Class A: GPS Points to Finals
March 16, 2012
EAST LANSING – This month has been filled with firsts for Grosse Pointe South – first Regional Title, first Quarterfinal win, first Semifinal appearance.
On Saturday, the Blue Devils can cap their historical run with a first-ever MHSAA girls basketball championship.
They didn’t secure that opportunity until junior Claire DeBoer grabbed the game’s final rebound with three seconds to play in Friday's Semifinal. But she knocked down two free throws, and Grosse Pointe South outlasted Ann Arbor Huron to win 44-41.
“I was so excited when they fouled me, because I felt like I could knock the shots down,” DeBoer said. “And I was really excited when both of them went through and there were four seconds left.
“It just felt amazing.”
Grosse Pointe South (23-3), an honorable mention in the final Associated Press Class poll, will take on top-ranked Grand Haven (26-1) at noon Saturday. Both are playing for their first MHSAA championship.
But first, the Devils had to survive the most even game of this weekend so far. Both teams shot 35.7 percent from the floor. Both scored 20 points in the post. Huron had a few more assists, as South had a tough time holding onto the ball at times. South had a few more steals, as Huron had a tough time engaging its press because of its struggles offensively. Both teams had only one scorer in double figures.
And both had a chance until the end.
Grosse Pointe South led for the final 16 minutes, but by only a point after Huron freshman Ariel Bethea’s basket with 32 seconds to play. The teams traded possessions until Huron launched a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining. It looked good from the release, maybe to go in off the glass. But it missed, and DeBoer came down with the rebound and was fouled.
“Our game plan was to pressure them and wear them down. I think for the most part it worked,” Huron coach Steve Vinson said. “We just dug ourselves too deep of a hole, and could never get back up.”
Huron junior guard Bianca Williams led her team with 14 points and four steals. Senior center Logan Sims had nine points and six rebounds.
The Devils have no one to match the height of Grand Haven’t 6-foot-5 center Abby Cole – DeBoer is the team’s tallest player at 6-1. But she’s formidable in the post as well – she had game highs of 16 points and 14 rebounds Friday. And Grosse Pointe South is plenty confident it can utilize a few more strengths, including abilities to run the floor and apply defensive pressure.
“They’ve got a big team, they’re the number one team in the state, and they were expected to be here. We’re the so-called Cinderella,” Grosse Pointe South coach Kevin Richards said. “But I do like some of our matchups.
“We're excited, but we're definitely not settling for a runner-up.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Grosse Pointe South senior guard Caitlin Moore pulls up for a shot Friday. She finished with six points, four rebounds and four steals. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
With Hodos Again Showing the Way, Pittsford Primed for Another Title Chase
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2025
Becky Hodos waited about an hour before she called her husband, Chris.
“I know. I saw it,” he said when he answered the phone.
“I think you should take it,” Becky responded.
The two were discussing a Facebook post in October in which Pittsford announced it was looking for a varsity girls basketball head coach.
“They posted it on the Pittsford Facebook page at 8:30 in the morning,” Hodos said. “I had eight or nine calls by 10 o’clock. Then my wife called.”
Chris Hodos indeed applied, interviewed and got the job as the Pittsford girls basketball coach, returning to a job he thrived before stepping away five years ago. The results have been eerily similar to before.
The Wildcats are 21-0, ranked among the top Division 4 teams in the state and about to start what Hodos hopes is another long tournament run.
“I really didn’t know what to expect from the girls,” Hodos said. “I’ve been away from it. I wasn’t paying very close attention.”
Everyone is paying attention to Pittsford now. The Wildcats have already clinched the Southern Central Athletic Association East championship and are one of just two undefeated teams remaining in Division 4. They are the top seed in next week’s District at Reading.
“There is little doubt having Chris back on the sideline was a good thing,” Pittsford athletic director Mike Burger said. “Our community loves our kids and the effort they put into everything they do. Chris brings energy every day, so I know they are happy with the swagger he brings.
“(Plus) I thought it was good for him,” Burger said. “He just seemed a little withdrawn. Coaching helped bring his fire back.”
Hodos stepped aside after the 2018-19 season. His son was about to play college baseball in northwest Ohio, and he planned on relaxing and watching baseball. He had been coaching football, basketball and baseball at Pittsford.
“No one believed me when I said I was stepping away,” he said.
The Wildcats went to three Class D Finals in a row from 2015-2017 under Hodos, winning championships in 2016 and 2017. If Pittsford defeats Waldron on Thursday, it will be the sixth time in his nine seasons as head coach that the Wildcats have gone unbeaten during the regular season.
Pittsford has had some close calls this season but has found a way to come back even from double-digit deficits in multiple games.
“When you have the best player on the court every night, that helps,” Hodos said.
His best player is Grand Valley State University signee Ava Mallar. She is a four-year starter who is just shy of 1,600 career points, and played significant roles as Pittsford won 18 games each of the last three seasons.
“I honestly was pretty shocked on how well we are doing,” Mallar said. “We lost two seniors, one of which put up a lot of points. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s been awesome. Beating Reading after losing to them twice last year was really good.”
Mallar was a student manager for Pittsford and Hodos years ago.
“I was the manager when he coached my older sister,” she said. “He worked well with our last coach (Aaron Davis). So, when he came, the expectations were the same and practices were sort of the same.”
Hodos also was familiar with Mallar in another way. His day job is as a salesman at Frank Beck Chevrolet in Hillsdale. He sold Mallar a car a couple of years ago.
“He has a good relationship with our whole family,” Mallar said.
Hodos is highly complimentary of his lead scorer.
“She’s the real deal,” he said. “Against Saline (Washtenaw) Christian she had 17 points in the fourth quarter and we came back from 10 points down. She had 27 of our 37 against Reading.”
Mallar said she elevated her game against Washtenaw Christian.
“There’s a point where I know where I have to step up,” she said. “The best part of my game is when I am driving to the basket and making people guard me and creating shots for my teammates. I knew I had to take over if we were going to pull it off.”
Mallar had a triple-double earlier this season and came within two assists of a quadruple-double.
“I honestly thought I had a horrible game, then I found out I had a triple-double. I guess it wasn’t too bad,” she said.
While Hodos has built the team around his star senior, he is also building for the future. Two Wildcats starters are freshmen and two more freshmen come off the bench. He said he is planning to stay at least five years this time around.
“Mike (Burger) asked me if this was just for one year,” he said. “I said, ‘No, I’ll stay five.’ I might stay longer. We’ll see.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Chris Hodos (left of scorer’s table) coaches his Pittsford girls basketball team this season. (Middle) Ava Mallar sets up for a free throw against Reading. (Photos by Joe Flaherty/Hillsdale Daily News.)