Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview
March 7, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It was not intentional that the five results from last week’s Districts highlighted in this week’s “Breslin Bound” report all came from Class A.
Rather, it’s an indication just how many contenders there appear to be in that tournament this season – and no doubt this week’s Regionals in the other three classes will provide similar excitement.
Below is a glance at those five District games that popped off the bracket most, plus a look at three Regionals of particular note in each class – all powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Lansing 48, DeWitt 47 – The Trojans avenged a one-point loss to the Panthers from the second week of this season in a matchup of Capital Area Activities Conference champions.
2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 47, Bloomfield Hills 45 – Marian ran its Class A District streak to six straight in this Final, handing Bloomfield Hills only its second loss and first since the first weekend in December.
3. East Kentwood 51, Grand Rapids Christian 49 – The Falcons also haven’t lost since the season’s first week, but just got past the Eagles in another Class A Final, this one a matchup of Ottawa-Kent Conference champs.
4. Farmington Hills Mercy 32, North Farmington 30 – North Farmington had a great season with 16 wins, but this Class A Final still had to be a bit of a scare for the Detroit Catholic League A-B champion.
5. Midland Dow 37, Saginaw Heritage 30 – This was a Class A District Semifinal, but matched rivals that had split during the regular season; both had aspirations of winning the MHSAA championship, and Dow went on to win the District.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
CLASS A
Dearborn Fordson
Dearborn (18-4), Detroit Martin Luther King (22-1), Livonia Churchill (9-14), Southfield Arts & Technology (18-4).
King has continued to turn away its share of tough opponents as it looks to return to the Class A championship game after finishing runner-up a year ago. The Crusaders could see two more this week; Dearborn also faced King in a Regional Semifinal last season and is two wins better than a year ago, and potential District Final opponent Southfield Arts & Technology has faced its share of contenders as well and has been considered one since the start of this winter. Churchill lost seven of its last eight to finish the regular season, but has gotten on the right track during the playoffs.
North Farmington
Farmington Hills Mercy (20-3), Hartland (22-1), Novi (17-6), Walled Lake Western (19-4).
With their only loss to King on Dec. 17, the Eagles are on a fantastic run and rightly should have dreams of their second Regional title in three seasons. They won a Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title with Novi and Walled Lake Western also part of the bracket, although Hartland didn’t see either. As noted above, Mercy is the Detroit Catholic League A-B champ but had a scare in the District Final. Those two face each other Tuesday, with Western a KLAA division champion and Novi a runner-up on the other side of the bracket.
Zeeland East
East Kentwood (22-1), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (16-7), Hudsonville (17-6), Muskegon Mona Shores (19-3).
East Kentwood and Mona Shores both had District scares as well, East Kentwood’s against Grand Rapids Christian mentioned above and Mona Shores a one-point Semifinal win over rival Muskegon. They face each other in one Semifinal this week, while on the other side Hudsonville is looking to repeat its 2016 trip to the Class A Semifinals and Forest Hills Northern is on a six-game winning streak that has included multiple wins over the champion of its O-K White, Lowell.
CLASS B
Detroit Mumford
Center Line (16-7), Detroit Collegiate Prep (16-5), Detroit Mumford (16-7), Redford Union (14-6).
Mumford will start its pursuit of a repeat Quarterfinal trip with another strong Detroit Public School League team in Collegiate Prep, which has added six wins to its total from 2015-16. On the other side of a wide-open bracket, Center Line has won six of its last eight while making the Macomb Area Conference Blue-Gold Tournament championship game, and Redford Union has reversed course from last season’s 6-15 finish.
Frankenmuth
Corunna (14-9), Freeland (23-0), Ithaca (19-4), Saginaw Swan Valley (18-5).
Freeland’s run to the Tri-Valley Conference Central title included a one-point win over Swan Valley, a possible Regional Final opponent. The Vikings open with Ithaca, a Class C semifinalist last season, while the Falcons will look to keep their perfect run alive against a Corunna team that has improved from 9-12 a year ago.
Hamilton
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (22-1), Hamilton (22-1), Howard City Tri-County (15-7), Muskegon Oakridge (21-2).
Hamilton, Oakridge and GRCC all won league championships, and Tri-County was a co-runner-up. Oakridge’s losses came back-to-back in December, and it is undefeated in 2017 as it takes on Hamilton in a Regional Semifinal for the second straight season – and with the opportunity to see GRCC in the title game also for the second straight winter. Hamilton’s only loss also was in December, to Class A Hudsonville, and GRCC’s defeat came on opening night to Class A Mona Shores.
CLASS C
Adrian Madison
Ann Arbor Greenhills (17-4), Blissfield (21-2), Grass Lake (17-6), Michigan Center (20-3).
Grass Lake won the Cascades Conference with a sweep of Michigan Center by 10 (in overtime) and 24. But the Cardinals have won 11 straight. To get a rematch, they first must get by Blissfield, the Lenawee County Athletic Association champion and owner of an 18-game winning streak with losses this season only to Class A Utica Ford and Class B Bay City John Glenn. And don’t forget about Greenhills, which also has won 11 straight and 15 of its last 16 after also going 17-4 last winter.
Flint Hamady
Brown City (16-6), Flint Hamady (16-5), Harbor Beach (17-5), Sandusky (23-0).
It’s hard to believe Hamady hasn’t won a Class C title since 2010; the Hawks are always in the mix and have won four Regionals this decade alone. But this could be one of their greatest challenges at this level of the tournament; Sandusky is playing for its first Regional title since 1999 and has been barely challenged, with only Harbor Beach getting as close as 10 to matching the Redskins. Sandusky, Harbor Beach and Brown City finished in the top three spots in the Greater Thumb Conference East. Hamady has seen its share of top teams, however, with losses to four others that also celebrated District titles last week – Detroit Country Day, Goodrich, Detroit Edison and Flushing.
Homer
Bronson (16-7), Kalamazoo Hackett (18-5), Niles Brandywine (19-4), Schoolcraft (18-5).
None of these teams won league championships, a testament to the tough competition they’ve faced in prepping for the postseason. Brandywine finished third in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Red to Class B Comstock and Buchanan (which shared the title) and is seeking its third straight Regional championship and sixth in seven seasons. Bronson finished second in the BCS Blue and is seeking its first Regional title since 2002, and Hackett and Schoolcraft tied for second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley and are both seeking a first championship in this round of the tournament.
CLASS D
Adrian Lenawee Christian
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (20-1), Hillsdale Academy (16-7), Morrice (19-4), Pittsford (23-0).
It’s been quite a closing run for Pittsford’s veteran crew, who have won 50 straight since falling in the Class D Final in 2015. First up this week is Morrice, which has won 11 straight and shared the Genesee Area Conference Blue title, while on the other side waits a possible familiar foe – Hillsdale Academy finished second to Pittsford in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. The Colts begin Regional play with Mid-South Conference champ Rudolf Steiner, which lost only to Class C Whitmore Lake.
Kingsford
Bark River-Harris (15-7), Cooks Big Bay de Noc (10-12), Crystal Falls Forest Park (18-4), Painesdale-Jeffers (17-6)
A championship game between Skyline Central Conference West rivals Bark River-Harris and Crystal Falls Forest Park would be charged; the Trojans beat Bark River-Harris by 13 early but saw the league title slip away with a 13-point loss to the Broncos in the regular-season finale. Not that Jeffers, with 12 wins over its last 14 games, will go easily in its Regional Semifinal against Bark River-Harris. Big Bay de Noc finished last in the SCC East but beat the second and third-place teams to win last week’s District.
Marion
Custer Mason County Eastern (16-5), Fruitport Calvary Christian (20-1), Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (22-1), Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (18-5).
Sacred Heart, last season’s Class D runner-up, has dominated again with only a loss to Carson City-Crystal, and only the Eagles and Merrill have gotten within single digits of the Irish so far. Tri-unity, which like Sacred Heart fell to eventual champion Pittsford during last season’s tournament, is looking to return to the Quarterfinals for the second straight. Especially intriguing is Calvary Christian, which finished ahead of Tri-unity to win the Alliance League and is a one-point December loss to Class C Mason County Central from a perfect season but has never won a Regional. To get that opportunity, Calvary will first have to beat Mason County Eastern, which has righted itself after losing three of four at the end of the regular season.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, here against Beal City, plays this week in what could be one of the toughest Regionals in Class D. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Undefeated Brandywine Eager to Earn Return Trip to Breslin Center
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2025
NILES – Josh Hood recalls receiving multiple texts the Monday following spring break last year.
Those messages came from various players on his Niles Brandywine girls basketball team inquiring about when they could get back into the gym and begin preparing for the 2024-25 season.
After losing a 33-30 heartbreaker to powerhouse Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in the 2024 MHSAA Division 3 Final, the top-ranked and undefeated Bobcats, 26-2 a year ago, are hungry for a return trip to the championship game at Michigan State University's Breslin Center later this month. They open up District play at 5:30 p.m. today against Bridgman on the Bees’ home floor, and will host next week’s Regional.
"Once you get a taste of the type of success we had last year, you can respond to it in one of two ways. You can either take the summer off, have fun and ride out your senior year and be content with what you've done or you can get to back to work right away,” Hood said. “We took a week off and after spring break, there were those texts from our girls asking, ‘Coach, when can we get back into the gym?’ We didn't have to ask who was going to show up each night either when we played our 14 dates and 25-game schedule in the summer. All of the girls were there ready to work.”
Hood graduated his top two players in Ellie Knapp, last year's starting point guard, and post player Kadence Brumitt. The two all-staters led a squad that earned the school's second Semifinals appearance and first Finals berth.
"Last year we had Ellie and Kaydence, who were our top two scorers for four years. The biggest difference this season is that we have eight girls averaging between four and 12 points,” Hood said. “Nobody we play can say they must focus on one certain player. Any one of our girls is capable of scoring. Our ability to spread the ball around and be unselfish have been two of our biggest strengths.”
Despite those two key graduation losses, the Bobcats (22-0) haven't missed a beat even while playing a difficult schedule that's included several games against Division 1 or Division 2 schools.
Brandywine, the two-time repeat Lakeland Conference champ at 8-0, has gotten good performances all season out of its seven seniors, along with a solid group of underclassmen. The Bobcats have taken advantage of their athleticism and quickness to outwork their opponents.
"The great thing about this group is that they aren't just basketball players. The success that we've had here at Brandywine in the last 16 years isn't because they focus just on basketball. Every one of these girls in our program are multi-sport athletes," Hood said.
The experience of playing on the big stage last March has been a big motivator to senior leaders Miley Young and Adeline Gill, along with classmates Adelyn Drotoz, Ireland Prenkert. Lexi Troup, Paige Krisher and Niyah Mason.
Gill, Brandywine's tallest player at 5-foot-9, is the only player averaging double-digit scoring at 12.5 points per game, followed by Young (9.0 ppg.) and Drotoz (8.5 points).
"Adeline is our leading scorer and a four-year starter like most of our seniors. She is a quiet leader who just goes about her business on the court. Her consistency in scoring and rebounding are big assets. Just like Miley, she is a tireless worker," Hood said.
"Miley was another player who received all-state honors last year not for her scoring, but simply because she was the best defender that everyone saw play at Michigan State in the Finals. She brings great tenacity and is fearless on the floor. Her energy on defense keys our man-to-man pressure, and she is the catalyst at the point position. Her work ethic has been exemplary all four years. Every day she is the first one at practice and the last one to leave."
Gill also averages 4.7 rebounds and two steals per contest.
"The experience of playing at Breslin last season was amazing and taught our team a great deal. We know what it takes to get there and how hard we have to work in practice and play in games” said Gill, who next plans to major in biology at Kalamazoo College with her career goal to become a physician's assistant. “We are quick and get lots of steals on defense. This group is hardworking, and we are always getting after it. We study a lot of film on other teams and ourselves, and it really helps us prepare for games. Our team is just really motivated to get back to state,"
Young sports averages of four rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game.
"Getting to Breslin last year was something we really wanted to do since we were younger. Our team has supported each other very well. We lost two key players from last year, but we have some young talent and returners that have really stepped it up this season," Young said. "Last season we were bigger in the post, but this year we just try to use our quickness to wear other teams out. We might be smaller, but we're going to get the job done with our defense. Most teams don't have the depth that we do, and that allows us to wear our opponents out. We are held to a high standard, and our coaching staff help us to be the best we can be. I've never seen anyone like Coach Hood who watches as much film as he does."
Young said that playing in Knapp's shadow last year was a good learning experience.
"In my opinion Ellie was the best point guard in the state. Going against her in practice really helped me,” Young said. “I had to switch my role up this year knowing I'm not going to get the ball on fastbreaks. I'm comfortable in my new role and getting my teammates the shots."
Drotoz, who will end her Brandywine career as the school's top 3-point shooter, has made 52-of-132 (39 percent) attempts from behind the arc this season.
The Bobcats are a dangerous team with their ability to either drive or swing it back outside for a 3-pointer. Brandywine is 157-of-535 (29.3 percent) on 3-point attempts.
Sophomore guard Mackenna Price (5.5 ppg.) is a big contributor off the bench for the Bobcats. Other standouts seeing heavy minutes are Prenkert, Troup, Krisher, Mason, sophomore Lily Gill and junior post player Karleigh Byrd.
Lily Gill averages seven points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 steals, while Byrd is averaging 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals.
Brandywine, which is averaging 58.9 points as a team and giving up just 26.2 per game, owns impressive wins over last year's Division 2 quarterfinalist Vicksburg (45-28), along with Stevensville Lakeshore (45-37), Richland Gull Lake (70-38), Kalamazoo Central (50-34), Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (59-27), Battle Creek Central (56-41) and St. Joseph (51-36).
"When you average what we do offensively and give up only 26 points per game, it says a great deal about our commitment to defense,” Hood said. “With our team it’s always been about defense translating to offense. That's become the culture of our program, and we're going to work real hard at it.”
Brandywine's last three games of the regular season were all against Division 1 schools in Battle Creek Central, Loy Norrix and St. Joseph.
"There's intent behind our schedule. Much of the credit goes to our athletic director (Dave Sidenbender) because we ask him to give us the best schedule that we can possibly have. When you play seven conference champions and 17 of your 22 games against Division 1 or Division 2 opponents, it makes our girls fearless,” Hood said. “Our schedule prepares us well. Losses happen, and you don't lose anything with a little adversity and playing tough competition. If you have a little hiccup, those film sessions are better than if you win by 40 points because you learn from that adversity. Our girls embrace that and they know that iron sharpens iron, and that's why we play the schedule we do. We play the seventh-toughest schedule out of 683 schools in the MPR (Michigan Power Ratings) rankings. When the ball goes up in the air, these girls are ready to play and it’s an honor to coach them."
In outlining the keys for another strong tournament run, Hood identified Brandywine's pressure defense as a key ingredient.
"We've never had a player taller than 5-10 at Brandywine since I've been here,” he said. “We have girls who are only 5-8 or 5-9, so that forces you to make it a 90-foot game and we've done a good job of that all season. Our rotations have been stellar. We feel like we are in charge of what we do on the court with the defensive pressure we apply. We are a very effective team when we can push the ball up the floor and not let our opponents get comfortable in the half-court.”
Young has committed to play college basketball at Lake Michigan College, while Adeline Gill made a recent verbal commitment to play at Kalamazoo College. Troup will play women’s soccer at Trine University and Drotoz plans to continue her softball career at Alma College.
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Brandywine senior Miley Young (22) takes her turn cutting down the nets after last week's final regular-season home win over Kalamazoo Loy Norrix. (Middle) Bobcats Adelyn Drotoz (3) and Adeline Gill (0) apply defensive pressure. (Below) Drotoz, middle, is escorted by her parents Chad and Heather Drotoz on Senior Night. (Photos by Scott Hassinger.)