Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
February 3, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re closing in quickly on that time of year when months of work will play out in girls basketball league championships and this winter – for the first time – seeding of the top two teams at the District level.
Much could be determined in league races this week – check out our “Can’t-Miss Contests” below, which include a sixth game because five just wasn’t enough to note all of the high-profile conference clashes that deserve mention.
We’re also less than two weeks from undertaking the seeding process in basketball for the first time – and need your help. The teams receiving those top-two spots in District brackets – for girls and boys – will do so based on success and strength of schedule, and it’s imperative for MHSAA.com to list all games played and correct scores for each. Know a score we don’t or realize a game is missing that should be added? Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected]. Every result affects multiples of others, and we thank you for your help in advance.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on those results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 68, Detroit Martin Luther King 43 – The Technicians clinched the Detroit Public School League East title outright by handing rival King its first loss.
2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 36, Farmington Hills Mercy 29 – The Mustangs moved into a first-place tie in the Detroit Catholic League Central by handing rival Mercy its first loss and after falling to the Marlins 46-34 on Jan. 7.
3. Midland Dow 52, Midland 33 – The Chargers avenged a 38-31 loss from Dec. 19 in a big way, handing the rival Chemics their first defeat.
4. Southfield Arts & Technology 59, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 47 – The Warriors’ tough schedule is paying off as they’ve won five of their last six games and handed Carman-Ainsworth its first loss.
5. Detroit Edison 54, Detroit Renaissance 52 – Edison moved to 12-0, but the Phoenix gave the Pioneers their closest in-state game in nearly two calendar years.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Battle Creek Lakeview (9-4) After winning 12 games both of the last two seasons, the Spartans are on pace to surpass that total by the end of the regular season. They also enjoy a slight lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East after avenging their opening-night loss to Battle Creek Central (10-3) with a 35-33 win Friday. Lakeview’s only two losses since an 0-2 start are to teams with double-digit wins, Portage Central (10-2) and Battle Creek Harper Creek (11-2).
Detroit Cass Tech (12-1) As noted above, Cass Tech is a league champion again after sharing the PSL Midtown title with King last season. LaTonya Tate, a star on Cass Tech’s 1987 Class A championship team, has built the program into a contender again. Its only loss was to Davison on Dec. 29 at the Motor City Roundball Classic, and Cass Tech also picked up a strong 46-40 win over Southfield A&T on Jan. 25
DIVISION 2
Cadillac (12-0) A 42-40 win a week ago over McBain provided one of the few scares of the season for the Big North Conference-leading Vikings. They’ve run their league winning streak to 16 after closing last winter in the Division 2 Quarterfinals – pretty impressive only a season and a half removed from a 3-18 finish in 2017-18. Cadillac can clinch the league title – at least a share, or outright – Friday against Traverse City West.
Ludington (11-1) Since falling big to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (12-2) in its season opener, Ludington is unbeaten and nearly unchallenged with only two of those wins by single digits and those two games both against Division 1 schools. The Orioles hold a one-game lead on Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Lakes 8 Athletic Conference standings after sharing the title with the Warriors a year ago.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The reigning Division 3 champion had high expectations for this season and rightly so, bringing back most of its firepower from a year ago. The Pirates have celebrated two seniors scoring their 1,000th career points this winter and an early win over Southfield A&T. The losses were pretty strong too – to Grass Lake (12-1) and Division 1 East Lansing (12-1). P-W could meet Grass Lake again in a Semifinal at Breslin.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (12-4) After falling to P-W in overtime in a Division 3 Semifinal last season, the Gators are sticking to a winning gameplan. They’ve played 12 of 16 games against teams with winning records and seven games against teams with double-digit wins. They beat two of those 10-win teams over the last two weeks – Royal Oak Shrine Catholic and Jackson Northwest – and their three in-state losses were to Division 1 Ann Arbor Huron (12-2) and Brighton (11-1) and Division 2 Harper Woods Chandler Park (7-6).
DIVISION 4
Camden-Frontier (13-1) Even with just one loss, Camden-Frontier probably was considered just a notch below undefeated Pittsford heading into last week’s matchup – plus Pittsford had beaten C-F at least 17 times in a row (which is as far back as MHSAA.com data goes). But the Redskins came away with a 54-34 win and moved into a first-place tie with the Wildcats in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. They meet again Feb. 17.
Deckerville (10-3) The Eagles entered one of the biggest small-school games in the state last week battling history as well as an unbeaten opponent – and owned the night. Deckerville avenged a 41-28 loss to Kingston from Dec. 16, handing the Cardinals their first loss this season and first league loss since 2013-14. The win also put Deckerville into a first-place tie with Kingston in the North Central Thumb League Stars.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (13-1) at Grosse Pointe South (10-3) – Dakota leads the Macomb Area Conference Red with two more wins than South, but South handed Dakota its only loss, 49-46, on Jan. 17.
Tuesday – Michigan Center (10-3) at Grass Lake (12-1) – Grass Lake won the first meeting 51-46 on Dec. 18 and can edge closer toward the Cascades Conference title with a regular-season sweep.
Thursday – Brooklyn Columbia Central (12-1) at Ida (12-2) – This could nearly decide the Lenawee County Athletic Association title as BCC looks to hold off Ida for the second straight season and won the first matchup 44-36 on Jan. 7.
Thursday – St. Ignace (10-1) at Sault Ste. Marie (11-1) – The Blue Devils are hoping to take back a share of first place in the Straits Area Conference after losing it to the Saints in a 40-37 nail-biter Dec. 20.
Friday – DeWitt (11-2) at East Lansing (12-1) – The Trojans lead the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by a game over DeWitt thanks to a 62-38 win over the Panthers on Dec. 20.
Friday – Fremont (9-4) at Big Rapids (12-1) – Fremont’s 39-33 win in the first meeting Dec. 20 was Big Rapids’ only loss, and remains the reason Big Rapids trails only Fremont in the Central State Activities Association Gold.
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PHOTO: Deckerville handed Kingston its first loss of the season last week, and first league loss since 2013-14. (Photo by Jackie Salowitz.)
Arbor Prep Wins Semifinal Rematch of Last Season's Division 3 Decider
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2025
EAST LANSING — Ypsilanti Arbor Prep junior Angela Meggisson said she was thinking about one thing when she stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds left and the score tied during Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Niles Brandywine.
“I was just thinking this is on me,” Meggisson said. “I was just thinking about my team and helping my team.”
Meggisson certainly did that, knocking down both free throws to give Arbor Prep a 31-29 victory over Brandywine and another trip to the championship game.
The Gators will look to win their second title in a row and third over the last four years when they face Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
The Semifinal was a rematch of last season’s Division 3 Final, also won by Arbor Prep, 33-30.
After rebounding a missed open 3-point attempt by Brandywine with just more than a minute left Thursday, the Gators worked the clock down to 16.8 seconds left and called timeout.
Then, on a scramble for a loose ball inside the 3-point line in the waning seconds, Meggison picked up the ball and was fouled while she heaved it toward the basket as the final seconds ticked down.
Following the free throws, Brandywine couldn’t get off a shot attempt before the buzzer sounded to end the game.
It was yet another defensive struggle between Arbor Prep and Brandywine.
“Our programs have a lot in common,” Arbor Prep head coach Scott Stine said. “Both teams pride themselves in defense.”
Brandywine held a 17-9 lead at halftime after Arbor Prep shot 3 of 22 from the field during the first two quarters.
The message from Stine to his team in the locker room was simple.
“There’s no 8-point play,” he said. “But you all have the heart of a champion. We’re going to go out there and grind it out, and nobody is going to remember the first half.”
It was a much better offensive showing from Arbor Prep during the third quarter, as the Gators hit 5 of 7 shots and took a 22-21 lead into the fourth.
Meggisson tied the game at 29-29 on a basket with 3:22 left, and those were the last points until her free throws that won it.
Meggisson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and senior Eliza Bush added nine points for Arbor Prep (16-12), which held a 33-15 rebounding advantage and had 17 offensive rebounds.
Brandywine senior Adeline Gill scored 16 points to lead the Bobcats (27-1), who lost for the first and only time this season.
“We have 13 girls in there who are hurting really bad,” Brandywine head coach Josh Hood said, adding later that despite the tough foul call at the end, it wasn’t the reason why his team lost.
“If we would’ve made a couple more 3s and stopped two of their backdoor sets there in the second half, we would have won the game.”
PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep’s Jourdin Lewis (14) makes a move toward the lane while Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) turns back to defend during their teams’ Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Gators and Bobcats players contend for a loose ball.