Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 12
February 19, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The girls basketball season has entered its final week, and teams are finishing historical runs and preparing to start anew Monday with the beginning of Districts all over the state.
Below are 10 teams that have been riding high of late, and for the most part all season.
1. Detroit Martin Luther King (17-0) – This team is making a strong argument to join the list of top-notch King achievers over the years, and beat Detroit Cass Tech 45-38 in the Detroit Public School League championship game.
2. Niles Brandywine (18-0) – Brandywine survived a small scare against Bronson with a 34-28 win and will be one of the most intimidating teams in Class C when Districts begin.
3. Marquette (16-3) – The Redettes have only one loss since falling to Brighton and Petoskey during opening week – to Houghton two weeks ago. But Marquette evened that series by beating Houghton on Thursday in the rematch, 58-55.
4. Clarkston (17-1) – A 50-43 win over Southfield-Lathrup capped a three-victory week and might be the best of an impressive run this winter.
5. Ann Arbor Huron (13-4) – Huron did lose to Clarkston last week, but has won 10 of its last 11 including beating reigning Class B champion Goodrich on Thursday, 55-53.
6. Burton Bendle (16-2) – Although the Tigers did drop their second game with New Lothrop this season, on Feb. 7, they won a rematch last week against Flint Hamady, 57-55, after falling to Hamady on Jan. 8.
7. Carson City-Crystal (16-2) – The Eagles are having one of their finest seasons ever, and last week’s 41-37 win over powerful Saginaw Nouvel is the best Carson City-Crystal win in recent (and perhaps distant) memory.
8. Pickford (11-6) – Save for a pair of losses to championship contender St. Ignace, Pickford’s other four losses are by a combined 19 points. The Panthers avenged one last week by beating DeTour 42-28.
9. Grand Haven (17-0) – The reigning Class A champion is closing in on a perfect regular season, about the only that that eluded the Buccaneers in 2011-12 when they finished 27-1.
10. Gaylord St. Mary (18-2) – Combined with last season’s regular-season finish, St. Mary is 37-3 over the last two and looks like a Class D contender again coming off a two-point loss in its 2012 Quarterfinal.
PHOTO: Detroit Martin Luther King's Antania Hayes was named Miss PSL last week and led King to the Detroit Public School League championship at Detroit Mercy. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit PSL.)
Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 8
January 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A total of 19 teams over four classes remain undefeated as we reach the midpoint of another girls basketball season.
But a number of others aren’t far behind – more than 140 teams have lost only two or fewer games.
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
Caledonia (10-1) – The Fighting Scots have won seven straight, kept alive with a 43-41 win over Grand Rapids Christian on Friday – and are only a one-point loss to Byron Center from perfection.
Flushing (9-2) – Following up handing Detroit Renaissance its second loss, two weeks ago, Flushing nearly doubled up solid Flint Carman-Ainsworth and further extended its lead in the Flint Metro League with a win over Swartz Creek.
Southfield (9-0) – The Blue Jays’ perfect run so far has included only one win by fewer than 10 points – 46-42 over Harper Woods Chandler Park on Dec. 8 – and they have won 19 straight regular-season games.
St. Joseph (10-1) – The Bears trail Stevensville Lakeshore in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West because of a 58-55 loss to the Lancers on Dec. 11 – but St. Joseph gets a rematch Feb. 5 and is two wins better than at the midpoint last season.
Class B
Frankenmuth (10-1) – Only undefeated Bay City John Glenn has beaten the Eagles, 41-23 on Dec. 7, and Frankenmuth has downed the next four teams chasing in the Tri-Valley Conference East including handing second-place Birch Run its only loss.
Marshall (10-1) – The Redhawks are undefeated after falling to Williamston 40-33 on opening night, and two weeks ago Marshall handed Jackson Northwest its only loss to earn a one-win lead in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (9-1) -- The Fighting Irish have won nine straight since opening night, when they fell to Macomb Dakota 49-31; Notre Dame Prep hasn’t had a game closer than 10 points since Dec. 18.
Stevensville Lakeshore (9-0) – The Lancers are halfway to a third straight league title in the SMAC West and have yet to be challenged outside of St. Joseph (see above) and Elkhart Memorial (Ind.), which Lakeshore beat by a point Jan. 2.
Class C
Flint Hamady (10-0) – The reigning Class C runner-up is cruising as usual, with only one win by single digits – a 42-35 overtime victory over Burton Bendle on Jan. 8; but second-place and one-loss New Lothrop is up next.
Gobles (11-0) – The Tigers have won 51 straight regular-season games and moved to 80-5 overall during 1,000-point scorer Ellen Doyle’s career. Gobles has won six straight by 20 or more points.
Kalamazoo Hackett (10-0) – The Fighting Irish’s perfect first half has been driven by defense; Hackett hasn’t given up more than 35 points in a game and has held eight opponents to 29 or fewer.
Laingsburg (10-1) – A semifinalist last season who lost to eventual champion Calumet the game before Hamady did the same, Laingsburg hasn’t slowed in handing Bath its only loss and Class B Durand one of its two defeats.
Class D
Bellevue (9-1) – The Broncos will wait one more week for a rematch with Climax-Scotts, the only team to beat them this season, but are in line to improve significantly on last season’s 13-9 finish.
Big Rapids Crossroads Academy (11-1) – The reigning league champion Cougars have opened up a two-win lead in the West Michigan D with their only loss to expected Class D contender Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Pittsford (11-0) – Last season’s Class D runner-up held both of last week’s opponents to single-digit scoring – making that four teams this winter held to fewer than 10 points as the Wildcats have continued a 57-game regular-season winning streak.
Posen (10-0) – The Vikings have been challenged rarely, with only Hillman (twice) playing to within single digits – but Posen will get a sure challenge this week from Class C Tawas (8-2).
PHOTO: Class A contender Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a key win last week over rival Midland Dow. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)