Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
February 3, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It’s rematch time for MHSAA girls basketball teams.
Fewer than four weeks remain until the start of District play March 2. From this point on, most teams will be seeing league opponents for the second time – and often with much on the line.
See below for teams that impressed last week, many doing so in rematches or with key ones coming up.
CLASS A
Midland Dow (10-2) – The Chargers took a half-game lead in the Saginaw Valley Association North by beating previous leader Saginaw Heritage 45-39 on Friday. Dow had fallen to Heritage 49-39 on Dec. 16 and now can keep an eye out for third-place Midland, which it will host Feb. 13.
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (11-3) – Friday’s loss to Grand Rapids Union aside, this has been a nice run for the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black co-leader. The Rockets finished third last season but led the league this winter until falling to third-place Union by a point, 46-45. Reeths-Puffer takes on co-leader Mona Shores on Friday.
Southfield-Lathrup (11-1) – These Chargers are undefeated in Michigan with their only loss coming by a bucket to Toledo Rogers on Dec. 13. Southfield-Lathrup has beaten a solid group of opponents including last week Oakland Activities Association Red second-place Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, which is 10-3. The Chargers get another second-place OAA Red team this Thursday in 11-3 North Farmington.
Wyoming (11-2) – The Wolves sit atop the O-K Bronze standings at 5-0 through the first half of the league schedule. They haven’t lost a league game since Jan. 8, 2013, but face second-place Grand Rapids Northview on Friday in their second matchup of this season.
CLASS B
Croswell-Lexington (11-2) – The Pioneers have won eight straight since falling to Port Huron Northern in the semifinals of the Marysville Invitational and are tied with Armada for first place in the Blue Water Area Conference. The only league loss came to Capac, and Croswell-Lexington avenged it with a 33-29 overtime win last week.
Houghton (12-2) – It’s shaping up as another special season for the Gremlins, who split last season’s West Peninsula Athletic Conference title but lead second-place Calumet after beating the Copper Kings by three on Jan. 20. Houghton beat last season’s co-champion, L’Anse, 64-31 on Monday after edging 10-win Kingsford in overtime Friday.
Kalkaska (11-1) – The Blazers' only slip-up this winter came Jan. 9 to Traverse City St. Francis, the only team ahead of Kalkaska in the Lake Michigan Conference standings. It’s a nice jump from last season’s 12-win finish – and with the rematch against St. Francis still to play.
Midland Bullock Creek (14-0) – The Central-leading Lancers dominated a tough Tri-Valley Conference crossover week, beating East leader Frankenmuth 57-40 (both of Frankenmuth’s losses are to Bullock Creek) and then handing West leader Ithaca its first loss this season, 63-52.
CLASS C
Laingsburg (13-0) – The Wolfpack edged 10-win Class B Perry 31-28 last week to remain perfect and lead Pewamo-Westphalia by half a win in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference thanks to a 36-33 win over the Pirates in mid-December. Those two meet again Thursday.
Leroy Pine River (8-1) – The Bucks have won seven straight and lead the Highland Conference after finishing second to McBain a year ago. McBain is in second to start this week and hosts Pine River on Thursday.
Ishpeming (11-2) – The Hematites took a tough loss Monday, 34-32 to Iron Mountain. But they remain in first place in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference with their only other loss to nonleague Gladstone during the season’s second week. Ishpeming had beaten Iron Mountain by 15 in their first meeting.
Niles Brandywine (12-1) – Last week we highlighted Class A Kalamazoo Central, the only team to beat Brandywine this season (and in double overtime). Brandywine continued to cruise last week, finishing with a 62-59 win over Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph West contender Buchanan – Brandywine has dealt the Bucks both of their losses this winter.
CLASS D
Baraga (8-4) – The Vikings have bounced back nicely off last season’s six-win finish. They are tied for first place in the Copper Country Conference despite a tough stretch of three straight losses, including two to league foes, in mid-January.
Gaylord St. Mary (12-3) – The reigning champion in the Ski Valley Conference is chasing from third but has won seven straight and with the teams it trails next up on the schedule – first-place Johannesburg-Lewiston tonight and second-place Bellaire next week.
St. Ignace (10-5) – The Saints are holding on to slim lead in the Straits Area Conference thanks in part to senior Margo Brown, an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner this week who has a season high of 41 points and recently set the school record with 11 3-pointers in a game.
St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic (9-3) – The Lakers are one of few teams in Michigan that play in multiple conferences; they’re in third place behind Class C Brandywine and Class B Buchanan in the BCS West, but are undefeated atop the Red Arrow Conference.
PHOTO: Detroit Pershing opened this season's Public School League Tournament with a victory over Detroit Communication Media Arts last week. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Class B: Goodrich to Greatness
March 17, 2012
EAST LANSING – Flint Powers Catholic stood in the way for a long time. Then Detroit Country Day. Last season, Dearborn Divine Child stopped Goodrich one game short of its first championship chance.
So although the Martians talked early this season about remaining hungry despite their recent success, it’s hard to believe losing that drive was ever a possibility.
Goodrich was on the edge of elite then. But Saturday’s 60-53 win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central gave the Martians both their first MHSAA title and a final boost into that group of teams considered the state's best regardless of class.
It didn’t come easy. But it seemed nearly inevitable after the team advanced to the Quarterfinals in 2010 and the Semifinals a season ago.
“When we went into that huddle, Coach was speaking and we’re like, just hold your heads high. We’re fighting. We want this,” Goodrich senior Frankie Joubran said. “Because what it comes down to is who wants it more. I guess it showed."
Saturday’s Final was Goodrich’s first. The Martians, ranked No. 1 in Class B heading into the tournament, finished 28-0.
But just because Goodrich knocked off the reigning champion in the Semifinal, beating Grand Rapids Catholic (24-4) was anything but a formality.
Cougars seniors Shellis Hampton and Tiesha Stokes were in their third championship game in four seasons, and going for the 100th win of their four-year varsity careers. Stokes had 19 points and 11 rebounds Saturday and Hampton had 12 points and six assists.
After trailing by two at halftime, the Cougars led 40-39 with a quarter to play.
“We had a lot of things that didn’t go our way,” Goodrich coach Jason Gray said. “But eventually, we had that last run in us.”
Grand Rapids Catholic increased its lead to five with 5:32 to play. But the Martians finished on a 9-2 run thanks to scoring from four players over the final 2:07.
“We were pretty even on a lot of things, but a couple of possessions we missed some rebounds, and I think that killed us,” Grand Rapids Catholic coach Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate said. “It’s so back and forth, back and forth, and we needed to get some rebounds. It’s a one possession game all the time.”
Joubran led Goodrich with 16 points and junior guard Aketra Sevillian added 13.
Seven seniors will graduate from a team that finished 51-1 over the last two seasons. And the Martians also had a deeper inspiration to finish on top this season.
Longtime administrator Al Martus remains a legend in Goodrich and was close to both Gray and some of the team’s leaders. He began battling pancreatic cancer a year ago and died over the summer.
Photos of Goodrich’s state champions hang in the hallway outside the gym. So does a large picture of Martus. And next to that is a blank spot soon to be occupied by the team he provided with so much.
“It was weird, but we didn’t talk about it a lot as a team. But it was always there,” Gray said. “I don’t know if we kept quiet because we didn’t want to end up in the same situation or feel bad again.
“He was a great man, a great boss to me, and great mentor to the girls. And I know he’d be very proud of the effort they put forth this year.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Goodrich celebrates its first MHSAA championship. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)