Centreville's Road Paved with Success
February 7, 2017
By Ryan Boldrey
Special for Second Half
When the Centreville girls hoops season got underway, head coach Jill Peterson gave her players a destination for which to shoot.
And no, it wasn’t the school’s first Regional appearance since 1998 – though after the team’s 14-1 start, that is beginning to look like a distinct possibility.
The destination was Deer Lodge, Montana.
Yet why would a girls basketball coach from southwest Michigan set her team’s collective sight on a place like Deer Lodge, Montana?
“At the beginning of the season we compared our season to a road trip,” Peterson explained, pointing out that Deer Lodge was a spot along I-90 that just seemed the right distance away. “Every day we talk about how far we’ve traveled. If it’s a real good practice (or game) we travel a good distance. If we don’t have a good practice, we talk about it and then set a goal for the next day, which may just be getting to the next city.”
To demonstrate how far the team has gone, Peterson hung a road map in the Bulldogs’ locker room. And while outsiders may not get to glimpse that map and see the marker making its way across South Dakota en route to Deer Lodge, they have witnessed Centreville sprint out to an undefeated start in Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference play and rise to No. 4 in The Associated Press Class C poll – the first time the program has been ranked in recent memory.
“When my girls saw the tweet recently that we were ranked, they texted me and said, ‘What does this even mean?’” said Peterson, who played basketball for the Bulldogs from 2001-2004. “They had no concept. And like I told them, it may change the perception of what other people think of us, but we should still think the same thing we did yesterday.”
Despite the level of excitement that comes with being ranked, remaining grounded has not been an issue.
“I definitely think it caught a lot of us off guard,” sad senior point guard Skyler DeMeyer, who dishes out a team-high 6.5 assists per game. “We weren’t expecting it, but we are trying not to think about it because anything can happen on any given night and we need to keep ourselves to a higher standard. We realize that we can always get better, and every practice we push each other to do so. We know every other team we are going to see is getting better too.”
DeMeyer has been a motivating force both through her words and actions for her teammates, and prides herself on strong communication, tough-nosed defense and creating for her teammates on the offensive end.
“I’m not a huge scorer, but I like to see the floor and I feel very confident with all my teammates,” she said. “If I get them the ball they are going to do something with it. Whether it’s another pass, a score or a foul drawn, they are going to do something.”
And while the offense may run through the scrappy senior, it’s the youthful power in the post on the receiving end of so many of DeMeyer’s passes that has helped propel the program to the top of the BCS Blue and give Bulldogs fans visions of Centreville’s first league title since the school last won a St. Joseph Valley title in 1989, as well as hopes for a bright future.
Freshman Joanna Larsen – who missed the team’s only loss in the season opener against Constantine – and sophomore Samara Schlabach provide a one-two punch down low, leading a balanced attack that sees no Centreville players averaging double figures in scoring this season.
Larsen was originally supposed to be on the junior varsity team this year but impressed Peterson so much during the preseason she was called up to the varsity.
“Joanna, as a freshman, is already so far up there with everything, it’s amazing,” said Schlabach, who leads the team scoring 9.5 points per game and surprised herself when she was named to the varsity club as a sophomore. “I’m really excited to see how far she’ll go, because she is crazy good. I’m really excited for the years to come to play with her.”
Schlabach hopes that they can build in the girls basketball program what the baseball program already has – expectations of success year-in and year-out, and she is excited to be a part of it.
Right now, though, the team is focused on getting from city to city. Destination Deer Lodge and a potential District tournament rematch with Constantine, something they don’t talk about – yet.
“We might get some flat tires along the way,” Peterson said. “But our goal is to just keep moving. If today is a flat tire, tomorrow is going to be a better day. We haven’t peaked yet, and we want to do that at the right time.”
Other players who have stepped up for the Bulldogs this year include Hannah Rice, Carly Todd, Brittany Morris, Carlee Odom and Kayla Gest, the latter of whom has dazzled with her outside shooting touch and lockdown defense.
PHOTOS: (Top) Centreville works to get the offense going during a 21-20 win over White Pigeon on Dec. 2. (Middle) The Bulldogs have held opponents to fewer than 25 points six times this season. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 1
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 9, 2024
It’s too early to tell us much. But the first week of this 2024-25 girls basketball season sure seemed to signal some potential movement at the top as we start a long road that will end in East Lansing in March.
Two of last season’s Finals champions fell in their first games of this winter – and that could mean big things for Saginaw Heritage and Gladstone, the winners of those games. A few others also jumped out immediately after just the first week of play, and as we’ll do all season, we’ve highlighted several below that made an impression.
“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. Saginaw Heritage 79, West Bloomfield 53 The Hawks (2-0) finished the first week at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep’s Ice Breaker Classic with a big win over the reigning Division 1 champion Lakers (0-1).
2. Gladstone 51, Ishpeming 47 – The Hematites (1-1) lost just once on the way to winning Division 3 last season, but Gladstone (2-0) handed them this defeat in their season opener.
3. Portland 57, Frankenmuth 56 The Raiders (2-0) opened this season with a slim but most impressive win over another regular Division 2 contender in the Eagles (1-1).
4. Onekama 61, Elk Rapids 54 (OT) The Portagers (3-0) defeated the host Elks (1-1) – returning Division 3 quarterfinalists – to open the Elk Rapids Invitational, then downed Maple City Glen Lake 57-42 for the championship.
5. Rockford 62, Wayne Memorial 45 The reigning Division 1 runner-up Rams (2-0) earned a second big win of the week over another team in Wayne (0-1) that’s always in the title conversation.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (2-0) The Big Reds nearly doubled their wins from 2022-23 to last season, from eight to 15. They are off to the right start again with a 62-46 win over Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse and 57-38 victory over Port Huron last week. Port Huron was a 16-game winner last season.
Dearborn Fordson (2-0) The Tractors have made an impressive climb over the last four seasons, from six wins in 2020-21 to 12 the following season, 16 and then 17 last winter. They opened with a one-point win over Allen Park but followed up by doubling up Dearborn Edsel Ford to finish the first week.
DIVISION 2
Gladstone (2-0) As noted above, the 51-47 win over reigning Class C champion Ishpeming was quite a start, and it was followed up by a 51-38 victory over Ishpeming Westwood – and those are even more telling with some context. Gladstone was a solid 14-9 last winter, up from eight wins the season before, and won the Great Northern Conference title – but also lost to Ishpeming twice and split with Westwood with all three losses by double digits.
Monroe Jefferson (2-0) The Bears opened with a 42-37 win over Southgate Anderson followed by a 46-43 victory over Erie Mason. It was a nice jump into the winter coming off last year’s 5-19 finish, which included a 14-point loss to Mason. Jefferson has won five games the last three seasons and could be on the way to taking another step.
DIVISION 3
Detroit Pershing (2-0) The Doughboys have posted two straight winning seasons – including an 11-5 finish a year ago – and they also are off to the right start. Pershing won big over Detroit Henry Ford in its season opener and followed that up with a 49-40 victory over Detroit Osborn. Pershing finished third in the Detroit Public School League Gold last winter.
Memphis (2-0) After much tougher days a decade ago, Memphis has hovered around 7-8 wins the last four, finishing 8-15 last season despite an 0-3 start. Last week should mean good things for this team’s fortunes, as the Yellowjackets defeated Chesterfield Austin Catholic 31-15 and Vassar 36-25, the latter avenging a 2023-24 defeat.
DIVISION 4
Petersburg Summerfield (3-0) The Bulldogs not only sprinted to start the season last week, but followed up a 53-41 win over Hudson with a 26-point victory over Division 2 Dundee and a nine-point win over Division 1 Ann Arbor Skyline. Add that to last season’s second-straight District title, a great finishing surge that came after a 2-4 season start and 1-3 end to the regular season.
Webberville (2-0) An 0-2 start last season turned into an eventual 7-14 finish, but the Spartans already have a nice jump with their season-opening 32-19 win over Morrice avenging a pair of those 2023-24 defeats. Webberville closed the week with a 54-45 win over Brighton Livingston Christian.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – West Bloomfield (0-1) at Belleville (1-0) – This week should tell us a ton about Belleville, as the Tigers first take on the reigning Division 1 champion and host Muskegon on Saturday at the Best of Michigan showcase.
Thursday – Fowler (1-0) at Portland St. Patrick (0-1) – This is always worthy of statewide attention; last season St. Patrick won the Central Michigan Athletic Conference and finished 21-3 overall, while Fowler was second, 24-4 and reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
Friday – Sault Ste. Marie (2-1) at St. Ignace (2-0) – This is the first of two meetings between these former Straits Area Conference rivals, and the Sault carries a four-game winning streak in the series.
Saturday – Rockford vs. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard at Belleville – The Best of Michigan event will tip off this matchup at 5:30 p.m. between last season’s Division 1 runner-up Rockford and Division 2 runner-up FGR.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (1-0) vs. Tecumseh (1-0) at Belleville – This Best of Michigan matchup will send reigning Division 2 champion Edison against a quarterfinalist from last season.
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PHOTO A Bath player looks to pass the ball into the post during the Bees’ 51-12 win over Fulton last week to open this season. (Photo by John Johnson.)