Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 7
January 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Girls basketball teams are facing the final month of their regular seasons and for most a second run through a familiar slate of opponents.
Teams on this week's list are among those that took big steps last week toward finishing that slate strong as the tournament awaits at the end of February.
1. Frankfort (9-0, Class D) – The Panthers have returned to the elite in Class D and are on their way to besting last season’s 13-10 finish by the end of this month.
2. Pewamo-Westphalia (9-0, Class C) – The Pirates defeated rival Laingsburg on Friday to take over first place alone in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
3. Southgate Anderson (9-1, Class A) – The Titans are tops in the Downriver League, with their lone loss to solid Class B Eaton Rapids last month.
4. Wyoming (8-2, Class A) – The Wolves handed Coopersville its first league loss this season to take hold of the top spot alone in the O-K Blue.
5. McBain (8-2, Class C) – The Ramblers have stormed back with four straight wins after losing twice at the Motor City Roundball Classic and lead the Highland Conference by half a win.
6. Kingsley (8-3, Class B) – The Stags did fall to Frankfort on Friday, but should keep pace and could get another chance to play for a piece of the title.
7. Frankenmuth (7-3, Class B) – The Eagles absorbed a loss as well at the Roundball Classic, but have won six of their last seven and lead the Tri-Valley Conference East.
8. Manistee (8-0, Class B) – Playing as an independent is allowing the Chippewas to take on – and this season defeat – schools of various sizes from multiple conferences.
9. Waterford Kettering (8-1, Class A) – Kettering has won six straight and took the lead in the KLAA North with a four-point win over Waterford Mott last week.
10. Pickford (6-3, Class D) – The Panthers have rebounded from a 1-3 start to move into a tie for first in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference.
PHOTO: Waterford Kettering, here against Freeland last month, has won six straight to improve to 8-1 this winter. (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.
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.”
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.)