Breslin Bound: Girls Quarterfinal Preview
March 12, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three reigning MHSAA girls basketball champions remain alive as we head into the final week of this season. They and two reigning runners-up are only one win away from returning to Michigan State University's Breslin Center.
But 27 more teams also sense how close they are to booking trips to East Lansing. That added ounce of motivation could go a long way in tonight's Quarterfinals across the state.
See below for a quick glance at all 16 games being played this evening. And click here for brackets including tip-off times and sites for every game.
Class A
Westland John Glenn (23-1) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (22-0): King senior Antania Hayes might’ve fallen a few votes short in the Miss Basketball balloting this week, but her team is the favorite to leave Breslin on Saturday with the champion trophy. John Glenn senior guard Raven Bankston (18 ppg) hopes to stand in the way tonight.
Grand Ledge (21-4) vs. Grand Haven (25-0): The reigning Class A champion Buccaneers and 6-foot-5 center Abby Cole achieved something they didn't last winter by going undefeated this regular season. The Comets have taken big leaps of late – improving from eight, to 11, to 15 and now 21 wins over the last four seasons and already knocked out a Miss Basketball candidate in defeating Mattawan.
Grosse Pointe South (23-1) vs. Birmingham Marian (21-3): Grosse Pointe South is the reigning Class A runner-up and has rattled off 23 straight victories since losing on opening night to Chicago Whitney Young. Marian, with just a three-point loss a few weeks ago, is one of only a few to play King close this season, and is succeeding with no player averaging more than 9.8 points per game.
Saginaw Heritage (16-9) vs. Dexter (22-3): A lineup featuring three sophomore starters has led Heritage to its best season since 2005. Dexter won its first Regional title since earning back-to-back in 1997-98, and similar to Marian has four scorers averaging more than seven points per game but none averaging eight.
Class B
Clare (23-1) vs. Midland Bullock Creek (22-3): Clare has won a lot and won big; its only game within 10 points this season was a one-point loss to Saginaw Nouvel on Dec. 4. Two sophomores and a senior averaging double figures scoring have led Bullock Creek to its first District title since 2008 and now farther.
Detroit Country Day (18-3) vs. Flint Powers Catholic (19-6): Country Day won its eighth-straight Regional title and is led by guard Asia Doss scoring a team-high 13.3 points per game. Powers is back to being a power after going only 8-13 a year ago. Senior forward Kim Berry leads the way with 13.9 ppg.
Goodrich (22-3) vs. Livonia Ladywood (17-7): Reigning Class B champion Goodrich had a few hiccups after going undefeated in 2011-12, but could run away with the title again led by Miss Basketball runner-up Taylor Gleason (21.6 ppg). Ladywood will try to stop that run tonight while led by another high-scoring senior guard, Andrea Anastos (19.8 ppg).
Marshall (21-4) vs. Grand Rapids South Christian (23-1): Marshall is back in the Quarterfinals after falling last season to Dearborn Divine Child, and is back thanks in part to two sophomore starters. South Christian has its best record since 2006 and is in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.
Class C
Niles Brandywine (24-0) vs. Manchester (24-1): Brandywine has made the Quarterfinals all four seasons under coach Josh Hood and made the Semifinals in 2010. Manchester hopes to get there keyed by a pair of seniors – 6-foot-1 forward McKenna Erkfrtiz and 5-5 guard Taylor Manders – both averaging more than 14 points per game.
Riverview Gabriel Richard (15-7) vs. Flint Hamady (22-3): Senior Ashley Henderson is averaging 16 points per game and had 30 in Gabriel Richard’s Regional title win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Last season was the only one over the last four that Hamady didn't make at least a Quarterfinal, and it’s looking to get back to a championship game for the first time since winning Class C back-to-back in 2009-10.
Delton Kellogg (21-4) vs. Saginaw Nouvel (23-2): Kellogg has increased its win total all three seasons under coach Mike Mohn, and has followed a third-place finish in the strong Kalamazoo Valley Association to bigger things. But Nouvel will be the toughest opponent this season; the Panthers have their best record since back-to-back championship runs in 2006 and 2007-08.
Shelby (21-3) vs. Houghton (22-2): Shelby has won at least 18 games all three seasons under coach Sarah Wolting, and this season claimed its first postseason titles under her leadership. Junior forward Elisa Jurmu is averaging 19.9 points per game as Houghton makes its first Quarterfinal appearance since 2009.
Class D
St. Ignace (24-0) vs. Crystal Falls Forest Park (23-1): The Saints made the Class C Semifinals in 2012 and didn't have their first close game this winter until a 74-68 win over previously-undefeated Posen. Crystal Falls Forest Park is trying to return to the Class D Semifinals and is again led by one of the state’s top juniors – 6-0 Lexi Gussert, who is averaging 32.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Climax-Scotts (19-5) vs. Gaylord St. Mary (23-2): Five senior starters have Climax-Scotts in the Quarterfinals for the first time in coach Dana Perrin’s three seasons as coach. Junior guard Kari Borowiak is averaging more than 17 points per game for a St. Mary team that hasn't lost since Dec. 18.
Athens (21-3) vs. Plymouth Christian (18-6): This is Athens’ third-straight Quarterfinal berth and it will be looking to return to Breslin after advancing to the championship game in 2012. Plymouth Christian gave reigning champion Waterford Our Lady a scare early this season and played one of the toughest schedules of any Class D Quarterfinalist.
Waterford Our Lady (19-4) vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (16-7): Guards Lexie Robak and Ava Doetsch can finish this week as four-time MHSAA champions and have started for Our Lady all four of their high school seasons. Sacred Heart is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 and hopes to avenge a 50-38 loss to Our Lady on Dec. 15.
PHOTO: Goodrich guard Taylor Gleason (22) will try to lead her team to a second-straight Class B championship this week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
C-D Preview: Perfection & Possibilities
March 15, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One of the state’s most impressive winning streaks in any sport this decade will take the main stage again this weekend at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Reigning Class D champion Pittsford will attempt to finish a second straight undefeated season and build on a run that has seen the Wildcats win 101 of their last 103 games over the last four winters.
Meanwhile, four of eight semifinalists in Class C and D are seeking their first championships ever, with a fifth playing for its first title in nearly four decades.
All four Class C and D Semifinals will be played Thursday, with all four championship games Saturday.
Semifinals - Thursday
Class C
Detroit Edison PSA (19-5) vs. Flint Hamady (19-5), 1 p.m.
Pewamo-Westphalia (23-2) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (23-3), 2:50 p.m.
Class D
Engadine (19-5) vs. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (17-9), 6 p.m.
Pittsford (26-0) vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (25-1), 7:50 p.m.
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6 p.m.
Class C - 4 p.m.
Class D - 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $8 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit, the Class D, A and C Finals on the network’s PLUS channel and Class B on the primary channel. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
And now, a look at the semifinalists in Class C and D. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.) The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
Class C
DETROIT EDISON PUBLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY
Record/rank: 19-5, No. 5
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Monique Brown, sixth season (80-35)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 58-42 over No. 10 Blissfield in the Quarterfinal, 43-39 over Flint Hamady 58-55 over Detroit Mumford, 57-56 over Class A No. 6 Southfield Arts & Technology, 57-45 over Chicago Whitney Young.
Players to watch: Gabrielle Elliott, 5-10 fr. G (17.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.2 spg); Rickea Jackson, 6-3 soph. G (17.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 3.4 spg, 2.3 bpg).
Outlook: It’s difficult to not point out immediately that Edison has no seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and nine freshmen – and that they’ve been tested this season against top teams from Classes A and B as well as C. All five losses came to larger schools, including two still alive this weekend. Elliott – one of three freshman starters – made the all-state first team and Jackson was named to the second, while Brown was named Coach of the Year by The Associated Press.
FLINT HAMADY
Record/rank: 19-5, unranked
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference Blue.
Coach: Keith Smart, 15th season (332-44)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2010), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 38-36 over No. 1 Sandusky in the Regional Final, 75-67 over Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 51-46 over Goodrich, 81-27 over Lake Fenton, 55-50 over Flint Beecher in the District Final.
Players to watch: Deajah Cofield, 5-7 sr. G (15 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.0 apg); Sasha Penn, 5-7 jr. G (statistics not available for Penn).
Outlook: Hamady was unranked after taking losses to one Class A and three Class B teams, plus Detroit Edison. But Cofield was named Class C co-Player of the Year by The Associated Press and Penn and senior Krystal Rice earned all-state honorable mentions (although Rice is out for the season with a knee injury). This is Hamady’s third Semifinal this decade; the Hawks were Class C runners-up in 2015.
MAPLE CITY GLEN LAKE
Record/rank: 23-3, unranked
League finish: First in Northwest Conference.
Coach: Jason Bradford, ninth season (146-58)
Championship history: Class D champion 1978, runner-up 1979.
Best wins: 63-52 over No. 7 St. Ignace in the Quarterfinal, 50-44 over No. 2 Traverse City St. Francis in the District Semifinal, 55-40 and 42-38 over Kingsley.
Players to watch: Kelly Bunke, 5-6 sr. G (10.3 ppg, 4,4 rpg, 2.9 apg); Jennifer LaCross, 5-8 jr. F (10.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.0 apg).
Outlook: Glen Lake has won 20 games two seasons in a row for Bradford, with two league titles, and has shown it belongs among the elite in the postseason with two wins over ranked opponents, including avenging its opening-night defeat to St. Francis. The only other losses were to eventual Class B quarterfinalist Cadillac and in overtime to McBain. This will be Glen Lake’s first Semifinal since 1995. Bunek earned an all-state honorable mention.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 6
League finish: Second in Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
Coach: Steve Eklund, eighth season (154-33)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1983 and 1984.
Best wins: 40-31 and 38-31 over honorable mention Laingsburg, 50-27 over Ithaca, 55-34 over Springport in the Regional Final, 44-28 over Bath in the District Semifinal.
Players to watch: Emily Spitzley, 5-10 jr. F (13.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.2 spg); Hannah Spitzley, 5-10 fr. F (8.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.5 spg).
Outlook: P-W is returning to the Semifinal for the first time since 2002, avenging its two losses by beating CMAC champ Bath to open the postseason. The Pirates start two seniors but also two freshmen – guard Ellie Droste adds 8.6 points and 2.5 steals per game. Defense is this team’s strong point; Schoolcraft (19) in the Quarterfinal marked the 15th time this season P-W held a team under 30 points, and the Pirates have given up more than 31 only twice (in those losses to Bath). Emily Spitzley made the all-state second team.
Class D
ENGADINE
Record/rank: 19-5, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Coach: Roger French, seventh season (79-64)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 44-41 over No. 8 Crystal Falls Forest Park in the Quarterfinal, 50-48 (Regional Final) and 40-39 over honorable mention Pickford in the Regional Final, 60-55 and 63-57 over No. 10 Cedarville
Players to watch: Olivia Vaughn, 5-9 sr. F (18.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 spg); Aubrey Simmons, 5-10 jr. C (12 ppg, 12.7 rpg).
Outlook: Engadine is playing in its second Semifinals after also making the final weekend in 2005. The Eagles were one of three Class D teams from their EUP conference to receive state poll votes and emerged with eight wins over their last nine games. Vaughn and starting forward Keely Fuller are the only seniors, while freshman guard Sophie Vaughn – Olivia’s sister – adds 8.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Engadine won only four games four seasons ago, but has upped its win total every season since.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference.
Coach: Damon Brown (ninth season (178-41)
Championship history: Class D champion 2014, runner-up 2016 and 2008.
Best wins: 48-37 over Frankfort in the Quarterfinal, 52-25 over Fruitport Calvary Christian in the Regional Final, 23-17 over Carson City-Crystal.
Players to watch: Scout Nelson, 5-9 soph. G (13.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.1 apg, 4.0 spg); Sophie Ruggles, 6-0 jr. F (14 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.4 spg).
Outlook: Few Class D teams would have this kind of success the year after graduating an all-state center and three-year starting guard. But the Irish rose again in a league featuring 19-win Class C Carson City-Crystal, and Frankfort was the only playoff opponent to score more than 30 points. Nelson and Ruggles made the all-state first team and with junior Hadyn Terwilliger (8.3 ppg) started in last season’s Class D Final.
SAGINAW MICHIGAN LUTHERAN SEMINARY
Record/rank: 17-9, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Tri-Valley Conference West
Coach: Brian Blaine, first season (17-9)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-48 over Waterford Our Lady in the Quarterfinal, 44-39 over Portland St. Patrick in the Regional Semifinal, 56-34 over Bay City All Saints in the District Final, 45-39 over Hemlock.
Players to watch: Meghan Blaine, 5-10 soph. F (12.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.7 apg); Rylee Pankow, 5-10 sr. C (10.ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.0 spg).
Outlook: MLS may not have been the pick to advance farthest from the mostly Class B-C TVC West that had four teams total win at least 16 games. But the Cardinals have won 10 straight games and did make the Quarterfinals as recently as 2012, although this will be the program’s first Semifinal. Meghan Blaine can also score from the outside, with 46 3-pointers entering the week, and total six players have scored at least 12 points in a game this season.
PITTSFORD
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Southern Central Athletic Association East
Coach: Chris Hodos, fifth season (117-8)
Championship history: Class D champion 2016, runner-up 2015.
Best wins: 62-19 over No. 6 St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran in the Quarterfinal, 59-47 over Manchester, 59-33 over Bellevue, 57-39 over Grass Lake.
Players to watch: Maddie Clark, 5-9 sr. F (16.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 3.4 spg); Jaycie Burger, 5-9 sr. G (19.2 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.2 spg, 62 3-pointers).
Outlook: Pittsford’s 53-game winning streak is just short of making the MHSAA record book list, and it’s four-season run of 101-2 can’t have many rivals although that statistic hasn’t been kept. Clark was named Class D Player of the Year by The Associated Press and Burger also a first-team all-stater as both continued to star in leading their team to Breslin for the third straight season. Junior guard Marissa Shaw adds another 8.6 points and 6.2 steals per game, and she’d made 56 3-pointers entering this week.
PHOTO: Pittsford celebrates last season's Class D championship at the Breslin Center.