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.)
Michigan's Best Reach Higher at Milford
August 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP – Mackenna Kelly led her basketball team to last season’s MHSAA Semifinals and knows where she’ll eventually end up – playing for Central Michigan University in two years.
But having played on a big stage with her next destination decided didn’t keep the Frankfort senior-to-be from gaining valuable insight during this summer’s Reaching Higher showcase at Milford High School.
While most of the 200 players who participated in July’s girls and boys events sponsored by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and MHSAA did so in part to train and play in front of the numerous college coaches gathered, Kelly was able to experience a little bit of a primer for her summer 2016.
“(Reaching Higher) is a great opportunity to get noticed, show off your skills and work with different people,” said Kelly, who will sign with the Chippewas this fall. “When you go to college you’re unfamiliar with all of your teammates at first. It’s good to start working with other people.”
The Reaching Higher events, in their seventh year, again featured many of the top 100 girls and boys college prospects as selected by a BCAM committee. College coaches representing more than 30 programs combined (men’s and women’s) and all levels attended the sessions.
Former Detroit Cooley standout and current Orlando Magic guard Willie Green spoke with the boys, while former Grosse Pointe North star and University of Notre Dame captain Ariel Braker discussed with the girls some of the challenges that come with being a college athlete. Participants also learned about NCAA eligibility, and parents attended sessions on college recruiting. Meanwhile, groups of officials learned from experienced mentors and then were evaluated during games later in the events.
Players left Milford with plenty to take home not only from a personal standpoint, but to assist their teammates as well.
For Kelly, it was the potential value of the pick-and-roll game for the Panthers, who fell to St. Ignace one game from the Class D Final in March. For Munising junior Marissa Immel, it was the variety of drills she and her teammates can add to work on their skills.
Belleville sophomore Davion Williams is considered one of the state’s top prospects in his class, but saw that he needs to step up his pull-up shooting. Senior teammate Calvin Blaydes appreciated the opportunity to play with such a strong group of players – and also the necessity to adjust his game to fit theirs and a different coach’s style during the three scrimmage sessions. Jackson junior Shonte Suddeth listened closely to the Magic’s Green; “Everything he said he was doing, I’ve got to do if I want to make it to the next level,” Suddeth said.
“If you're a state’s top-100 player, you need to be here,” said Muskegon boys coach Keith Guy, who has assisted with the event since its start and led the Big Reds to the Class A title in 2014. “I think it’s a great way the state is trying to give back to these athletes ... and I think kids need to take more advantage of this opportunity.”
Click for photos of the girls event and photos from the boys event, and see below for video explaining the Reaching Higher events.
PHOTOS: (Top) Fruitport's Iyana Brown (92) and Temperance Bedford's Kendall Anderson prepare to launch for the jump ball during a Reaching Higher scrimmage. (Middle) Southfield Christian's Brock Washington prepares for a free throw.