Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 1
December 5, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Welcome to the second week of the 2016-17 girls basketball season – and this winter’s first renovated “Breslin Bound” report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Over the last few seasons, we’ve weekly posted looks at teams to watch in each class with an eye on the end-of-season MHSAA Tournament. We’re changing things up and expanding a little too to make sure you know about all of the most significant scores from the week that was – like, for example, two of last year’s MHSAA champions suffering losses over the first seven days of this season – plus a few ideas on what games could be especially important in the week to come.
Results and schedules are based on what’s published for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or missing scores, please contact me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Bloomfield Hills Marian 56, Warren Cousino 42 – The Mustangs bounced back from an opening-night loss to hand reigning Class A champion Cousino a double-digit defeat at University of Detroit Mercy.
2. Williamston 37, Marshall 31 – The Hornets were District champs a year ago but can set their sights higher, especially after handing this loss to the reigning Class B champion Redhawks.
3. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 52, Muskegon Mona Shores 39 – The Sailors rightly have Class A title aspirations this winter, but reigning Class C champion Arbor Prep is loaded with future college players as well and should be a contender despite moving into Class B.
4. Manistee 50, Frankfort 34 – One of the few hiccups on Manistee’s run to the Class B Quarterfinals last season was a loss in the regular-season finale to Frankfort, which won 18 games total as the Chippewas finished 21-4.
5. Dearborn 50, Northville 49 – The Mustangs beat Dearborn 49-38 on opening night last season and ended the winter in the Class A Quarterfinals; Dearborn, which won 16 games last season, will be hoping for similar momentum.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Canton (2-0) – The Chiefs are coming off a league title and 17-5 record after ending last season in the District Final; they look poised for more after a week that included handing Detroit Cass Tech a 56-30 defeat and avenging last season’s opening loss to Marian with a 43-40 victory over the Mustangs.
Marquette (2-0) – The Redettes are seeking their third straight 20-win season and finished last week with a 39-38 victory over Brighton, which had opened with two wins.
CLASS B
Edwardsburg (2-0) – The Eddies tied for second last season in the Wolverine Conference South, just a win behind champion Sturgis; they have the upper hand early this time after beating Sturgis 61-38 following a 37-32 opening-night win over Niles.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (3-0) – The Gators are wasting no time making their Class B presence felt after winning Class C a year ago; the win over Mona Shores is proof last winter’s 25-2 record could transfer, especially since Arbor Prep played mostly bigger schools last regular season too.
CLASS C
Charlevoix (2-0) – Much is expected from 6-foot-1 freshman Elise Stuck, and she’s made good by turning last season’s 36-point loss to Petoskey in a 43-39 win this time and last year’s 28-point defeat to Cheboygan into a 60-32 victory for the Rayders.
Michigan Center (1-0) – The Cardinals have played only one game, but hope a 43-40 overtime win over Jonesville proves telling. Last season, Michigan Center fell by nine to Jonesville and went on to finish 6-15 while Jonesville was 19-3.
CLASS D
Portland St. Patrick (2-0) – An up-and-down 2015-16 saw St. Patrick enter the ostseason with a losing record but reach its Regional Final; all signs point to keeping the good times rolling after a first week with wins over Lansing Christian (43-36) and Fulton (55-51).
Wolverine (2-0) – With nine losses over its final 10 games last winter, Wolverine slid to a 6-14 finish. The Wildcats are one-third of the way to equaling their success after beating Northport 39-33 in overtime and then Atlanta.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday: East Lansing (1-0) at DeWitt (2-0) – These two Lansing-area Class A powers regularly meet, with DeWitt claiming a 12-point win last winter before both went on to division championships in the Capital Area Activities Conference.
Tuesday: Muskegon (1-0) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (1-1) – After graduating the Miss Basketball runner-up from a year ago, the Big Reds can continue to see how they might measure up against an annual Class B power.
Tuesday: Reese (1-1) at Millington (1-0) – These two combined to go 32-13 last season, with Reese winning their lone meeting by 18 points; the Rockets are coming off an 11-point win over Frankenmuth, which won Millington’s Tri-Valley Conference East last winter.
Wednesday: Morenci (1-1) at Pittsford (2-0) – The reigning Class D champion Wildcats have increased their winning streak to 29 straight; Morenci won 13 games last season before falling to Pittsford in their District.
Friday: Sault Ste. Marie (1-0) at St. Ignace (0-0) – The Blue Devils’ 15-6 run last season included a split with the Straits Area Conference rival Saints, who as usual ended up in a Class C Quarterfinal.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” 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: Flint Carman-Ainsworth (defending) earned its first win of the season Friday, 65-26 over Swartz Creek. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
Frankenmuth Drives League Streak to 97
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
December 13, 2016
Tom Keller is willing to talk about the streak if you ask him.
He’s starting to get used to it.
“It’s funny; it seems like a lot of people are bringing it up lately,” said the Frankenmuth girls basketball coach, who has led his team to 97 straight Tri-Valley Conference East wins. “We actually talked about it in practice the other day for one of the few times.
"(The streak) happens on a day-to-day basis. In our program, we don’t really set a lot of goals; we’re much more concerned about the process. If we do things the right way day after day, those wins and those streaks kind of take care of themselves.”
Frankenmuth hasn’t lost a conference game since Feb. 10, 2009 -- a 37-31 setback against Birch Run. Since then, eight senior classes have graduated, and dozens of players have gone through their entire varsity careers without a conference loss.
While it’s not something Frankenmuth players dwell on, it’s also not something they take for granted.
“You don’t just show up and put on your uniform and get the streak,” senior Hannah Karwat said. “We do have to work hard to get the winning streak we have. We work hard in practice.”
Karwat is one of very few Frankenmuth players on this year’s team with varsity experience. She’s a third-year player and first-year starter. Her classmate Lindsey Mertz started several games as a junior and is in her fourth year with the team, but Frankenmuth graduated five of its top six players from a year ago.
The Eagles have done well so far, starting the season 3-1, including earning a 36-34 win this past week against TVC East rival Essexville-Garber to stretch the streak to 97. Their next league games are Wednesday at Bridgeport and home Friday against Millington.
“It’s always an interesting way to start the season when you have kids who are brand new to varsity,” Keller said. “Also, we have those kids that are returning in completely different roles than what they played in the past. We have two seniors who have played, and they’re going from being role players to go-to girls on this year’s team.
“It’s fun. I think it makes for great competition. When you have so many openings for a new team, it’s fun and great competition because everybody is vying for those roles. It does seem to draw out the best competitors.”
Mertz has settled in as a forward, although she has experience as a post player and a guard from her first three seasons and can go back to either if the Eagles need it. Karwat’s role has expanded following the graduation of a pair of 6-foot-plus post players. She’s 5-4½, but appears unfazed by the height disadvantage she faces each night.
Mertz and Karwat are two of five seniors on the team. Among the others is Sara Aldrich, who spent her junior season toward the end of the bench but has worked her way into a starting role, something Keller said he loves to see. Kayla Kueffner and Emily Janson, the Eagles’ other two seniors, are injured and have yet to play this season.
What those seniors may lack in experience, they make up for with leadership.
“Something that our program has valued is leadership,” Mertz said. “We have been doing leadership lunches once a week where we meet and talk about leadership and how serving the other girls on the team and dedicating time would help everyone grow on the team.”
Frankenmuth is matching that leadership with an aggressive style of play, making up for a lack of size.
“We’re making efforts to really attack the paint,” Keller said. “We still get touches inside, but we do it through penetration. In years where we’ve had two 6 footers, we were a high-post, low-post kind of team and we took advantage of that. This year, we’re very guard-oriented.”
Changing his team’s style based on personnel has helped Keller find success in each of his previous 10 seasons as Frankenmuth’s girls coach. The Eagles have won a conference title in each of those seasons, and added five Class B District titles, including at the end of the last two seasons.
Keller said he was fortunate to inherit a great program, one that won the Class B title in 1992 and Class C in 1996 and also owns four MHSAA Finals runner-up finishes.
It’s a tradition, Mertz and Karwat said, that has girls in the community’s youth program pining to put on a Frankenmuth jersey one day. They also grow up knowing what it takes to get that honor.
“When I was younger, a lot of the girls in my grade loved basketball,” Mertz said. “But a lot of girls have quit because they know what’s expected and they know they can’t match that effort. Sometimes we’ll frighten some girls out of the program, but that makes the team we have one of the toughest group of girls because you have to be tough to be a part of it.
“Usually the girls that come out are the ones that are in it for the long haul, and willing to do the dirty work and put in the effort.”
Keller said he wasn’t quite sure what would equal a successful season for this year’s team. Getting better and more consistent each day is his main focus, and he’s optimistic that will happen.
As for the streak, Keller and the Eagles would love for it to survive. If it doesn’t, however, they’ll simply work to start the next one.
“It’s going to come to an end eventually, whether it’s this week or later this season or next season,” Keller said. “When it happens, we’ll just come back the next day and get ready for the next game.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Frankenmuth's Brooklin Karwat drives to the basket against Essexville-Garber last week. (Middle) Eagles coach Tom Keller speaks with Kaylee Kujat during the tightly-contested matchup. (Below) Frankenmuth players celebrate after defeating the Dukes 56-54. (Photos by Chip DeGrace/Eagle Eye Photography.)