Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 6
January 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As we head toward the midpoint of this girls basketball season, a few intriguing teams are making us keep an eye out thanks to wins over opponents who traditionally don’t lose much.
Read on for the details on why Detroit Renaissance and Durand have become teams to watch – plus a look at 14 more that stood out not only over the last week, but during the first six of the season so far.
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
Detroit Renaissance (8-1) – The Phoenix could be Detroit’s best for the first time since finishing Class A runner-up in 2011; Renaissance’s only loss is to undefeated Bay City John Glenn, and it’s beaten usual Detroit leader Detroit Martin Luther King (68-65 on Dec. 17) in addition to strong teams Detroit Henry Ford, Farmington Hills Harrison and Manistee.
Grosse Pointe North (6-0) – The Norsemen have finished a few wins above or below .500 every season of this decade and exactly even a year ago, but have won all of their games by double digits so far and are more than halfway to equaling last season’s 11 victories.
Utica Eisenhower (8-0) – The Eagles came off a solid 15-8 and second-place league finish a year ago, but have stormed to this start with six wins by at least 12 points including their first in Macomb Area Conference White play over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley on Friday.
St. Johns (6-2) – The Redwings broke into the Capital Area Activities Conference Red hunt coming back off a December loss to leader DeWitt by handing former co-leader Haslett its first loss, 52-40 on Friday, after losing to the Vikings by 33 and 19 last season.
Class B
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (6-0) – The Fighting Irish have risen steadily the last three seasons and tied Macomb Lutheran North for the Catholic League AA title last season; they’ve got the upper hand this time after downing Lutheran North 43-35 last week.
Center Line (6-1) – The Panthers are regulars lately at the top of their Macomb Area Conference division and look like potential favorites in the Gold this winter with two games holding opponents to single digits and two more keeping teams to fewer than 20 points.
Durand (6-2) – Not only are the Railroaders off to their best start since 2010-11, but they handed annual power Goodrich its first league loss since at least that long ago and now have a nice early advantage in the Genesee Area Conference Red standings.
Perry (5-0) – The Ramblers under coach Tim Beebe are 39-10 over the last two-plus seasons and have a game on the rest of the Greater Lansing Activities Conference pack – plus three two-point victories, including last week’s over above-mentioned Durand.
Class C
Adrian Madison (7-0) – The Trojans are working toward their fifth straight Tri-County Conference championship and own a one-game lead on two second-place teams including Morenci after Friday’s 59-28 win over the Bulldogs. No opponent has come closer than 10 points so far.
Detroit Cristo Rey (6-1) – One more win this season will give Cristo Rey its most since 2011-12, and all six this winter have come by double digits and with five opponents scoring 18 or fewer points.
Marlette (6-1) – The Red Raiders already earned a big boost in the Greater Thumb Conference East, bouncing back from their lone loss to beat reigning champion Sandusky before the break; the next big matchup is Friday against league co-leader Harbor Beach.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (8-1) – A Class C semifinalist last season, Arbor Prep again has loaded the schedule to prepare for another run and owns a nice win over Manistee, with its only loss to Class A Ann Arbor Huron. Waterford Kettering, Saginaw Nouvel, Bay City John Glenn, Bloomfield Hills Marian and Detroit Country Day are among opponents coming up.
Class D
Detroit Public Safety Academy (5-1) – This is the Eagles’ first season of MHSAA Tournament eligibility, and they’re looking like an interesting possibility to do something in Class D; last week’s win came over Dearborn Advanced Tech, which beat above-mentioned Cristo Rey, and Public Safety also owns a victory over Class B Detroit Osborn.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (8-0) – Keyed by dominating center Averi Gamble, Sacred Heart again is navigating a strong nonleague schedule in addition to some good competition in the Mid-State Activities Conference; she had eight of her team’s 22 points in last week’s four-point win over league foe and previously-undefeated Carson City-Crystal. The Irish beat Gaylord St. Mary (6-2) earlier in the week.
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (5-1) – The Titans did open last week with a 52-47 loss to once-defeated Class B Buchanan, but came back to beat rival St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic 46-41 and take a two-game lead in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White.
Stephenson (7-0) – After losing five of their final seven to finish last season 10-10, the Eagles have bounced back well with six wins by at least 16 points plus a 56-53 victory last week over Class B Gladstone.
PHOTO: A St. Louis shooter prepares to launch; the Class C Sharks are 5-0 this season. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Gladstone Senior Standout Sharp from Start This Season
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
December 29, 2021
GLADSTONE — They say practice makes perfect.
Gladstone’s Claire van Ginhoven is very close to that from the free throw line, where she’s cashed in on 40-of-42 shots through her first six games this season.
The senior guard had sank her first 28 before missing her last one in a 53-42 victory over Kingsford on Dec. 14.
“I definitely work on that a lot and improved a lot from last year, although I’m more of a 3-point shooter,” said van Ginhoven, who has qualified for the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan free throw competition at this winter’s MHSAA Finals. The top 10 free throw shooters in the state are invited to be part of the field.
She also was connecting on more than 40 percent of her 3-point attempts through the team’s first five games.
“I’m able to drive more to the hoop this season. Running our offense is giving me and my teammates more opportunities to score,” she said. “We run a weave, and I think our rotation works well.”
Coach Andy Cretens is impressed with van Ginhoven’s play this season. She opened with 38 points against Gwinn and is averaging 19.8 ppg.
“Claire has ability to score from anywhere on the floor,” he said. “She changes the dynamics of our offense and forces opposing teams to change their game plan. Last year was the first time Claire was asked to be a leader. That was a great learning experience for her, but she became a stronger player by having to handle adversity.
“Claire is a late bloomer. She’s nowhere near her peak yet. She has a lot more development to go.”
The 5-foot-9 standout played at Bark River-Harris as a freshman before transferring to Gladstone as a sophomore.
She plans to continue her basketball career at Finlandia University in Hancock next winter. Cretens believes college ball will be a good experience for van Ginhoven.
“That helps keep players motivated because they have something to look forward to after high school,” he said.
“I think Claire raises the level of competition for us and motivates the other girls to put more time into their game. She’s a good role model for our younger girls.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Gladstone’s Claire van Ginhoven gets to the basket last season against Ishpeming. (Middle) Van Ginhoven puts up a shot against Kingsford last winter. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)