Caro Closing In on Historic Title Claim
February 12, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With three seniors who had played at least parts of the last two seasons on varsity, and a standout freshman making her debut, the Caro girls basketball team had plenty of reasons to make winning its league the goal this winter.
But with Reese coming off its 12th-straight conference title – and Caro seeking its first since 1985 – history was not on the Tigers’ side.
That’s changed quite a bit over the last month. Caro has set itself up to make history, with a chance to head into the Feb. 20 rematch with the Rockets already owning a share of the Greater Thumb Conference West championship.
The MHSAA/Applebee’s Team of the Month for January moved to 14-1 overall and 9-0 in league play Tuesday night, a far shout from the three games the Tigers won three seasons ago and 2-19 record they posted when that current trio of seniors were sophomores.
“I’ve learned more history this year (than ever before),” Riley said Monday, a day before picking up win 14 over Vassar. “That it’s only the third winning season in 24 years. And if we hold on to our first place in the league, it would be the first time in 35 years we’d win a league championship.
“It’s been a fun experience. My first two years we won five games combined, and last year we won 10. And if we win both games this week, we’ll match three years of wins in just 16 games this year. That’s kinda special.”
And pretty incredible.
Caro indeed finished 3-17 in 2016-17, with current senior forward Kaitlyn Arebalo a freshman on the varsity.
Now-senior point guard Ellie Hornbacher joined the mix for that 2-19 run in 2017-18 before an injury ended her season six weeks early. Classmate Raegan Ball also came up to varsity for a handful of games at the end of that winter, picking up some valuable experience.
While not necessarily historic, last season certainly was an improvement. The Tigers were at points 7-4 and 10-8 before settling in at 10-11 after losing their final three games – including 63-23 to Reese.
That has to be something of a distant memory at this point. Caro’s only loss this season came in its third game, to Sandusky (13-3). The Tigers handed the only defeat to GTC East leader Ubly (14-1) and also picked up a 23-point win over Croswell-Lexington (10-7) in their first game of calendar year 2020.
Two weeks later, Caro beat the Rockets 46-37.
“Before Reese, I just told them the pressure was still on Reese. They’re the 12-time defending league champs, and we don’t have anything to lose,” said Riley, who served as the junior varsity coach for five years before taking over the program prior to 2016-17. “That’s kinda been our chip on our shoulder all year. The girls came up with the slogan at the beginning of the year of ‘Respect all. Fear none.’ And that’s the mindset they’ve taken.”
Freshman Adelyn Moore is a player area teams likely will fear for the next three years. She’s Caro’s leading scorer (17 ppg), rebounder (10.6) and also averages the most steals (5.6) for a defensive effort giving up 34 points per game.
Arebalo adds 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds game, and Ball has sharpened her shooting this winter and is averaging 8.4 points per game. Hornbacher, last year’s leading scorer, made a decision this season to become more of a distributor instead – and while she’s down a few points to 6.4 ppg, she’s grabbing 8.2 rebounds per game at 5-foot-6 and dishing a team high 4.4 assists per contest.
That defensive average is a definite difference this season – and has been one of Riley’s points of emphasis from the start. But just as impressive are the 54 points Caro is scoring on average – up from the low 30s of the last few winters.
Riley multiple times Monday threw complete credit to his players, who have bought into the heightened defense and cultivated the offense it has produced. Combine those improvements with strong senior leadership and a freshman standout, and ending the title drought hasn’t seemed at all far-fetched.
“It was just going to be how we blended together,” he said. “I wasn't sure necessarily how that would take off. But the seniors have mentored the other players, and those other players have had some pivotal roles for us.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2019-20
December: Hartland girls basketball - Report
November: Bridgman girls cross country - Report
October: Allegan boys tennis - Report
September: Ishpeming Westwood girls tennis - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Caro's Adelyn Moore pulls up for a shot during her team's 46-37 win over Reese on Jan. 23. (Middle) This season's Caro girls basketball team. (Top photo courtesy of Sports Finest Magazine; middle courtesy of the Caro girls basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 6, 2025
There’s really no such thing as a holiday “break” for many of the state’s basketball teams – and instead of slowing down, several seemed to move closer to top speed with impressive runs over the last three weeks.
Today’s “Breslin Bound” covers that final week of the full schedule before school let out to finish December and the two weeks of break that rolled us into January and a few strides closer to the midpoint of this season.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on 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 Renaissance 50, Detroit Edison 48 The Phoenix (9-0) began a 4-0 run through the break by avenging last season’s eight-point loss to the reigning Division 2 champion Pioneers (6-2).
2. Belleville 46, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 45 The Tigers (7-0) claimed arguably their most impressive win yet this winter over last year’s Division 2 runner-up Irish (8-1) at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest at Wayne Memorial.
3. Pewamo-Westphalia 53, Flint Powers Catholic 50 The Pirates (7-0) have impressed winning four games this season by three points or fewer, claiming this one over a Powers team (5-2) coming off a run to the Division 2 Quarterfinals last year.
4. Rockford 52, Howell 35 Two days after Howell (4-3) made some impressive noise with a win over Saginaw Heritage, the Rams (7-1) showed again they are still one of the teams to chase with this victory at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest.
5. Greenville 54, Kent City 35 Greenville (7-1) tied its win total from last year (six) with this Cornerstone Holiday Classic victory over Kent City (6-2), then surpassed last season’s success by defeating Grand Rapids Covenant Christian two days later.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Belleville (7-0) The Tigers are coming off a drive to the Division 1 Semifinals last season and haven’t slowed a step. They added a 3-0 run at Metro Detroit events over the break to an impressive start, downing Parma Western and East Kentwood in addition to the win over Father Gabriel Richard noted above – with the wins over Western and FGR those teams’ only losses this season. All this season but the FGR victory have come by at least 15 points, including as well impressive showings against Muskegon and reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield.
Midland (6-1) The Chemics welcomed back past coach Elaine Mahabir after seven seasons away and three straight sub-.500 finishes, and they already are approaching last season’s nine wins coming off defeating rival Dow 55-52 and Northville 65-63 in overtime to close December. Midland’s 42-37 win over Flint Hamady to open this winter remains Hamady’s only loss, and the Chemics’ lone defeat came to one-loss Grand Haven. The win over the Chargers broke an 11-game losing streak against Midland’s rival going back to the 2019-20 season.
DIVISION 2
Negaunee (9-0) A Division 2 semifinalist last season, Negaunee has made at least the Regional Finals the last three years and is keeping to that high standard again. The Miners’ performance at their Irontown Holiday Bash at the end of December especially sticks out – Negaunee handed previously-undefeated Ewen-Trout Creek a 47-30 defeat before downing Ludington 50-41 in a rematch of last year’s Regional championship game. On Friday, the Miners will play their first of two games against reigning Division 4 champion Ishpeming, the only team to defeat Negaunee during the 2023-24 regular season as they split matchups and shared the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East title.
Sault Ste. Marie (6-1) The Blue Devils have run into Negaunee in the postseason two of the last three, and they may be on a collision course again especially given the Sault’s great start which has included wins over St. Ignace and Harbor Springs and the only loss to still-undefeated Chelsea at Aquinas College. The 57-41 Harbor Springs win Friday avenged a loss from a year ago, and the 50-49 win over the Saints on Dec. 13 remains St. Ignace’s only defeat with a rematch coming up Friday. Sault Ste. Marie finished 14-7 a year ago and won the Straits Area Conference but is playing as an independent this season and has a remaining schedule loaded primarily with Division 1 opponents.
DIVISION 3
Blissfield (7-1) A loss in another well-planned test against undefeated Division 2 Tecumseh left the only flaw on an otherwise perfect record so far as the Royals look to build on seasons of 27 and 22 victories, respectively. Blissfield’s start also has included a 43-35 defeat of Brooklyn Columbia Central – avenging last year’s Regional Semifinal loss – and most recently a 45-43 close call against Leslie. The Royals have won two straight Lenawee County Athletic Association titles and this time should face some serious competition from undefeated Ida and Adrian Madison (also 7-1). The first matchup with Ida is Thursday.
Sandusky (7-0) A 38-14 win over Deckerville at Little Caesars Arena was the latest for this undefeated contender and the state’s all-time winningest girls basketball coach Al DeMott. The Wolves reached the Division 3 Quarterfinals a year ago with their only regular-season loss coming in the first of two meetings with league rival Harbor Beach – which Sandusky plays for the first time this season Thursday as both seek to win the first-year Big Thumb Conference Black. Caro and Unionville-Sebewaing, with 11-point losses, have come closest to approaching Sandusky so far.
DIVISION 4
Munising (6-0) The Mustangs could be on the verge of equaling their 8-0 start from last season, when they went on to finish 21-5. But to do so, they must begin this week Tuesday with a win over Bark River-Harris, which finished just ahead of Munising for the Skyline Central Conference Large-school division title last winter. The Mustangs should be ready to give it a go; they’ve defeated four teams that are 4-2 so far and have won all but one of their games by at least 16 points.
Onekama (6-0) The Portagers have jumped from three to five to eight to 14 wins over the last four seasons, respectively, and could add to that run this winter after a start that’s included a pair of victories over Maple City Glen Lake – after splitting with the eventual Northwest Conference co-champion last season – plus single wins over Traverse City St. Francis and Elk Rapids. Onekama will have two more chances to avenge 2023-24 losses this week, Thursday against Benzie Central and Saturday against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Country Day (8-0) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-0) – Both own notable wins from the first five weeks, but whichever comes out on top will have its best victory yet this winter.
Thursday – Ewen-Trout Creek (7-1) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (7-0) – There’s intense recent history here as LL-H was second and E-TC third in the Copper Mountain Conference last year, with E-TC then ending the Lakes’ 23-2 season in the Regional Semifinals.
Thursday – Chelsea (6-0) at Tecumseh (6-0) – The Southeastern Conference White may come down to these two again after they split last season’s two meetings – and the championship.
Friday – Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (7-1) – The Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold has five teams at 5-3 or better, and these two look to be among top contenders with West Catholic coming off winning the O-K Blue last year.
Saturday – Tecumseh (6-0) at Rockford (7-1) – Two days after the Chelsea matchup, Division 2 title hopeful Tecumseh will test itself against a Division 1 championship contender.
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PHOTOS (Top) Belleville's Paisley Stephens (4) gets to the basket during a win over Parma Western on Dec. 21 at Detroit Renaissance. (Middle) Tecumseh's Faith Wiedyk (2) drives the baseline against West Bloomfield also at the Lady Phoenix Shootout. (Photos by Team Arreguin Photos.)