Class C: Victory like no other
March 17, 2012
EAST LANSING – Alexis Huntey had never cried after winning a game. And it’s not like she and her teammates were new to the feeling.
Morley-Stanwood girls teams have achieved their share of significant milestones the last few years. And seniors Huntey, Bailey Cairnduff and Elyse Starck have been big parts of many of them.
But earning the Mohawks’ first-ever MHSAA basketball championship Saturday at the Breslin Center was like nothing those stars had experienced in sports before.
Huntey and Cairnduff also led the school’s volleyball team to the Class C title in the fall. And that was an emotional win. But there was just something different this time, evidenced by what fell with the final buzzer of the Mohawks’ 61-57 win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Miss Basketball Madison Ristovski.
“Basketball is just such an emotional sport out there. Every basket and every play is so key,” Huntey said. “I can’t even describe it. ... I cried today."
Cairndorff added, “We all cried like babies out there.”
No doubt, a decade of just-misses dissolved with those tears.
Morley-Stanwood had won 11 straight league titles and seven straight Districts heading into this March. But the Mohawks had never reached the Semifinals – and needed a two-point win over frequent power Kent City in the Regional Final to keep this run alive.
Morley-Stanwood coach Bob Raven told his players he’d kiss the Spartan head at center court if the team got to Breslin. They did, and then went a step further by beating reigning champion St. Ignace in Thursday’s Semifinal. When the Mohawks finished their 28-0 run Saturday afternoon, Raven kept that promise.
“I’ve been coming to these state Finals for a lot of years as a spectator. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better Class C game than that one,” Morley-Stanwood coach Bob Raven said. “I’ve know there have been some good ones over the years. (Flint) Hamady and St. Ignace a few years ago. But this one ranks right up there with them.”
Much of the credit fell to Miss Basketball.
University Liggett’s Ristovski, who has signed with the University of Michigan, scored 42 points – second most in MHSAA girls basketball championship game history to Peggy Evans’ 47 for Detroit Country Day in 1989. Ristovski did so on an impressive 15 of 29 shooting from the floor despite drawing attention from multiple defenders, just as she has all season.
The only defender who didn’t help on Ristovski was Starck, who instead focused fully on younger sister Haleigh Ristovski. Haleigh hit six 3-pointers in the Knights’ Semifinal win over Concord, and Raven knew that couldn’t happen again if his team was to come out on top. The plan worked – Haleigh Ristovski had only three points in the Final. But University Liggett also struggled to find additional help for their star, which might’ve cost the Knights in the end.
“We talked about it at halftime, and timeouts. We were stagnant, did a lot of standing around and stuff,” Knights coach Joe LaMagno said. “We showed signs of people moving, then went right back into it again. It was a trap we fell into ourselves.”
Madison Ristovski scored all 11 of her University Liggett's points in the fourth quarter as the teams remained within three points of each other throughout. Morley-Stanwood held a 59-57 lead after Starck split a pair of free throws with 37 seconds to play, giving Liggett another chance to tie or take a late advantage.
Ristovski moved around the 3-point arc looking for a shot, and settled for one from near the elbow at the top of the key. It missed – only the second miss on seven shots in the quarter. Two more free throw makes put the game out of reach.
“These girls don’t get rattled like their coach does,” Raven said. “They’re pretty low-key. We don’t have that rah-rah, fired-up girl on the team, and I think that helps us. They are so even-keeled when things are going great and then when they aren’t going great. I think that helps us battle through those situations.”
Huntey, Cairndorff and Starck combined for 55 points – Huntey had 27 and 16 rebounds, Cairnduff scored 18 with nine rebounds, and Starck added 10 points and five assists.
University Liggett also finished runner-up in 2011. For the second straight season, Madison and Haleigh Ristovski had to leave the Breslin floor with tears in their eyes as well – although not without plenty to be proud off in the days ahead.
“It's worse the second time,” Haleigh Ristovski said. “I'm still proud of her though. Madison played awesome.
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Morley-Stanwood celebrates its first MHSAA championship. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
Performance: Bellaire's Lexi Niepoth
January 12, 2018
Lexi Niepoth
Bellaire senior – Basketball
Bellaire’s 5-foot-8 forward added another memorable accomplishment to a high school career she expects to finish this spring with 11 varsity letters across three sports. Niepoth, a Class D all-state honorable mention a year ago, grabbed 27 rebounds to go with 24 points in a 54-21 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston on Friday to set a school record for rebounds and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Niepoth is averaging 15 points, 14 rebounds (including six offensive), 3.8 steals and 2.2 assists per game, and her 27 rebounds made the MHSAA record book tying for 17th-most grabbed in one game. Niepoth is a four-year varsity basketball player, and this season’s team is 8-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class D by The Associated Press. Niepoth’s impact on both ends of the floor is obvious; she’s the best passer on the team to go with her scoring and rebounding, and she’s a “ball hawk” defensively able to guard every position while helping key the Eagles’ press. Niepoth also was a four-year varsity volleyball player and all-area selection as an outside hitter, and she’ll play her third year of varsity softball in the spring – she had to miss last season after injuring an ankle near the end of basketball season.
Her athletic successes go hand in hand with her classroom performance. Niepoth has a 3.945 grade-point average and is leaning toward studying psychology at Ferris State University after graduation. She has worked as a teacher aide in a special education class and would like to work with children in the future. She serves as a fine example to players coming up in Bellaire’s program, and she’ll be back on the court Friday against Pellston – before a matchup Wednesday against rival Gaylord St. Mary that likely will pit the first-place teams in the Ski Valley Conference.
Coach Brad Fischer said: “From day one she has made us a better team. Flat-out, she is a game changer, a tenacious player that never quits on a play. She can and often does dominate the game by her relentless effort rebounding and controlling the boards. The defensive pressure she puts on our opponents makes us go. … Her impact on the entire program may be immeasurable. For the past four seasons she has given her team, the program, and me as her coach the belief and confidence that no matter who we play we have the chance to win each contest. Not every program can say that, and I can without hesitation. Belief and confidence plays an important role in athletics, academics, and in life. With her that belief and confidence has made it throughout our entire program by her peers watching her and the constant positive examples we use of her for our younger players to emulate. That has made such a positive flow of influence from the high school level all the way down to our youth program. Lexi has been one of the main reasons for our recent success through her dominance, reliability and being a great teammate and role model on and off the court.”
Performance Point: “I don’t really think about it as I play. I just go for the ball. At halftime, my coaches kept telling me to rebound, and I could just tell; they were like, ‘You’re pretty close to the record.’ So I just kept rebounding and didn’t want to think about it a whole lot, so I didn’t freak out. When I was sitting on the bench, the JV coach that was sitting on the bench came to me and said, ‘You’re really close. Just keep playing, and keep rebounding.’ During the game, I don’t really think about how much I score or how much I rebound, so it’s rewarding – and it shocked me, to be honest.”
Own the boards: “My coach says sometimes in practice how I’m falling in love with just jumping for the ball instead of boxing out. But I feel like when they shoot it, I just assume it’s not going to go in, because obviously I like to rebound. But I also try to watch where the ball is going to bounce off the rim. I don’t really box out, to be honest. I just kinda run around the people – and then just jump as high as I can to try to get the ball.”
Finish strong: “We’re senior-based. I’ve been with Tally Goodwin all four years too, and I think her and I probably work the best just because we’ve had that experience. … Ever since freshman year, I never really thought senior year would come. I think it’s kinda cool: We were good freshman year. We were good sophomore year. We struggled junior year, and this year I feel like everything is clicking and the teamwork and team chemistry is probably one of the best I’ve had all my four years.”
Be the example: “I love the younger kids, and actually last year I was the coach and helped out with one of the youth programs. I just hope that I’m a good role model for them to become and do their best – (to teach them) the work ethic, or always trying your hardest even if you’re down by 15 or you’re up by 20, to try to still go after every ball, try to still make every lay-up, every shot. And also how you work with your teammates and how you work with the other teams, your sportsmanship and your attitude.”
On a mission to help kids: “I went to Belize on a mission trip with my youth group (over Christmas her freshman year), and it kind’ve all started there. You do things for them, say things to them. You teach them, and it sticks. It’s rewarding to see what you taught them and their growth.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Bellaire's Lexi Niepoth (13) blocks a passing lane during a game this season. (Middle) Niepoth makes a move to the basket. (Photos courtesy of the Bellaire girls basketball program.)