Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 12
February 24, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Believe it or not, girls basketball practice began more than three months ago.
Fifteen weeks later, we have only one more of the regular season, making this our last chance to tout the races for league titles that will finish playing out over the next six days.
Read on for some of the teams that either accomplished big things over the last week or still can – and we’ll look at more Monday as we jump into the start of District tournaments all over Michigan.
CLASS A
East Kentwood (10-8) – The Ottawa-Kent Conference Red race has been close among the top four teams, and East Kentwood beat fourth-place Rockford on Friday to set up tonight’s likely championship game against Hudsonville (see below). The Falcons were 7-14 and fifth in the league a year ago.
Hudsonville (10-8) – The Eagles’ turnaround has been even more dramatic than that of East Kentwood (above). Hudsonville was 2-19 and last in the O-K Red a year ago, but beat fourth-place Rockford and third-place Holland West Ottawa last week to set up tonight’s conference decider.
Marquette (18-0) – The Redettes locked up their third consecutive Great Northern Upper Peninsula Conference title, but can take the achievement to another level with two more victories this week to finish the regular season undefeated for the first time during this three-season run. Marquette beat West Peninsula Athletic Conference champion Houghton 49-40 on Friday.
Oxford (14-4) – The Wildcats have ridden nine straight wins to the Oakland Activities Association White title, clinching it last week with a 51-32 victory over second-place Troy. Oxford already had eclipsed last season’s 13 wins.
CLASS B
Center Line (16-2) – The Panthers also have won nine straight and must hold on this week against third-place Marine City and seventh-place Mount Clemens to share the Macomb Area Conference Gold title with Marysville. Center Line finished second, a game back, in the MAC Silver last season.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (16-2) – The Cougars avenged in a big way their only O-K Gold loss – 77-76 to Wayland on Jan. 23 – by beating Wayland 64-42 on Friday to move into a first-place tie with the Wildcats with two league games to play. GRCC has finished league runner-up the last two seasons.
Haslett (14-4) – The Vikings are 9-0 with standout Makenna Ott and went 5-4 without her before she returned from injury for Friday’s 57-53 win over Lansing Waverly (14-5). Her return is just in time to help Haslett hold on to a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title and possibly get revenge in the District against Williamston, the first to beat the Vikings after Ott was hurt.
Kentwood Grand River Prep (14-1) – The Titans haven’t lost since the first Saturday of this season, to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (14-3), and can clinch a share of the River Valley Conference title tonight against Wyoming Tri-unity Christian. Junior Mariah McCully sets the pace, scoring 24.4 points per game.
CLASS C
Adrian Madison (15-4) – The Trojans locked up the Tri-County Conference title with a win Friday over Petersburg-Summerfield after also avenging their only league loss, Jan. 13 to Britton Deerfield, in their rematch Feb. 10. Two of Madison’s other three losses were to teams that also have won league championships this winter.
Brown City (13-5) – The Green Devils bounced back from three straight losses at the start of February to win four straight and secure a top-three finish in the Greater Thumb Conference East. They get to see how far they’ve come Thursday against league leader Sandusky – which beat Brown City 46-38 on Feb. 3.
Manchester (15-2) – The Flying Dutch have clinched the Cascade Conference championship, besting a field with four more teams that have won at least 11 games overall. It was a nice step up after tying for second last season; the only losses this winter came early to second-place Napoleon and at the end of January to still-undefeated Pittsford.
Unionville-Sebewaing (14-4) – The Patriots’ lone league loss came to Reese – but USA regained the upper hand in the Greater Thumb Conference West by defeating the Rockets 57-44 in their rematch Thursday. USA can clinch a shared title tonight against Vassar, which the Patriots beat by four Jan. 20.
CLASS D
Athens (11-6) – Few Class D teams play in a more competitive mostly-Class C league than the Big 8 Conference, and all six of Athens’ losses were to Class C teams with at least 10 wins. The Indians have won four straight and can get further geared up for a tournament run if they tonight can avenge an earlier loss to Reading.
Battle Creek St. Philip (14-5) – Despite falling to second-place Climax-Scotts on Friday, the Tigers can clinch the Southern Central Athletic Association West title outright by defeating Colon on Thursday. St. Philip did rattle off eight straight wins during a perfect January.
Mendon (10-8) – The Hornets will have to settle for a middle finish in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference East, but are 7-2 after a tough start and have avenged losses to second-place White Pigeon and league champion Bronson. Mendon made the Quarterfinals last season and could be gathering steam again.
Waldron (11-5) – The Spartans play in the same SCAA East as the only undefeated team in Class D, Pittsford. But Waldron has won more games than all of last season and gone 9-2 since a rough early start and despite playing in an SCAA division where all four teams have 10 or more wins.
PHOTO: Haslett fell to Goodrich 55-43 on Jan. 20 but enter the final week of the regular season at full strength with the return of Makenna Ott from injury. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Post-Break
January 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The new year brings with it endless possibilities – and that extends to this Michigan high school girls basketball season.
Sure, there are some teams looking absolutely unbeatable right now – see Detroit Edison below for a closer look at arguably the best. But we have more than two months to find out and figure out a lot more as we shift over these next few weeks to league play for most and the start of the midseason grind for all of this season’s hopefuls.
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. Carlton Airport 48, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 42 – The Jets bounced back from a close loss to reigning Class D champ Adrian Lenawee Christian with an impressive win over last season’s Class C runner-up.
2. Michigan Center 95, Williamston 90 (5 OT) – Two championship contenders combined to tie for the longest game in MHSAA history and second-highest scoring.
3. Comstock 49, Kent City 44 – Standout Daisy Ansel scored 27 points to help undefeated Comstock hand Kent City a second close loss this winter, this one at Grand Valley State University.
4. St. Ignace 63, Reese 59 (OT) – The unbeaten Saints needed extra time at the Motor City Roundball Classic to hand Reese its only loss, then two days later did the same to Detroit Mumford 55-53.
5. Eaton Rapids 44, Jackson Northwest 41 – The Greyhounds remain a game below .500, but can claim the only defeat this season of the reigning Class B runner-up Mounties.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Grosse Pointe North (5-1) – A Class A semifinalist last season, Grosse Pointe North is the likely favorite in a Macomb Area Conference Red that is always among the state’s strongest leagues and this winter is made up of six teams that are all at least 5-2 to this point. Michigan State signee Julia Ayrault leads a group which has lost only to undefeated Bloomfield Hills Marian.
• Royal Oak (7-0) – The Ravens are building well on last season’s 19-3 run and shared Oakland Activities Association White title. Royal Oak is playing in the Red this winter and hoping to unseat reigning co-champions Clarkston and Southfield Arts & Technology. The Ravens already have avenged last season’s loss to the Wolves.
DIVISION 2
• Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) – The Falcons are unbeaten since falling to Traverse City West by five on opening night, and only one win away from matching last season’s 7-14 success. Among the most impressive wins is a 53-41 defeat of 2018 Class D semifinalist Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart at the Muskegon Holiday Classic, which remains the Irish’s only loss.
• Detroit Edison (9-1) – The reigning Class C champion opted up to Division 2 with its star power back from last season, and is one of two programs statewide (girls or boys) fielding two varsities. The “A” team – led by Mississippi State signee Rickea Jackson – has wins over reigning Class B champion Detroit Country Day and 2018 Class A semifinalist Wayne Memorial, with its only loss to also-nationally renowned Columbus Africentric (Ohio).
DIVISION 3
• Schoolcraft (6-0) – The Eagles have won all of their games by at least 11 points, including in handing Delton Kellogg its only defeat. Those two are among the top three in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings as Schoolcraft looks to build off last season’s title and run to the Class C Quarterfinals.
• Stockbridge (5-1) – The Panthers are early leaders in the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, a near-complete turnaround after winning five games total a year ago. The only defeat this winter came to Eaton Rapids (see above), and they entered break with a 10-point win over frequent league contender Olivet.
DIVISION 4
• Rogers City (5-1) – We highlighted Onaway earlier this season, so we’ll waste no time recognizing Rogers City coming off Friday’s 46-40 overtime win over the Cardinals. The Hurons’ only loss was by two to Division 2 Tawas in the season opener, and they also have a win over Hillman after finishing second to the Tigers in the North Star League Big Dipper last season.
• Ontonagon (6-0) – The Gladiators have a jump on surpassing last season’s 12-11 finish and should make another run at first in the Porcupine Mountain division of the Copper Mountain Conference after finishing second a year ago. A 48-40 win over reigning Class D runner-up Chassell on Dec. 18 avenged last season’s 15-point District Final loss.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Southfield Arts & Technology (6-1) at Detroit Country Day (4-3) – The Warriors’ only loss was by two to reigning Class A champ Saginaw Heritage, and they can make a statement with a victory over last season’s Class B winner.
Tuesday – Utica Eisenhower (6-0) at Grosse Pointe North (5-1) – They played in different leagues last season and combined for 39 wins. Now they’re together in the previously-mentioned MAC Red.
Wednesday – Flint Carman-Ainsworth (7-2) at Saginaw Heritage (6-0) – These are the early leaders in the respective Saginaw Valley League divisions after Heritage came in first and Carman-Ainsworth second in a combined league a year ago. They also went on to meet in the Regional Final.
Friday – Detroit Edison (9-1) at Muskegon (3-2) – The Big Reds will be up to the challenge; their losses this winter were by a combined four points to Division 1 contenders East Kentwood and East Lansing.
Friday – East Lansing (6-0) at Grand Ledge (5-1) – The reigning Class A runner-up Trojans beat rival Grand Ledge three times last season, but by only two points in the first meeting.
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: Grand Ledge, here playing Lansing Waverly in December, will attempt to hand rival East Lansing its first defeat of the season this week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)