Breslin Bound: Girls Districts in Review
March 5, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special to Second Half
The most-used coach cliche' this time of year revolves around the difficulty for a team to beat an opponent a third time in the playoffs after sweeping said opponent during the regular season.
But those words of wisdom played out in more than a few cases during girls basketball Districts last week.
See below for four champs from each class whose performances were particularly notable, including a handful that beat opponents after being swept by them earlier this winter. Records are based on results submitted for each team through the MHSAA Score Center.
Class A
Canton (16-6) – Defense has been the name of the game lately for the Chiefs, who have given up exactly 23 points in each of their last three. Although the first was a regular-season finale loss to Waterford Kettering, the most recent was a 29-23 District final win over also 16-6 Northville.
Detroit Martin Luther King (20-0) – The Crusaders navigated one of the toughest District brackets in Class A to remain undefeated, beating Detroit Public School League runner-up Detroit Cass Tech 46-35 and then in the final Detroit Pershing, 66-38. King had beaten Cass Tech in the PSL Final only two weeks before.
Grand Ledge (19-4) – Much was expected of the resurgent Comets heading into this winter, but powerhouse East Lansing still stood in the way and swept them during the regular season. But Grand Ledge got a big one back, beating the Trojans 51-49 in the District final.
Saginaw Heritage (14-8) – The Hawks 53-44 District final win over Midland Dow might’ve been their best postseason victory in close to a decade. Heritage finished second in the Saginaw Valley Association North this season, but Dow finished first and was 21-0 entering the game.
Class B
Flint Powers Catholic (17-6) – The Chargers are back after finishing below .500 and falling in their District opener last season. Five of their six losses this winter were to Class A teams – the sixth coming to Class B Livonia Ladywood in their opener – and Powers is on a 14-1 streak.
Jackson Northwest (17-6) – The most impressive win of last week’s District run was the first, 47-38 in the opener over Eaton Rapids. The Greyhounds finished 18-3 and had beaten Northwest by 14 and 29 points this season in winning the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold – while Northwest finished third in that league.
River Rouge (14-6) – The Panthers won their District games by 30, 20 and then five points, respectively. The best win certainly came in the championship game, 57-52 over Dearborn Divine Child, an MHSAA Semifinalist last season.
Stevensville-Lakeshore (15-7) – The Lancers added another step to their success of 2011-12, this time winning a District title and doing so by beating a strong Benton Harbor team 60-59 in the championship game. Benton Harbor beat Lakeshore by 14 and 18 during the regular season.
Class C
Carson City-Crystal (20-2) – The Eagles last lost on Dec. 20, to Central Michigan Athletic Conference co-champion Portland St. Patrick. But Carson City-Crystal eliminated the other winner of that league title, Pewamo-Westphalia, 35-29 in last week’s District final. P-W finished 18-5.
Ishpeming (16-6) – The Hematites and Negaunee tied for the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference championship, but Ishpeming earned some final bragging rights last week by beating Negaunee, at Negaunee, 45-41 to claim the District title.
Michigan Center (15-8) – The Cardinals finished only fourth in a strong Cascades Conference, but beat third-place Grass Lake in the District semifinal before downing Concord 41-36 for the championship. Concord, which finished 18-4, beat Michigan Center by four early this season and made the MHSAA Semifinals in 2012.
Shelby (19-3) – The West Michigan Conference champion is two wins better than last season and continued to roll through some close games last week – a 41-39 win over Holton in the District semifinal and a 55-47 win over Hart in the championship game.
Class D
Fulton-Middleton (12-9) – The Pirates finished sixth in the always-strong Central Michigan Athletic Conference. But they beat co-champion – and 2012 Class D Semifinalist – Portland St. Patrick in the District final, 58-54 in triple overtime. Before that, Fulton beat CMAC fourth-place Fowler 53-45.
Pickford (15-6) – The Panthers shared the Eastern UP Athletic Conference championship with DeTour this season, and added another championship by edging Rudyard 28-24 in the District final. Pickford fell in last season’s District final to Brimley, which it beat during last week’s semifinals.
Powers North Central (15-8) – The Jets closed the regular season with two losses and were swept this season by Skyline Conference rival Bark River-Harris. But North Central got one back in their third and final meeting of the winter, beating the Broncos 70-68 in their District final.
Waterford Our Lady (17-4) – The reigning three-time MHSAA champion also lost its final two regular season games. But the Lakers escaped a close District final against Bloomfield Hills Roeper, winning 44-40, to continue their pursuit of a fourth-straight title.
PHOTOS: Gaylord players celebrate last week's Class A District championship. The Blue Devils (14-9) edged Traverse City West 31-26 in overtime and now will face reigning Class A champion Grand Haven. (Photo courtesy of the Gaylord Herald Times.
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 12
February 26, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The beginning of the MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament is still a week away.
But taking a glance at some of the games played last week and other big-time matchups coming up over the next three days, we’ve clearly entered playoff mode.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. DeWitt 58, East Lansing 46 – The Panthers started last week with this Monday showdown, handing the last unbeaten team in Division 1 East Lansing its only loss and setting the teams up to share the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title (although DeWitt then lost the next day for just the second time, to nonleague St. Johns.)
2. Maple City Glen Lake 38, Kingsley 36 – The Lakers avenged an eight-point loss Jan. 17 to move into a first place tie with the Stags in the Northwest Conference with one game left for both.
3. Midland Dow 48, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 41 – Dow, champion of the Saginaw Valley Red, reaffirmed its position as a Division 1 favorite by downing Blue title winner Carman-Ainsworth in a league crossover.
4. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 48, Harper Woods Chandler Park 46 – Division 2 Chandler Park has fared well against many of the state’s best, making this a major victory for Division 3 contender Arbor Prep. These teams will meet again Thursday.
5. Sandusky 36, Brown City 34 – The Redskins avenged a five-point overtime loss to Brown City from Jan. 22 to create a three-team shared title in the Greater Thumb Conference East with these two and Harbor Beach.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• East Grand Rapids (17-2) – The Pioneers have won 14 straight and ran away with the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title, finishing four wins better than the rest of the league. The title was the team’s first since 2011-12, and East Grand Rapids will try to build on it with a repeat District championship next week. Those two defeats both came in December to Coldwater, a league champion, and 14-win Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
• Saginaw Heritage (16-2) – The reigning Class A champion has navigated one of the toughest schedules in the state, with the two losses by a combined eight points to rival Midland Dow and Division 2 favorite Detroit Edison – and the latter with Miss Basketball candidate Moira Joiner injured. The Hawks didn’t win their league thanks to the Dow loss, but shouldn’t be sneaking up on anyone with wins this winter against Southfield Arts & Technology, Hartland, Flint Carman-Ainsworth, Harper Woods Chandler Park and Detroit Country Day.
DIVISION 2
• Detroit University Prep (16-1) – The Panthers swept the Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Black and didn’t suffer their first defeat until last week, falling to Division 1 Bloomfield Hills. There have been a few forfeit wins, but all of University Prep’s victories on the court have been by double digits – a substantial improvement from last season’s 9-10 finish.
• Otsego (16-2) – The Bulldogs have locked up their fourth straight league title, finishing a perfect run through the Wolverine Conference North on Friday to set up Thursday’s league crossover against unbeaten South champion Edwardsburg. Otsego fell to Marshall and then the Eddies back-to-back in their last game of December and first of January, respectively, but haven’t been defeated since with especially impressive wins over Comstock, Three Rivers and Plainwell twice.
DIVISION 3
• Kent City (16-2) – The Eagles are riding an 11-game winning streak and finished a perfect run through the Central State Activities Association Silver. They’ve won 35 straight league games and five consecutive league championships. Expectations for next month should be high for a few more reasons as well – among them, experience from last year’s Quarterfinal run and the fact the two losses this winter both came in December and by a combined six points to eventual league champs Detroit Martin Luther King and Comstock.
• Pewamo-Westphalia (16-1) – The Pirates have clinched a share of the Central Michigan Athletic Conference title and should complete a second straight perfect run through the league this week. All of that no doubt has been prep with an eye on returning to Calvin after finishing Class C runners-up in 2017 and making the Semifinals a year ago. The lone loss this winter came to Edison, and wins over Dow (by 20), Country Day (by 28) and another league champion New Lothrop (by 30) stack up well with the work of any team in this division.
DIVISION 4
• Mendon (14-2) – While it’s unlikely Mendon will catch unbeaten Centreville this week for a share of the Southwest 10 Conference title, the Hornets can boast they gave the Division 3 contender its second closest game falling by just four Feb. 8. It’s been an even more impressive winter considering Mendon finished 8-13 only a year ago.
• St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (14-2) – Despite a one-point loss to second-place Three Oaks River Valley two weeks ago, Michigan Lutheran can lock up the outright Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title Thursday, their fifth straight league championship. The Titans also are looking to build on two straight District titles.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Saginaw Heritage (16-2) at East Lansing (18-1) – What better way to roll into the postseason than with a rematch of last year’s Class A title game.
Tuesday – Wayne Memorial (16-2) at Brighton (18-1) – Wayne reached the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall championship game by defeating Hartland, which shared the West title with the Bulldogs.
Tuesday – Kent City (16-2) at Stanton Central Montcalm (18-0) – The Hornets are attempting to finish a second straight perfect regular season, and additionally finish this week with 13-win White Cloud.
Thursday – Royal Oak (18-1) at Southfield Arts & Technology (16-1) – The Warriors are first in the Oakland Activities Association Red thanks to a 60-47 win over Royal Oak in their first meeting Feb. 5.
Thursday – Fenton (16-2) at DeWitt (17-2) – The Tigers emerged as champions of a Flint Metro League with three teams 15-5 or better, and DeWitt will provide another sizable test heading into the postseason.
Second Half’s weekly “Countdown to Calvin” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau 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, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: DeWitt's Madison Petersen works to get around an Okemos defender during a victory earlier this season. (Photo by TCP Photography.)