramp just more than a minute into the second half.
But by then, Flushing already had set the tone.
The Raiders rode a 9-1 run over the end of the first quarter and start of the second and led by 13 at halftime. They scored one fewer point in the first quarter than Cousino did over the first two – and locked down the Patriots aside from Fletcher’s heroic run.
She scored all but one of Cousino’s 12 field goals. Minus Fletcher, Cousino made only one of 29 shots from the field as Wilson in particular led the suffocating effort.
Flushing doesn’t have a player averaging more than 12 points per game, but Perry led in this one with 16 points and seven rebounds, with Newman scoring 14 points and junior Shelby Morrow adding 13.
Cousino admittedly knew this year’s run would be tougher, and the Patriots were up to the challenge winning a strong Macomb Area Conference Red before extending their MHSAA Tournament run to 14 straight wins.
“What this group was able to do over two years, from everyone pronouncing our name wrong … to this point, it was about remembering our name. No matter if the team was 1-19 we were facing that night or 20-0, we were going to get everyone’s best effort,” Lee said. “And (our players) knew that.”
“I feel a lot of pride. We didn’t end the season exactly the way we wanted to, but I wouldn’t have written this any other way,” Fletcher added. “Last year what we did was amazing. I think this year it’s even more amazing that we got back because people thought last year was a fluke. We used that as motivation to help us get back to Breslin. … Most people don’t get here once, so getting here twice is even better.”
The only championship banner hanging in Flushing’s gym celebrates the 1977 girls golf title. Every practice Newman noticed it, and figured there should be a basketball team up there as well.
These Raiders have their chance to become the first.
“It would be really special to be able to look back and say we went from seventh grade, to eighth grade, ninth, 10th, 11th, and we’ve been together this long and get to win this all together after all that time,” Perry said. “It would be amazing, after college, when we get back in touch (and say), ‘Remember when we got that ring?’”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flushing's Kamryn Chappell works to get past Warren Cousino’s Aubrey Fetzer (5) on Friday. (Middle) Cousino’s Kierra Fletcher looks for an open teammate.