Comeback Saints Win Class D OT Thriller
March 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – St. Ignace is used to driving three hours to East Lansing for the last weekend of girls basketball season. This marked the sixth straight they’ve made the trip.
But only one other team has come from so far back to win an MHSAA championship.
With good reason, St. Ignace looked like a 2014-15 runner-up in the making trailing undefeated Pittsford by 20 two minutes into the third quarter of Saturday’s Class D Final. But the Saints never saw it that way – and launched a comeback that tied the largest in MHSAA girls basketball championship game history.
The Saints needed overtime to finish the run, but edged Pittsford 64-60 to claim their third title in five seasons.
“A lot of heart. You have to come out there and give it your all, after halftime, and we tried to,” said St. Ignace junior Abbey Ostman, whose 31 points tied for 11th most in a girls MHSAA Final. “I felt like my teammates were trying really hard, and I felt I needed to step up to help them. I knew they were here to give it their all.”
And that’s what it took for the Saints to claim their fifth championship in historic fashion.
The comeback tied Detroit Cass Tech’s in the 1987 Class A Final, when it came back from 20 down in the third quarter to defeat Saginaw 52-51 at Grand Valley State University.
The Saints (22-5) trailed Pittsford 41-21 just two minutes into the third quarter after a first half that saw St. Ignace uncharacteristically miss all nine of its 3-point attempts and shoot only 32 percent from the floor. The Wildcats, meanwhile, made half of their shots and 5 of 11 from behind the arc.
But a half, and more, remained to play.
“I told (my players) they were going to make a run. We had to weather it, and we didn’t,” Pittsford coach Chris Hodos said. “I didn’t know if it would be Ostman or (Margo) Brown who would get hot. I just didn’t know. They have two senior players who have been here a lot of times, and they know how to win games.”
Brown was the hero of Thursday’s Semifinal, when the Saints came back from 13 down to beat top-ranked Frankfort on the wave of her seven straight 3-pointers during the second and third quarters.
She followed Ostman on Saturday with 19 points, and only one 3-pointer this time. But that shot pulled the Saints within 48-43 just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter – and four minutes later she was fouled on a made lay-up and added the free throw to cut Pittsford’s lead to 50-49.
“Margo’s got the biggest heart out of any player I’ve ever coached,” said St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls, who has led the Saints for 16 seasons. “It’s heart like that as a senior, to come out and have two comeback wins, down 20, and never give up.
“When she makes that (3), the kids start to believe, but the other team starts believing, ‘Uh oh. We’re in trouble,’ if they watched the other game’s second half.”
Ostman made the score even for the first time since the game’s second minute with a free throw that tied it 54-54 with 35 seconds left in regulation. Regulation ended that way after a Brown drive during the final seconds was stopped short.
Ostman scored the first two baskets of overtime, and Pittsford answered. But junior forward Natalee Lee then gave the Saints a 60-58 lead on two free throws – and after two Pittsford turnovers Brown added two free throws as well to make it a four-point game again with 44 seconds to play.
The Wildcats got no closer.
Ostman also grabbed 10 rebounds as the Saints earned the advantage overall in that category, 42-33.
Junior forward Laura Smith led four Pittsford scorers in double figures with 14 points; sophomore Jaycie Burger added 13, senior Morgan Dominique had 12 and sophomore Maddie Clark had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Ostman started in St. Ignace’s 2013 Class D Final win as a freshman, and Smith and guard Autumn Orm came off the bench as sophomores in that game. Senior center Sarah Smith came off the bench to play big minutes as the team finished Class C runner-up a year ago.
All of that experience surely paid off Saturday, and Saturday’s could pay off quickly for a Pittsford team graduating only two players after completing the longest tournament run in program history.
“We tried not to let the size of it and the pressure of the game get to us,” Burger said. “We learned what it’s like to play in front of all of these people, how not to get caught up in the surroundings, how not to get rattled when they make their runs. We learned how to stay focused and keep ourselves under control.”
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Abbey Ostman breaks to the basket with Pittsford’s Maddie Clark (10) defending. (Middle) Pittsford’s Morgan Dominique looks for an opening in the Saints’ defense, which includes Margo Brown (24).
Injuries Add to Challenge, But Dundee Answering with Breakthrough Success
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
January 20, 2026
Ava Johnson hasn’t played in a game in two seasons, but she doesn’t want to miss any time with her Dundee girls basketball teammates.
“I still go to every single thing I can,” Johnson said. “All of the open gyms, all of the practices. I love the excitement and being part of the basketball family in any way I can.”
Johnson has torn her ACL twice – once in a Dundee game and once during a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. She may not be able to see action on the court, but her dedication to being with the team is part of the culture shift at Dundee. The Vikings started the season 6-0 for the first time since the 1990s and are 8-3 after a nonconference win at Napoleon on Monday.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Johnson said about missing her senior season. “It’s taken a lot of mental toughness, but I want to be there for my teammates. I’m always there to help, especially the younger girls. I’ll pick up the white board or answer questions when I can. You can always coach the attitudes.”
Attitudes are definitely shifting in Dundee.
“We haven’t experienced a lot of success in, really, a couple of decades,” said third-year coach Jay Briggs. “I use that as motivation. It’s a challenge. We’re seeing the difference on and off the court.”
Other than going 7-5 during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Dundee hasn’t finished above .500 since 2011-12. The Vikings haven't had back-to-back winning seasons since a stretch from 1983-1990. The last – and only – league title for Dundee was won in 1984.
Starting out 6-0 this season turned a few heads around the Lenawee County Athletic Association and Monroe County.
“While we have not won anything important yet, we are building with a youth movement,” Briggs said.
After winning six games last year, Briggs was counting on five seniors this season. Unfortunately, three of them are out with knee injuries and may not see action the entire season.
“The unique thing about those three is how supportive they have been,” Briggs said. “All three come to all practices and games to still support their teammates. The team bond is the best I have been around.”
The lack of seniors led Briggs to turn to some underclassmen, and they have responded. Two freshmen, two sophomores, a junior and two seniors make up the roster. The JV has 10 players after some offseason recruiting by classmates got some new faces interested in basketball.
“The girls did a lot of recruiting in the hallways,” Briggs said. “Some of them have never played basketball, but they are playing and having fun.”
Senior Maddie Salenbien is one of the seniors and leads the team in scoring at 11 points a game.
“Our culture has definitely changed,” Salenbien said. “We were always known kind of as a losing team. We have focused a lot about being a team and being a family. We’ve improved so much, and it’s great to see the hard work paying off.”
After starting 6-0, Dundee lost three straight games but have rebounded for two straight wins to get to five games above .500.
Freshman Aisley Cousino had a breakout game earlier this season, setting a school record with seven 3-pointers in one contest. Sophomore McKenzie Heath is second on the team in scoring after Salenbien. Junior Ella Rath is second on the team in 3-pointers with 11.
Briggs is a Dundee graduate who played basketball in high school. He was an assistant coach at Tecumseh for one season while doing his student teaching and served as an assistant coach for boys and girls basketball in Dundee before accepting the head coaching job.
He’s committed to seeing the Vikings sustain success in girls basketball.
“We have high hopes for continued success in future years,” Briggs said.
Salenbien, one of the captains, has played for a couple of coaches during her high school years but said this is the closest team she’s been on.
“I think he has really focused on changing the culture,” she said. “He told us we were going to have to work really hard. He always tells us to be friends on and off the court, and I think we are.”
Salenbien said she almost wishes she was an underclassman with more time remaining to play as a Viking.
“I think they will only keep getting better,” she said. “I’m excited to see the program keep improving even after we’re gone.”
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) Dundee players are upbeat as they run toward their cheering teammates and coach Jay Briggs during a break in a game this season. (Middle) Maddie Salenbien (14) considers her next move during her team’s 46-41 loss to Onsted on Jan. 13. (Below) Aisley Cousino (5) works to get into the lane as teammate Lacey Evans (15) moves to open space. (Photos provided by the Dundee girls basketball program.)