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 2
December 14, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
League schedules have started for some girls basketball teams already this winter, and with them the usual speculation of which contenders will lead the chase.
But we’re also keeping an eye out for a few more that are breaking into those conversations after showing early sparks.
Each week during the regular season, we’ll glance at four teams from each class that have caught our attention. Results and records below are based on schedules posted at MHSAA.com.
Class A
Alpena (3-0) – The Wildcats are seeking their first winning record in at least five seasons and possibly could be in line for more with only two more wins needed to equal last season’s total.
Jackson (4-0) – The Vikings lately have been only a slight factor in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue race, with two fourth-place finishes over the last four seasons. But they could be in the thick of a competitive group after a 48-45 win over East Lansing on Friday gave them four wins, only two fewer than last year.
Midland (3-1) – A loss Friday to Class B power Bay City John Glenn aside, Midland is gearing up for another Saginaw Valley League run. The Chemics have handed the only losses so far to Freeland, St. Johns and Bay City Western.
Port Huron Northern (3-0) – The Huskies will again be a team to watch after going 21-4 a year ago; they have won their first three games by 19, 31 and 37 points, respectively, after a similar start last December.
Class B
Ada Forest Hills Eastern (3-0) – The Hawks were 15-7 a year ago so another nice start isn’t a surprise, but beating Lowell 57-50 last week is a bonus after they lost to the Red Arrows by seven last December.
Birch Run (3-0) – The Panthers can circle Jan. 13 on their calendars; beating Millington 56-50 last week could mean Birch Run will again be the main contender with Frankenmuth, the opponent that night, for the Tri-Valley Conference East title (although Otisville LakeVille on Wednesday also will be a challenge).
Fowlerville (4-0) – Two of the first four wins have come by three points apiece and a third was by only six, but Fowlerville will take them gladly; the Gladiators have equaled their total of a year ago, when they finished 4-17.
Grand Rapids South Christian (4-0) – Former assistant Kim Legge took over this season for longtime successful coach Jim DeBruyn, and the Sailors haven’t missed a beat. Friday’s 46-45 win over rival Grand Rapids Christian kept them perfect so far.
Class C
Bath (4-0) – Winning 12 games each of the last two seasons, the Bees have been on the verge. They might be taking that next step this winter, with an early 51-31 win over Portland St. Patrick possibly making a difference in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference race.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (4-0) – The Chargers needed to bounce back from a 1-3 start last year to get back to .500, but things are off on a much better note with wins over Sparta (55-19) and Hudsonville Unity Christian (46-40) avenging December losses of a year ago.
Sand Creek (3-0) – The Aggies quietly improved from five wins two seasons ago to 14 last winter, and have continued the surge with last week’s 49-45 win over Adrian Lenawee Christian avenging one of last winter’s losses.
Traverse City St. Francis (2-1) – The Gladiators have sandwiched two nice wins around a first-week loss to Manistee; they kicked off the season beating Gaylord by seven, and edged Class D contender Frankfort last week 76-72.
Class D
Eben Junction Superior Central (3-2) – The Cougars went from 20 wins two seasons ago to 2-19 last winter, but are on their way back up again; Friday’s 49-33 victory over Rapid River put Superior Central already ahead of last winter’s squad.
Fulton-Middleton (2-0) – The Pirates were only 7-14 a year ago, but already have an impressive win – 49-40 over Fowler, a team featured in this report a week ago after its 2-0 start.
Lake Linden-Hubbell (4-0) – The Lakes are halfway to last season’s win total and looking for their first winning season in three after downing Watersmeet and Ewen-Trout Creek on back-to-back nights.
Wolverine (2-2) – The Wildcats earned their second win of the young season last week, 50-21. They won only four games total in 2014-15, not earning their second victory until Jan. 12.
PHOTO: Shepherd, in white, picked up its first win of the season last week against Sanford Meridian. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)