Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 11
February 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If the conclusion of league races this winter is an indication of what we should expect when the MHSAA Tournament begins in two weeks, fans will be on the edges of their respective seats.
Just this past week we had Norway downing Ishpeming and Carleton Airport edging Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central both by a point with titles on the line. Hamilton got past Holland Christian by a mere basket in another matchup of league contenders, and Hartland and Blissfield won only more comfortably by five apiece to secure championships.
And those are just five more scores in addition to those occupying the usual spot below kicking off our Breslin Bound report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Midland Dow 46, Saginaw Heritage 44 – Revenge surely was sweet for the Chargers, who moved into a first-place tie in the Saginaw Valley League North by handing the Hawks their first loss this season and after losing to Heritage 50-47 in overtime Jan. 17.
2. Birch Run 56, Frankenmuth 49 – The Panthers still trail the Eagles by a win in the Tri-Valley Conference East, but they did break Frankenmuth’s 105-game league winning streak.
3. Houghton 46, Marquette 40 (2OT) – No league title was on the line in this one, but perhaps the status as top team in the Upper Peninsula with the undefeated Gremlins making another strong claim.
4. DeWitt 55, Lansing Waverly 52 – The Panthers avenged their lone loss of this season, which came 55-47 to the Warriors on Jan. 6, to hold onto first alone in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red.
5. Sandusky 38, Reese 23 – The Redskins can claim to be the best of a strong group of Class C teams in the Thumb with wins over the two-loss Rockets and two-loss Harbor Beach as well.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Flushing (14-2) – The Raiders have won 13 straight since back-to-back early losses to Heritage and Dow and should clinch a share of the Flint Metro League title Tuesday against Linden. It’s been nearly a repeat of the 2015-16 regular season, when Flushing came back from the same losses to finish 19-3.
St. Clair Shores Lakeview (16-1) – The Huskies dominated the Macomb Area Conference Blue, and that lone loss came just two weeks ago by a point in overtime to second-place Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. Not a bad way to add to last season’s District title and 14-9 overall finish.
CLASS B
Fowlerville (12-5) – With two more wins, the Gladiators will guarantee their best finish this decade, with last season’s 13 victories coming after seasons of four and one, respectively. The attention-grabber was last week’s upset of 2016 Class B semifinalist Bay City John Glenn, 60-48.
Detroit Mumford (12-5) – The Mustangs have earned a berth in Saturday’s Detroit Public School League championship game against Detroit Martin Luther King. Mumford could be a team to watch in Class B again with four losses this winter to Class A teams (including twice to King) and after making the MHSAA Quarterfinals a year ago.
CLASS C
Springport (13-2) – The Spartans may need to win out to secure the Big 8 Conference championship, but set themselves up over the last 10 days with wins over second-place Jonesville, third-place Homer and in overtime over Quincy. The win over also-reigning league champion Homer avenged Springport’s only Big 8 loss.
Leroy Pine River (14-2) – Three teams are tied for first place in the Highland Conference with three league games to play, and Pine River is among them after avenging an earlier loss last week to co-leader McBain. The Bucks have won outright or shared the last two titles and also are tied with Manton this time.
CLASS D
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (15-2) – The Titans can clinch the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title with a win Saturday against Three Oaks River Valley. The championship would be Michigan Lutheran’s third straight, and its only losses this winter are to league leaders – Class A St. Joseph and Class B Buchanan.
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (13-1) – The Storm hasn’t lost a Mid-South Conference game since the start of the 2011-12 season and can clinch another league title this week. Rudolf Steiner also could improve on last season’s 18-3 overall finish, with its only loss this winter to Class C Whitmore Lake.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Clarkston (14-3) at Bloomfield Hills (14-1) – The Black Hawks are a win away from securing the Oakland Activities Association White title, but first can add to a great season by downing the second-place team in the Red.
Tuesday – Traverse City St. Francis (14-1) at Kalkaska (12-2) – Kalkaska has the lead in the Lake Michigan Conference because it dealt St. Francis’ only loss Jan. 14.
Thursday – Marquette (15-2) at Houghton (17-0) – Ten days after the game mentioned at the top of the report, these two will meet again.
Saturday – Detroit Martin Luther King (16-1) vs. Detroit Mumford (12-5) at University of Detroit Mercy – The PSL championship game features a matchup King has won twice already, but an opportunity for Mumford to send a shockwave throughout the state.
Saturday – Detroit Country Day (15-0) at Saginaw Heritage (15-1) – Consider this a little pre-postseason tune-up for contenders in Class B and A, respectively.
PHOTO: Flushing’s 14-2 start this season included a win over Flint Hamady on Feb. 7. (Click to see more from Varsity Monthly.)
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 8
January 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Everyone loves snow days. But here’s hoping the frigid weather warms up quickly enough to make way for the start of the final month of girls basketball season.
This week is filled with titanic matchups that will end up helping to decide league championships – and likely foreshadow a number of key postseason duels as well.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Edison 53, Pewamo-Westphalia 39 – This was the third straight season these powers had met, with Edison adding to its wins in the 2016 Class C Final and 2017 Semifinals.
2. Detroit Cass Tech 61, Detroit Martin Luther King 59 – Cass Tech avenged a three-point loss to King on Jan. 9 to join the Crusaders in a first-place tie in the Detroit Public School League Midtown with one league game left for both.
3. Grand Haven 78, East Kentwood 55 – After falling twice to East Kentwood last season, Grand Haven took over first alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red with this big win.
4. Flint Kearsley 55, Flushing 50 – This close win pulled Kearsley into a first-place tie in the Flint Metro League with Fenton just ahead of Flushing, which beat Fenton two weeks ago.
5. New Lothrop 47, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 41 – After a rough start, the Hornets finished the first half of the regular season with four straight wins, this one over an annual championship contender the most encouraging.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Bloomfield Hills Marian (11-0) – Two wins in two weeks over rival Farmington Hills Mercy has Marian comfortably atop the Detroit Catholic League Central after Marian and Mercy shared the title a year ago. Marian added a District title last season and could be line for more – the Mustangs remain the only team to defeat 2018 Class A semifinalist Grosse Pointe North this winter.
• Walled Lake Western (12-0) – We featured Western on Second Half two weeks ago, and the Warriors have added two more wins since to remain the only team unbeaten in Lakes Valley Conference play. A league title would be the program’s third straight, and Western has won 21 straight LVC games since falling in the season opener last winter.
DIVISION 2
• Corunna (12-0) – The Cavaliers have won nine straight by double digits and can all but lock up the Genesee Area Conference Red title with another victory Friday over second-place Flint Hamady, which Corunna beat in overtime on Dec. 14. Corunna had finished third in the league the last two seasons but did earn a District title to close last winter.
• Stanton Central Montcalm (11-0) – The Hornets have run their regular-season winning streak to 31 and hold a slim lead over Fremont in the Central State Activities Association Gold after a 30-point win in their first meeting Jan. 4. Central Montcalm has won all six of its 2019 games by at least 30 points, showing plenty of bounce-back after last season’s run was stopped abruptly by a first-round District loss.
DIVISION 3
• Brown City (11-1) – The Green Devils have climbed to the top of the Greater Thumb Conference East thanks in part to last week’s overtime win over second-place Sandusky. They then matched last season’s win total with another victory Friday over Capac (after going 11-10 in 2017-18), and the lone defeat this winter came over holiday break to one-loss Kingston.
• Carson City-Crystal (8-3) – The Eagles have three defeats, but to teams that are a combed 29-5 including Central Montcalm (mentioned above). Carson City-Crystal sits atop the Mid-State Activities Conference after ending Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s 24-game league winning streak last week, 31-27. They meet again in the regular-season finale, Feb. 28.
DIVISION 4
• Camden-Frontier (9-4) – The Redskins are tied for first in the Southern Central Athletic Association East with annual power Pittsford and already have avenged two early losses with rematch wins over Reading and Waldron. Camden-Frontier improved to finish 14-9 a year ago and closed with a District title, and could be on the verge of another step up.
• Kingston (11-1) – The Cardinals are eyeing a seventh-straight league title, with a slight lead on Deckerville in the North Central Thumb League Stars. They’ve won 53 straight league games going back to 2012-13 and are trying to build on last season’s Quarterfinal run. The only defeat this winter was by four to Division 1 Utica Eisenhower, and Kingston beat Deckerville by 29 in their first meeting.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – East Lansing (12-0) at DeWitt (11-1) – The Trojans hold a slim lead on the Panthers in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue thanks to a 45-41 win in their first meeting Dec. 14.
Tuesday – Southfield Arts & Technology (12-1) at Royal Oak (12-0) – The winner will finish the first run through Oakland Activities Association Red play alone in first; the rematch is Feb. 28.
Friday – Midland Dow (10-1) at Saginaw Heritage (10-0) – This will be a full house for much more than the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans visit; these two are tied for first in the Saginaw Valley League Red, and Heritage also beat Dow in a District Final last year on the way to winning the Class A title.
Friday – Flint Hamady (10-1) at Corunna (12-0) – Some of the details are noted above; Hamady also will be coming off a Tuesday matchup with Detroit Country Day.
Saturday – Stanton Central Montcalm (11-0) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (9-4) at Northwood University – This stacks up as Central Montcalm’s toughest test as it looks to finish a second straight regular season unbeaten.
Second Half’s weekly “Countdown to Calvin” 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: Negaunee's Abigail Nelson (42) tries to grab the ball away from Ishpeming's Jocelynn Nyman (10) as teammates MacKenzie Karki (3) and Chloe Norman (22) provide support. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)