Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 8
January 27, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Just more than a month remains in the MHSAA girls basketball regular season.
After a brief midseason break, Breslin Bound is back with a look at four teams in each class to pay attention to after they served notice again over the last week.
Class A
Allen Park (9-2) – The Jaguars have raced to the top of the Downriver League at 6-0 in-conference heading into tonight’s matchup with second-place Brownstown Woodhaven to finish the first half of the league season. Allen Park finished third in the league in 2013-14.
Grand Ledge (9-2) – The Capital Area Activities Conference Blue leader graduated its two top scorers after making last season’s Class A Semifinals and took a bad loss to DeWitt during this season’s first week. But the Comets have won five straight and are 7-0 in league play after the first run through the schedule.
Kalamazoo Central (10-1) – The Maroon Giants took their first loss Saturday, 71-57 to Chicago Simeon, but remain undefeated in Michigan and atop the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East standings. Central opened last week by handing Class C Niles Brandywine its first loss, 68-65 in overtime.
Traverse City West (9-2) – The Titans' only losses came to Marquette and Midland Dow in their hometown over holiday break. They’ve won six straight to start 2015, handing Manistee its lone loss and Gaylord its only loss in league play to move to the top of the Big North Conference after finishing third a year ago.
Class B
Clare (9-3) – The Pioneers are playing from a slight deficit over the second half of the Jack Pine Conference season after losing to first and second-place Beaverton and Gladwin, respectively, by a combined three points. But they beat Central State Activities Association Gold leader Big Rapids 40-36 on Monday.
Marshall (10-1) – The Redhawks own a half-win lead on Jackson Northwest in the first-year Interstate 8 Athletic Conference, having beaten the Mounties by 11 on Jan. 16. Marshall’s only loss came to Williamston during the first week.
Perry (9-2) – The Ramblers also are surging in a first-year league, the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, going 7-0 in league play so far to move a win ahead of Olivet. Perry finished runner-up to powerhouse Goodrich last season in the Genesee Area Conference Red.
Plainwell (12-0) – The Trojans have won 18 games each of the last two seasons, but appear poised for more with a one-win lead on Otsego in the Wolverine Conference East and a defensive effort that hasn’t given up more than 35 points since Jan. 6.
Class C
Flint Hamady (9-0) – The Hawks haven’t lost a GAC Blue game in nearly two calendar years and show no sign of breaking that streak, although second-place Morrice hosts Hamady tonight. The Hawks have won all of their games by double digits, including against nonleague local rivals Flint Southwestern and Flint Northwestern.
Gobles (10-0) – Last season’s Class C semifinalist hasn’t lost a step as it has cruised back to the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference North. The Tigers have scored more than 60 points eight times and hit 70 once; they’ve held all but one opponent to 24 or fewer points.
Kent City (11-2) – The Eagles took over first place alone in the CSAA Silver with a 58-46 win over second-place Morley Stanwood on Friday and are 7-0 in 2015. The lone losses came to Class A DeWitt during holiday break and Class B Coopersville in early December.
Saginaw Nouvel (8-3) – The Panthers’ schedule is packed with much larger opponents, with Mid-State Activities Conference leader Carson City-Crystal last week one of the few also from Class C. Nouvel beat the Eagles 48-41 and travel to reigning Class D champion Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart tonight.
Class D
Bay City All Saints (8-3) – The Michigan Summit League leader has rebounded from a 1-3 start and hasn’t lost since Dec. 11. The Cougars held on to the top spot with a 34-23 win over second-place Saginaw Arts & Sciences two weeks ago and have doubled last season’s win total of four.
Kingston (11-2) – The Cardinals sitting atop league standings is nothing new, and they’re leading the North Central Thumb League by two wins over Deckerville after beating the Eagles 44-30 on Friday. Among conference opponents, only Deckerville, in their first meeting on Dec. 9, has come within single digits of knocking Kingston from its perch.
Morrice (11-1) – Regardless of what happens against Hamady tonight, Morrice can continue to boast as a strong Class D team in a league filled mostly with Class C. The Orioles did lose to co-second-place New Lothrop by three points two weeks ago, but also beat New Lothrop by a bucket in overtime on Dec. 9.
Pittsford (12-0) – The Wildcats are the last in Class D without a loss and handed the second this season to Cascade Conference co-leader and Class C Manchester, 47-39, on Monday. That was only the second game Pittsford has won by fewer than 26 points – the other close win came against Pioneer North Central of Ohio.
PHOTO: Saginaw Nouvel earned a key win against another Class C team, Carson City-Crystal, and sits 8-3 with five weeks until the start of the MHSAA tournament. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Hemlock Arrives at Breslin, Makes Itself at Home in Reaching 1st Final
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2023
EAST LANSING — Hemlock certainly made up for a lost opportunity in its Division 3 Semifinal against Hart on Thursday.
In 2021, after advancing to the Semifinals for the first time, Hemlock had to withdraw from the tournament after a positive COVID-19 test was discovered before its scheduled game at Breslin Center against Grass Lake.
Earning its way back to the Division 3 final four this year, Hemlock played for that 2021 squad and this year’s team with intensity from the opening tip.
Instead of playing nervous in its first Semifinal game, Hemlock came out like it was playing in the comforts of home during a December practice, storming out to a 21-1 lead after the first quarter en route to a 57-26 win over the Pirates.
The Huskies will meet Blissfield at 4 p.m. Saturday for the Division 3 title in a matchup of two teams both looking to win a Finals championship for the first time.
“I’ve received so many well wishes and texts from players who didn’t get that opportunity who were on that team and were encouraging these girls,” Hemlock head coach Scott Neumeyer said. “I told them that they should’ve had that opportunity. I hope they felt they were a big part of this.”
Senior Regan Finkbeiner led all scorers with 24 points, and junior Lauren Borsenik had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Hemlock (25-3).
Finkbeiner went 9 of 13 from the field overall and 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while Borsenik went 8 of 10 from the field.
Senior Aspen Boutell scored seven points to lead the way for Hart (24-4), which was making its first trip to the Semifinals.
“They came out and really executed the game plan,” Hart head coach Travis Rosema said of Hemlock. “We had some nerves and had some shots that didn’t fall. But they executed better than us.”
The first quarter was all Hemlock, which made 9 of 14 shots from the field, held Hart to 0 of 9 shooting and forced eight turnovers.
The quarter was perfectly punctuated when Chloe Watson hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded to end the first.
“Our first quarter has been our best quarter,” Neumeyer said. “We’ve jumped on several teams this year. I’m not going to say I was surprised. I know what these girls are capable of.”
Hart played Hemlock close to even in the second quarter, but the Huskies still took a 29-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The third quarter was also fairly even, with Hemlock holding a 43-19 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Hart had a flurry to cut its deficit to 19 halfway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t put a further dent in Hemlock’s lead the rest of the way.
“What happened two years ago was obviously really devastating and sad,” Finkbeiner said. “The year after, we were like ‘We will make it to Breslin this year. This is our year.’ We lost in Districts. This year, we really focused on the next game. Not Districts, not Regionals and not the Breslin. Just one game at a time. Being here and playing here is unbelievable.”
Now, Hemlock will try and make its season more unbelievable with a win over Blissfield.
“We know we’ve got a tough opponent ahead of us in Blissfield,” Neumeyer said. “They’ve got size, they’ve got speed and they’ve got guards. But (my team) came here to play two games, not one.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hemlock’s Hannah Borsenik (24) works to get a shot up over Hart’s Chloe Coker during Thursday’s Semifinal. (Middle) Kylee Miller (1) is defended by Marianna VanAgtmael (23).