Breslin Bound: Girls Districts in Review
March 4, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District tournaments give teams the best kind of opportunity to pay back their neighbors for a disappointing loss (or two) from earlier in the winter.
Win, and the avenging team not only gets that revenge – but ends the opponent’s season.
A number of MHSAA girls basketball teams took advantage of those opportunities last week. And some of the more fortunate fought off a rival or two for the third time – another difficult task unto itself.
Below are four teams from each class that made impressions during the District tournaments. Regionals tip off tonight.
Class A
Haslett (22-1) – The Vikings have rattled off 22 straight wins since falling to another eventual Class B District champ, Eaton Rapids, on opening night. Haslett’s District title run included wins over East Lansing and Okemos followed by a third this season over rival DeWitt – a team that was capable as Haslett of making a run deep into this month if it had advanced instead.
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (18-5) – The Cougars finished a game behind Clarkston in the Oakland Activities Association Red standings, losing to the Wolves by 10 and five points. But Stoney Creek won their third matchup, the District Final, 47-37. Not a bad way to step back up after finishing the regular-season on a 4-4 streak.
Waterford Kettering (20-3) – Friday provided some redemption for the Captains. They won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North title by a game over Waterford Mott (also 20-3), then lost to Mott during the league tournament before beating Mott in the District Final 55-52 in overtime. The District sweep also came after Kettering finished the regular season with two straight losses.
Wyoming (21-2) – The Wolves now have won 21 games in each of their first two seasons as a school (created by the merger of Rogers and Park). And this season, they haven’t lost since Dec. 16. Wyoming’s opponent that night was Holland West Ottawa – and it avenged that 55-35 defeat by downing West Ottawa 48-46 in the District Final after surviving Grandville 58-57 in the Semifinal.
Class B
Ionia (18-5) – The Bulldogs finished third in a Capital Area Activities Conference Red that featured Class A contenders Haslett and DeWitt, and that no doubt prepared them well for last week’s run that included beating CAAC White co-champ Portland in the District Final. Ionia also had beaten Portland by six during the last week of the regular season before winning Friday 57-32.
Menominee (14-7) – Winners of 10 games last season, the Maroons opened the District with a 55-45 win over league mate Gladstone, which it split with during the regular season. But the victory that resonated louder came in the Final, a 48-39 upset of 2013 MHSAA Semifinalist Houghton – which finished this season 19-3.
Parchment (21-2) – The Panthers have challenged to join the elite for a few seasons, but opened the 2013 District by falling by seven to Marshall – which went on to reach the Quarterfinals. But Parchment opened last week’s District with a seven-point win over Marshall and finished with a 35-29 edging of Battle Creek Harper Creek (15-7).
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (20-3) – The Gators moved from Class C to B this school year, and this team is already two wins better after falling to eventual C champion Manchester during their second game in last season’s tournament. Arbor Prep took on a strong variety of opponents this season with wins over Benton Harbor, Southfield-Lathrup and Detroit Country Day, plus Manchester early.
Class C
Adrian Madison (19-1) – Madison was another powerful team that fell to Manchester during the latter’s championship run, but the Trojans might be the one to contend with this time. They followed a 10-point win over Addison with a 45-34 victory over previously-undefeated Pittsford in the District Final.
East Jackson (18-4) – Last week’s District at East Jackson looked to be pretty competitive, and the host beat two strong contenders to emerge with the title. East Jackson came off its Cascades Conference championship by beating 16-win Michigan Center by 18 and then frequent Class C contender Concord 46-43 in the championship game.
Grandville Calvin Christian (18-5) – Calvin Christian edged Kent City by a win to claim the O-K Silver championship during the regular season, and then ended the winter for the 17-5 Eagles with a 44-33 win in the District Final. Calvin Christian earned that one after eliminating River Valley Conference champion Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 59-37 in the District Semifinal.
McBain (19-2) – The Ramblers finished a perfect run through the Highland Conference and then won all three District games by double figures. They eliminated 17-win Traverse City St. Francis 57-42 in the District Semifinal and 16-win Maple City Glen Lake 57-35 in the championship game.
Class D
Bellaire (20-3) – The Eagles finished one game back of champion Gaylord St. Mary in the Ski Valley Conference standings, despite handing the Snowbirds their only league loss this season. But Bellaire made it two straight over St. Mary with a 44-32 win in the District Final.
Fowler (16-6) – These Eagles have had some solid teams over the last decade plus – but have spent most of that time in the shadow of rival Portland St. Patrick, a regular at the MHSAA Finals. Fowler fell to St. Patrick by seven on Feb. 15 – but came back to edge the Shamrocks 62-60 in the District Final.
Frankfort (21-1) – The Northwest Conference champion kept rolling last week, defeating 14-win Onekama and then 18-win Bear Lake in the District Final. Bear Lake had beaten Frankfort 47-26 in last season’s District championship game.
Martin (16-4) – Martin won 10 games a year ago but did advance to the District Final before losing to Climax-Scotts – which went on to the Class D Semifinals and just missed knocking off eventual champion St. Ignace. Martin and Climax-Scotts met again in the District Final last week, and this time the Clippers moved on with a 41-37 victory.
PHOTO: Haslett (white jerseys) defeated rival DeWitt last week for the third time this season to claim a Class A District championship. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal).
DeBoer Looks to Steer Sailors to Breslin
February 18, 2016
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
CUTLERVILLE – Jenn DeBoer remembers the thrill of playing in the MHSAA Class B Final when she was a sophomore.
The South Christian standout would like nothing better than to revisit that feeling in her final season.
DeBoer, a 5-foot-7 point guard, is currently leading the Sailors toward what they hope is another extended postseason run.
South Christian is 16-1 with three games remaining in the regular season before Districts tip off in March.
“That was a lot of fun, and obviously it was different because I was a sophomore and I knew that I had two more years after that,” DeBoer said. “But this year it’s a big goal for all of us seniors. We’ve talked about how we want to get back there and end our senior season strong.”
Led by DeBoer and a cast of veteran senior teammates, the Sailors have displayed the potential to make some noise in the MHSAA tournament.
They’re seeking an Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title and currently own a perfect 7-0 mark in league play. Their championship hopes hinge on upcoming showdowns with Wayland and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
“It’s been a blast so far,” DeBoer said. “I couldn’t ask for a better senior season. Our team chemistry is so amazing, and the other seniors and I get along so well. Obviously, winning has been fun too, and it’s probably one of the best teams I’ve been on.”
DeBoer, a four-year varsity player who committed to Division II Grand Valley State University before her junior season, has been the floor general of this year’s squad.
She has contributed in every aspect of the game, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 steals per contest.
First-year South Christian coach Kim Legge has watched DeBoer improve and mature throughout the past years.
“She has made strides because of her work ethic, and she always wants to learn,” said Legge, a longtime assistant under recently-retired coach Jim DeBruyn.
“She’s like a sponge, and she’s been to a point guard camp the past two summers. That has really helped with her decision-making and leadership skills.”
DeBoer recently established two new school records for her 3-point shooting prowess.
During a recent win over Hastings, she set a new mark for career 3-pointers that had stood since 2003 while also surpassing the single-season record.
DeBoer toppled Leah Pettinga’s career record of 93 3-pointers made. She currently has 45 on the season.
“It’s a huge honor to have the record now,” DeBoer said. “I knew I was pretty close because I focus on shooting 3s. It’s my favorite thing to do, and that’s just what I do. I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it, so it is definitely really cool to know that I have the record now.”
Legge didn’t know DeBoer was approaching the milestone until a few weeks ago, but she wasn’t surprised by the accomplishment.
“Anything that girl puts her mind to she seems to get done,” Legge said. “I got clued in a couple games before that she was getting close, but she would have never said anything to me. That’s how she is. She is so humble. It was a goal of hers, but it never would’ve come out of her mouth.”
DeBoer said the transition from DeBruyn to Legge wasn’t a difficult one.
“They both have similar coaching styles, but coach Legge is a lot more centered on defense so our defense this year has really picked up,” she said. “We have done a lot of the same things we’ve been doing in the past.”
DeBoer’s early commitment to the Lakers has allowed her to enjoy a stress-free final two seasons. It’s allowed her to focus strictly on helping her team succeed instead of lamenting over which college to choose.
“The pressure has been off, and I’ve been able to focus on my last basketball season at South,” DeBoer said. “The last four years have gone by pretty fast, and it doesn’t feel like I’m a senior until I think about it and look at old pictures. In a couple months I will be graduating, but I’m trying to enjoy high school while I’m still here.”
DeBoer is anticipating the jump to college, but is committed to ending her career on a high note.
“I’m definitely looking forward to playing in college next year, but I would really like to have a good ending to this season,” DeBoer said. “If we keep working hard, then I think we will do pretty well in the postseason.”
Legge isn’t one to look ahead, but with a starting line-up consisting of all seniors, expectations are high for the remainder of the season.
“We have a hard road ahead of us the last week of conference (play) and I don’t feel like we have peaked,” she said. “I really focus on what my team needs to do to grow on a day-to-day basis. Every coach in the state hopes their team makes a tournament run, and at this point of the season, it’s a goal of ours.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids South Christian's Jenn DeBoer defends against Grand Rapids Catholic Central earlier this season. (Middle) DeBoer, 4, is one of a cast of experienced teammates hoping to finish with another Finals run; she takes the floor with Markayla Vander (24) and Sydney DeYoung (22). (Photos by Tracy DeYoung.)