Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 10
February 10, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA girls basketball postseason begins in four weeks – still enough time for teams to gain some momentum heading into tournament play.
For those in need of a boost, the playoffs have already begun – and we’re picking up on a few beginning to emerge, including some listed below among teams that impressed most last week.
CLASS A
Bloomfield Hills Marian (14-1) – The reigning Class A champion is a favorite again and last week claimed its second win this season against Catholic League Central rival Farmington Hills Mercy, also last season’s MHSAA Semifinal opponent. Marian’s only loss this winter is to Chicago Whitney Young, by four.
Brighton (11-3) – The Bulldogs are only tied for first in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West as they seek their fourth straight league title. But part of a five-game winning streak is a 38-27 victory over co-leader Hartland, and they meet again Friday in the league finale.
East Lansing (9-6) – The Trojans are continuing their climb back from a rare down season last winter. After winning six games in all of 2013-14, East Lansing is riding a 6-2 run and sits in second in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, with a rematch against league leader Grand Ledge set for Feb. 24.
Grand Rapids Christian (13-3) – The Eagles are a perfect 6-0 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White after sharing the league title last year with Forest Hills Central. Grand Rapids Christian built on a seven-game winning streak last week and finishes with four more conference games.
CLASS B
Dearborn Divine Child (10-5) – The Falcons get lost a little bit behind Marian and Mercy in the super-strong Catholic League Central, but have won three straight and finished tied for second in the league standings.
Dearborn Heights Robichaud (13-1) – The Bulldogs have made a big turnaround from last season’s sub-.500 finish – they have claimed a share of the Western Wayne Athletic Conference Blue championship, with their lone loss in December to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
Flat Rock (14-3) – The Rams have won 44 straight Huron League games and already clinched a share of a third straight league title with three more league games to play. All three losses came in December to teams with a combined 34-10 record.
Olivet (11-4) – The Eagles are chasing Perry in the first-year Greater Lansing Activities Conference, but have won seven of their last nine games. Olivet faces Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph East leader Bronson on Friday before getting a rematch against Perry next week.
CLASS C
Homer (11-3) – The Trojans eclipsed last season’s win total with Thursday’s over Athens and have won eight of their last nine games – with the lone loss to Big 8 Conference leader Concord. Homer gets second-place Reading tonight and Concord again on Feb. 20.
Iron Mountain (7-7) – The Mountaineers' overall record is middling, but they're climbing in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference and handed league leader Ishpeming its first loss, 34-32, on Feb. 2. The victory ended a three-game skid and was followed by another victory Thursday over Manistique.
Marlette (12-3) – The Red Raiders would love some help with Sandusky, which leads Marlette by a win in the Greater Thumb Conference East. But Marlette has won seven of eight – the lone loss being to Sandusky – and the league title should come down to their rematch Feb. 19.
Traverse City St. Francis (13-1) – The Gladiators did suffer their first loss last week, to one-loss Class B Manistee. But St. Francis does lead the Lake Michigan Conference with a big early-January win over second-place Kalkaska, and kicked off last week by beating Traverse City Central 46-38.
CLASS D
Cedarville (11-3) – The Trojans are on a 9-1 run after opening 2-2; they lead the Straits Area Conference by half a win over reigning champion Brimley and already have split with the Bays this season. Last week’s pair of wins were by a combined four points.
Fruitport Calvary Christian (12-2) – The Eagles have clinched their third straight league title, finishing undefeated in the Alliance League North and with their only losses to Class B Kentwood Grand River Prep and Class C Holton. All but one win has come by at least 12 points.
Portland St. Patrick (12-3) – The Shamrocks didn’t make it out of their District last season but appear to be ramping up for another postseason run with their only losses to Class C teams with a combined record of 39-8. St. Patrick beat Fowler 47-41 last week to sweep the Eagles this season after ending 2013-14 with a loss to them.
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (9-1) – The Titans also are again looking like a tough playoff opponent with their only defeat this season to one-loss Frankfort in December. Michigan Lutheran is in second place in the Red Arrow Conference, just behind rival Lake Michigan Catholic.
PHOTO: Detroit Cass Tech improved to 14-3 with a 47-41 win over Detroit Mumford in Monday’s Detroit Public School League semifinal. The Technicians will face Detroit Martin Luther King in the championship game Feb. 20. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 8
January 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We could list the 20 most standings-shaking matchups coming up in girls basketball this week and probably call it good for this “Breslin Bound” report.
At least 15 games statewide will pit teams tied for first in their leagues, or teams that could be tied for first when the final buzzer sounds.
We make mention of many of those below as we look toward the final month of the regular season. “Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Brighton 41, Hartland 33 – The veteran Eagles have been seen as Division 1 contenders – and that hasn’t changed – but this win moved Brighton into a first-place tie (with Howell as well) in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West and also into that discussion of elite.
2. Hudsonville 45, Rockford 44 (2OT) – Two of Hudsonville’s three closest games have come the last two Fridays, and the Eagles moved to 10-0 following up a four-point win over 9-3 East Kentwood on Jan. 17 with this nail-biter against the 10-2 Rams.
3. Kent City 75, Morley Stanwood 33 – Six Kent City players combined for 16 3-pointers as the Eagles remained the only Central State Activities Association Silver team unbeaten in league play after handing Morley Stanwood its first loss overall.
4. Michigan Center 61, Springport 49 – After a 3-3 start facing some of the state’s top competition, Michigan Center is still making its way back up the Division 3 MPR but got another boost against Big 8 Conference leader Springport.
5. Hemlock 40, Ithaca 29 – Hemlock saw its 19-game league winning streak snapped by Saginaw Nouvel earlier this month but pushed back into a first-place tie in the Tri-Valley Conference West with Ithaca less than two weeks later by handing the Yellowjackets their first loss overall this winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Grand Rapids (11-1) The Pioneers sent league foe Grand Rapids Christian to 9-2 overall with a 64-40 win last week and can finish a perfect first run through the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold on Friday at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg. The Pioneers – 20-3 last season – proved they were more than just league contenders in December with wins over Kalamazoo Central and Southfield Arts & Technology. EGR’s lone loss is nearly as impressive, 59-55 to still-unbeaten Hudsonville.
Jackson Northwest (10-1) The Class B runner-up and Interstate 8 Athletic Conference champion in 2017-18 fell back to second in the league a year ago. But the Mounties are working toward taking the title back, and a big week coming up will tell a lot about the chances to accomplish that and possibly more. Northwest opens Tuesday with Division 3 power Ypsilanti Arbor Prep and then Friday hosts rival Parma Western hoping to avenge a four-point loss to the Panthers from Dec. 13. Battle Creek Harper Creek also is tied with those two for first in the I8AC, and Northwest won their first meeting 44-41 in overtime.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Cody (11-1) After its most recent league title in 2016-17, Cody has hovered just above .500 over the last two seasons. But the Comets are contenders again and absolutely dominating, with their loss to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern on Dec. 7 their only game that wasn’t a double-digit win. Cody is tied for first in the Detroit Public School League West with 10-1 Detroit Renaissance and faces the Phoenix in the league finale Thursday – although Cody also must be watchful against Mumford tonight.
Grand Rapids West Catholic (10-1) A win Tuesday against Comstock Park would give West Catholic as many victories this season as all of last, as the Falcons have made a massive jump with their only loss this winter to 10-2 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer by seven on Dec. 20. A win over the reigning league co-champ Panthers also would put West Catholic in first alone in the O-K Blue after it finished sixth in 2018-19.
DIVISION 3
Lake City (10-1) Coming off last season’s Division 3 Semifinal run, Lake City continues to ride high with its only loss two weeks ago to Morley Stanwood (see above). The Trojans quickly bounced back and handed rival Manton its only defeat 48-37 on Jan. 17. Although Manton remains No. 1 in Division 3 MPR, that win pushed Lake City ahead of Manton into first alone in the Highland Conference – and their rematch Feb. 18 is shaping up as one of the state’s biggest games of February.
Ishpeming Westwood (10-1) The Patriots’ rise from very good to elite in 2018-19 was not a one-and-done as they have continued to dominate this winter with their only loss to undefeated Menominee 52-47 on Dec. 18. Westwood sits alone atop the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East thanks to Friday’s 45-35 win over rival Negaunee. That victory ran the Patriots’ win streak over the Miners to three – after losing their first meeting last season, Westwood won the second on the way to clinching the league title and then downed Negaunee again in District play.
DIVISION 4
Bellaire (11-0) After finishing second to Gaylord St. Mary in the Ski Valley Conference the last three seasons and losing 10 straight to the Snowbirds, Bellaire is the team to chase the rest of this season thanks to a 49-36 win over St. Mary on Wednesday. In addition to being in the league mix the last few years, Bellaire also won a District title last winter to set up this run that has included 10 straight double-digit victories.
Kingston (11-0) The Cardinals will put their 62-game league winning streak on the line Thursday against Deckerville, the last team to win a league game against Kingston – in 2013-14. The Cardinals have continued to roll after making last season’s Division 4 Semifinals and actually beat the Eagles 41-28 in their first meeting Dec. 16. With four teams at 7-4 or better, the North Central Thumb League Stars is among the state’s toughest small-school leagues this winter – and Kingston also has a 34-point win over NCTL Stripes leader Bay City All Saints.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Farmington Hills Mercy (11-0) at Bloomfield Hills Marian (9-2) – The Marlins can pull within one more win of clinching the Detroit Catholic League Central title if they can follow up their 46-34 win over rival Marian from Jan. 7.
Thursday– Detroit Martin Luther King (9-0) at Detroit Cass Tech (10-1) – These rivals are the only unbeaten teams left in PSL East play; last season they shared the PSL Midtown title before Cass Tech downed King in a District Final.
Friday – Edwardsburg (11-1) at Three Rivers (10-1) – The Eddies are in jeopardy of seeing their three-season league-title streak come to an end as this will determine if Edwardsburg shares the Wolverine Conference South championship or Three Rivers clinches it outright.
Friday – Chesaning (10-1) at Byron (11-0) – The Eagles have shared three straight league championships, but have a one-game lead on Chesaning as they go for the outright Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title. Byron won the first meeting 48-32 on Dec. 20.
Friday – Midland (11-0) at Midland Dow (9-2) – With this perfect start including a 38-31 win over Dow on Dec. 19, Midland High has taken back local bragging rights and could accomplish much more this winter – but the Chargers await as potential spoilers.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning 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. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Ishpeming Westwood’s Tessa Leece drives to the basket while being defended by Negaunee's Chloe Norman on Friday. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)