Class A: Comeback Classic
March 17, 2012
EAST LANSING – Shar’Rae Davis had one thought when she received the ball with only a few seconds remaining and Grand Haven’s first championship on the line in Saturday’s MHSAA Class A Final.
She saw the rim on Breslin Center’s north basket. And she knew she had 12 seconds to reach it.
“I didn’t even see the rest of my team. So I was like, I’ve got to score,” Davis said. “That was my mentality.
Not only did Davis race the length of the court; she drove to finish the third-longest comeback in MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals history.
Davis completed her lay-up with six seconds to play. Grosse Pointe South couldn’t connect on its final last-second attempt. And the only thing Davis was a second late for was the start of the celebration: Grand Haven 54, Grosse Pointe South 53.
“When I made the basket, I thought it was tied or something. I was looking around for the timeout. Nothing was happening,” she said. “Then I saw Abby (Cole) jump, everyone run at me. I still didn’t believe it. I had to look at the score.”
Believe it: Grand Haven won its first MHSAA championship after surviving a harrowing double-overtime Quarterfinal against East Lansing, and a late rush by 2011 champion Inskter in Friday’s Semifinal.
But Saturday’s comeback topped them both.
Starting at the end of the first quarter, Grosse Pointe South led for 24 minutes, 5 seconds straight. The Blue Devils’ advantage reached 18 points with 1:51 to go in the third quarter.
“Obviously things weren’t looking good for us down 18. It was another nightmare,” Buccaneers coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “But there was a lot of time left on the clock. And we just talked about getting back into it one possession at a time. You can’t get it all at once. We couldn’t foul just to foul because we knew if the game was going to come down to free throws and we put them at the line, we wouldn’t have a chance.”
Instead, she directed her players to deliver the ball repeatedly to Cole.
The 6-foot-5 junior scored nine of her 18 points over the final 9:38 of the game, including seven straight free throws as the Devils tried to keep her from getting any closer to the hoop (she also had eight rebounds and eight blocks). Davis scored 14 of her game-high 19 points during that 27-10 run.
But those efforts still nearly weren’t enough.
Reeling a bit after giving up the big lead, Grosse Pointe South got a jolt of hope from freshman guard Cierra Rice. Grand Haven took its first lead in two quarters with 1:10 to play, and held a two-point advantage with 24 second to go when Rice dropped in a lay-up, was fouled, and made the free throw to give the Devils back a one-point edge.
But after Davis’ ensuing full-court scoring run, the last attempt by the Devils didn’t fall.
Only Farmington Our Lady of Mercy in 1982 (19 points) and Detroit Cass Tech in 1987 (20) made bigger championship game comebacks than Grand Haven – both to win Class A titles as well.
“We knew we could do anything because of that Quarterfinal game,” Grand Haven senior Alex Law said of the 42-40 win over East Lansing. “It was crazy, but that gave us so much confidence. I was like, ‘Let’s go, we can do this. We’ve got this. It’s our last game. Let’s do it right.’”
Grand Haven finished 27-1, losing only to East Kentwood – a loss the Buccaneers avenged later in the season. They were ranked No. 1 heading into the postseason.
Grosse Pointe South (23-4) was only an honorable mention heading into playoffs. But that didn’t make Saturday any less heart-breaking.
Four Blue Devils scored at least 10 points, led by Rice with 14 and junior Claire DeBoer with 13. Three grabbed at least 10 rebounds – Senior Caitlin Moore had 12 to go with her 12 points, and senior Catherine Palazzolo had 10 to go with her 10 points as Grosse Pointe South outrebounded the taller Buccaneers by 19.
But nine of the Blue Devils 19 turnovers also came during that final Grand Haven run, caused in large part by the Bucs’ “monster” press defense, as they call it. It produced monstrous – and championship – results.
“The past couple of games when the pressure got on, we haven’t always handled it well. And they making the adjustment and really going inside, throwing into the big girls, definitely hurt,” Blue Devils coach Kevin Richards said. “What can you say? We made plays all but right at the very end. We had a great effort and the gameplan worked. We just need to have a little bit better ball security.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Haven celebrates its first MHSAA championship. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
D1 Preview: New Finalists Assured, 1st-Time Champion Guaranteed
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 16, 2022
We will have a first-time MHSAA Division 1 girls basketball champion this weekend.
That simple statement alone should generate plenty of excitement for Friday’s Semifinals and Saturday’s championship game.
West Bloomfield finished runner-up in Class A in 1989. Rockford, Wayne Memorial and Hartland have never played in the Final, and at least one is guaranteed to do so.
DIVISION 1 Semifinals – Friday
West Bloomfield (23-1) vs. Rockford (23-2), noon
Hartland (24-1) vs. Wayne Memorial (23-2), 2 p.m.
FINAL – Saturday – 12:15 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s games are $12 for both Semifinals and Finals and are available via the Breslin Center ticket office. All Semifinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription to MHSAA.tv, and all four Finals will air live Saturday on Bally Sports Detroit’s primary channel as well as on the BSD website and app. Audio broadcasts of all Semifinals and Finals will be available free of charge from the MHSAA Network.
Here’s a look at the four Division 1 semifinals (with rankings by MPR and statistics through Regional Finals):
HARTLAND
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 4
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West and overall
Coach: Don Palmer, 13th season (254-13)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-51 (OT) over No. 2 Midland Dow in Quarterfinal, 48-46 over No. 20 Clarkston in Regional Final, 45-36 (District Final), 63-48 and 48-36 over No. 10 Howell, 60-49 over No. 18 Grand Blanc.
Players to watch: Leah Lappin, 5-9 sr. G (9.3 ppg, 36 3-pointers); Lauren Sollom, 6-2 sr. F (9.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg); Amanda Roach, 5-7 sr. G (8.8 ppg, 3.3 apg).
Outlook: The Eagles are making their first trip to the Semifinals after reaching the Quarterfinals for the fourth time over the last eight seasons. Despite the first-time appearance coming up, this lineup is experienced and also balanced – five seniors start, and Gracey Metz adds another 8.3 points and 2.9 assists per game to the mix as no player averages double-digit scoring. The lone loss came Jan. 11 to Howell and was avenged twice. Palmer, who formerly coached more than 30 years at Milford, is up to a combined 1,024 girls and boys varsity wins and entered this season seventh on the girls coaching victories list.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 9
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Brad Wilson, fifth season (80-31)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 54-43 over No. 14 East Lansing in Quarterfinal, 54-32 over No. 1 Hudsonville in Regional Final, 66-29 over Muskegon Mona Shores in Regional Semifinal, 55-43 over No. 15 Byron Center, 50-46 over Division 2 No. 8 Grand Rapids West Catholic.
Players to watch: Grace Lyons, 5-6 soph. G (11.8 ppg, 49 3-pointers); Alyssa Wypych, 5-9 jr. G (10.9 ppg, 35 3-pointers); Gabrielle Irwin, 5-9 sr. G (8.6 ppg, 2.9 apg).
Outlook: After losing to Hudsonville by 14 and 10 during the regular season, Rockford avenged those lone defeats on the way to its second Regional title (first since 2010) and now first trip to the Semifinals. The Rams have allowed only five opponents to break 45 points this season (Hudsonville twice) and one of those six games went to overtime. Irwin earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
WAYNE MEMORIAL
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 16
League finish: First in KLAA East
Coach: Jarvis Mitchell, eighth season (136-47)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 44-33 over Riverview in Quarterfinal, 40-36 over Brighton in Regional Final, 55-33 over Northville in Regional Semifinal, 61-44 over Detroit Renaissance.
Players to watch: Davai Matthews, 6-3 sr. F/C; Mayla Ham, 5-11 jr. G/F; Colleena Bryant, 5-7 fr. G. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: The Zebras are back at the Semifinals for the fourth-straight season (not counting COVID-shortened 2020). Ham, Matthews and junior Paris Bass all started in last season’s Semifinal appearance as well. Matthews is the only senior starter and one of only two on the team, and she’s a difference maker who will continue next season at Long Beach State.
WEST BLOOMFIELD
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 6
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Darrin McAllister, first season (23-1)
Championship history: Class A runner-up 1989
Best wins: 59-31 over No. 12 Grosse Pointe North in Regional Final, 72-42 over No. 3 Farmington Hills Mercy in Regional Semifinal, 46-35 over No. 13 Bloomfield Hills Marian in District Final, 73-47 and 80-65 over No. 20 Clarkston, 68-55 over No. 19 South Lyon East, 65-62 over Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Edison.
Players to watch: Summer Davis, 5-9 soph. G (14.5 ppg, 35 3-pointers, 3.6 apg, 3.3 spg); Indya Davis, 5-0 soph. G/F (14.3 ppg, 32 3-pointers, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 spg); Sydney Hendrix, 5-11 jr. F (10.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
Outlook: West Bloomfield is making its first trip to the Semifinals since 2003, and it might be just the start for a team getting significant contributions from sophomores and juniors. The Lakers’ win over Edison was Edison’s first in-state loss since 2017-18, and West Bloomfield’s only defeat came in its season opener to No. 7 Dexter. Hendrix and Indya Davis both earned all-state honorable mentions last season. Senior guard Myonna Hooper is another key contributor averaging 11.2 points and three assists per game, and senior center Zaneiya Batiste grabs a team-high eight rebounds per contest.
PHOTO West Bloomfield’s Summer Davis (23) works to get past a Marian defender during their District Final matchup. (Photo by Douglas Bargerstock.)