Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 10

February 5, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Few other regular-season wins could ever produce the joy that comes with a championship-clinching victory. But avenging a loss comes pretty close. 

Six teams on this week's list of high achievers enjoyed that feeling last week. The others just continued their impressive recent play -- good news with Districts beginning in three weeks. 

Results and overall records below again are drawn from our MHSAA Score Center. The Breslin Bound report will not be published next week but will return Feb. 18

1. Freeland (14-1) – The Falcons became on Saturday the favorite to win Class B next month with one of the best wins of any team this season – 56-52 over reigning champion Goodrich, which hadn't lost to an in-state opponent in nearly two seasons.

2. Bloomfield Hills Marian (13-2) – Marian now has avenged both of its losses, two weeks ago earning a rematch win over Dearborn Divine Child and last week getting the rematch win, 49-34, over Livonia Ladywood.

3. Parchment (14-1) – The Panthers finished second to Olivet in the Kalamazoo Valley Association by a win last season and lost to the Eagles in their third game this winter. But Parchment evened the score last week with a 33-26 win over the Eagles to move into a tie for first place.

4. Midland Dow (16-0) – After being swept by rival Midland last season, Dow got one back last week, 50-45 over the Chemics, before then earning another win over solid Saginaw Heritage 53-38.

5. Battle Creek Harper Creek (12-1) – The Beavers’ only loss, to Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, came during the second week of the season; Harper Creek avenged that loss by beating Loy Norrix 32-29 last week.

6. Howard City Tri-County (11-5) – Only 5-18 a season ago, Tri-County keeps adding to its comeback and has won three straight including an impressive 49-43 upset last week of previously one-loss Kent City.

7. Kingsford (10-3) – The Flivvers already had improved on last season’s 9-13 finish, and by beating Crystal Falls Forest Park 52-51 last week avenged one of their few losses this winter.

8. Davison (14-2) – The Cardinals have won 14 straight since going 0-fer during the final week of November and hold a 3.5-win lead in the Saginaw Valley Association South standings.  

9. Portland St. Patrick (14-1) – As stated previously, we don’t like to repeat teams on this list from week to week. But St. Patrick beat Pewamo-Westphalia 32-31 last week to avenge its only loss and move into a first-place tie in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference with only four league games to play.

10. Bronson (10-5) – The Vikings’ only loss since Dec. 27 came to a team from Indiana, and they get a chance to avenge one of their losses when they face Mendon on Friday. 

PHOTO: Midland Dow's Kristine Mussell (10) defends during her team's win last week over Saginaw Heritage; Dow is 16-0.  (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Goodrich Wins Matchup of Undefeated Contenders to Earn Chance to Finish Unbeaten

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 20, 2026

EAST LANSING – Goodrich hopes to become the next Division 2 champion Saturday at Breslin Center.

But in the meantime, the Martians can lay claim to being the state’s last unbeaten team heading into the final day of the season.

In a matchup of 27-0 teams, Goodrich earned the right to play for its first championship since winning the second of back-to-back crowns in 2013, claiming a 47-41 win over Grand Rapids South Christian in a Friday Semifinal. 

Goodrich (28-0) will try to dethrone 2025 champion Tecumseh, which eliminated Goodrich in last year’s tournament, at 6:45 p.m. Saturday. 

The Martians made it to Breslin Center undefeated largely because of its stout defense all season, and that was on display against South Christian. 

“We were able to do what we’re looking to do every game,” Goodrich head coach Jason Gray said. “And our defense really showed up tonight. They hit a couple of big 3s late against us, but in general, that’s about as good of a job as you can do defending that team.” 

The Martians limited South Christian to 16 of 42 shooting from the field, but seven of those field goals came during the first quarter. 

Over the last three, Goodrich held the Sailors to 9 of 29 shooting. For the game, South Christian was 3 of 18 from 3-point range.

“Pressure defense pushed us out a little bit,” Sailors head coach Erika Brown said. “We couldn’t get into our normal dribble-drive where we could turn the corner and get into the paint tonight. We weren’t seeing the post as well as we probably could have.”

Goodrich dominated the second quarter and built a big lead during the fourth before holding off a late South Christian comeback.

The Martians’ Sydney Place (11) and Sailors’ Sophia Prins watch Place’s shot fall as the official signals a 3-pointer.Leading 36-28 going into the fourth quarter, Goodrich stretched the margin to 14 at 43-29 with 4:59 remaining on a 3-pointer by senior Kayla Hairston. 

The Sailors had an answer though, reeling off nine straight points to cut its deficit to 43-37 with 3:13 remaining. The last six points of that run came courtesy of senior Lizzie Woithuis, who drained back-to-back 3-pointers. 

“We just knew what we had to do,” Hairston said. “They went on a little run, but that didn’t change our mindset. They didn’t make us rattled. They didn’t stress us out. We just had to play our style no matter what.”

Hairston delivered maybe the biggest rebound of the game after missing two free throws with 58.3 seconds left and Goodrich up 44-39. 

After the second miss, she tracked down the rebound near the baseline and got the ball out to junior teammate Baylor Lauinger, who was fouled and hit two free throws with 48.4 seconds remaining to make the lead seven. 

Goodrich held firm defensively and hit one more free throw to hold off South Christian. 

Hairston scored 17 points, and Lauinger added 11 points for Goodrich. 

Goodrich held a 28-19 lead at halftime after a 10-2 run. It was a different story to start the third quarter, as South Christian went on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 31-28.

But the Martians scored the last five points of the third quarter and had too much of a cushion for South Christian to overcome. 

Sophia Prins, a four-year varsity standout, scored 13 points to lead the Sailors and finish off a tremendous high school career.

“Overall, we can’t let this one game define us,” Prins said. “We have to look back at how good we performed every single game up to this point of the whole season.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston splits a pair of South Christian defenders driving to the hoop Friday. (Middle) The Martians’ Sydney Place (11) and Sailors’ Sophia Prins watch Place’s shot fall as the official signals a 3-pointer. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)