Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Post-Break
January 7, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The new year brings with it endless possibilities – and that extends to this Michigan high school girls basketball season.
Sure, there are some teams looking absolutely unbeatable right now – see Detroit Edison below for a closer look at arguably the best. But we have more than two months to find out and figure out a lot more as we shift over these next few weeks to league play for most and the start of the midseason grind for all of this season’s hopefuls.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or fill in scores we’re missing, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Carlton Airport 48, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 42 – The Jets bounced back from a close loss to reigning Class D champ Adrian Lenawee Christian with an impressive win over last season’s Class C runner-up.
2. Michigan Center 95, Williamston 90 (5 OT) – Two championship contenders combined to tie for the longest game in MHSAA history and second-highest scoring.
3. Comstock 49, Kent City 44 – Standout Daisy Ansel scored 27 points to help undefeated Comstock hand Kent City a second close loss this winter, this one at Grand Valley State University.
4. St. Ignace 63, Reese 59 (OT) – The unbeaten Saints needed extra time at the Motor City Roundball Classic to hand Reese its only loss, then two days later did the same to Detroit Mumford 55-53.
5. Eaton Rapids 44, Jackson Northwest 41 – The Greyhounds remain a game below .500, but can claim the only defeat this season of the reigning Class B runner-up Mounties.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Grosse Pointe North (5-1) – A Class A semifinalist last season, Grosse Pointe North is the likely favorite in a Macomb Area Conference Red that is always among the state’s strongest leagues and this winter is made up of six teams that are all at least 5-2 to this point. Michigan State signee Julia Ayrault leads a group which has lost only to undefeated Bloomfield Hills Marian.
• Royal Oak (7-0) – The Ravens are building well on last season’s 19-3 run and shared Oakland Activities Association White title. Royal Oak is playing in the Red this winter and hoping to unseat reigning co-champions Clarkston and Southfield Arts & Technology. The Ravens already have avenged last season’s loss to the Wolves.
DIVISION 2
• Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) – The Falcons are unbeaten since falling to Traverse City West by five on opening night, and only one win away from matching last season’s 7-14 success. Among the most impressive wins is a 53-41 defeat of 2018 Class D semifinalist Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart at the Muskegon Holiday Classic, which remains the Irish’s only loss.
• Detroit Edison (9-1) – The reigning Class C champion opted up to Division 2 with its star power back from last season, and is one of two programs statewide (girls or boys) fielding two varsities. The “A” team – led by Mississippi State signee Rickea Jackson – has wins over reigning Class B champion Detroit Country Day and 2018 Class A semifinalist Wayne Memorial, with its only loss to also-nationally renowned Columbus Africentric (Ohio).
DIVISION 3
• Schoolcraft (6-0) – The Eagles have won all of their games by at least 11 points, including in handing Delton Kellogg its only defeat. Those two are among the top three in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings as Schoolcraft looks to build off last season’s title and run to the Class C Quarterfinals.
• Stockbridge (5-1) – The Panthers are early leaders in the Greater Lansing Activities Conference, a near-complete turnaround after winning five games total a year ago. The only defeat this winter came to Eaton Rapids (see above), and they entered break with a 10-point win over frequent league contender Olivet.
DIVISION 4
• Rogers City (5-1) – We highlighted Onaway earlier this season, so we’ll waste no time recognizing Rogers City coming off Friday’s 46-40 overtime win over the Cardinals. The Hurons’ only loss was by two to Division 2 Tawas in the season opener, and they also have a win over Hillman after finishing second to the Tigers in the North Star League Big Dipper last season.
• Ontonagon (6-0) – The Gladiators have a jump on surpassing last season’s 12-11 finish and should make another run at first in the Porcupine Mountain division of the Copper Mountain Conference after finishing second a year ago. A 48-40 win over reigning Class D runner-up Chassell on Dec. 18 avenged last season’s 15-point District Final loss.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Southfield Arts & Technology (6-1) at Detroit Country Day (4-3) – The Warriors’ only loss was by two to reigning Class A champ Saginaw Heritage, and they can make a statement with a victory over last season’s Class B winner.
Tuesday – Utica Eisenhower (6-0) at Grosse Pointe North (5-1) – They played in different leagues last season and combined for 39 wins. Now they’re together in the previously-mentioned MAC Red.
Wednesday – Flint Carman-Ainsworth (7-2) at Saginaw Heritage (6-0) – These are the early leaders in the respective Saginaw Valley League divisions after Heritage came in first and Carman-Ainsworth second in a combined league a year ago. They also went on to meet in the Regional Final.
Friday – Detroit Edison (9-1) at Muskegon (3-2) – The Big Reds will be up to the challenge; their losses this winter were by a combined four points to Division 1 contenders East Kentwood and East Lansing.
Friday – East Lansing (6-0) at Grand Ledge (5-1) – The reigning Class A runner-up Trojans beat rival Grand Ledge three times last season, but by only two points in the first meeting.
Second Half’s weekly “Countdown to Calvin” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Grand Ledge, here playing Lansing Waverly in December, will attempt to hand rival East Lansing its first defeat of the season this week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Canton Corrals Comets in Class A Semi
March 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The way Canton wins would be easy to overlook, if not for the key word in that statement.
It’s become impossible to ignore the defensive-minded Chiefs, who entered this postseason as only an honorable mention in the final Associated Press Class A poll – and advanced to their first MHSAA Final on Friday at the Breslin Center.
Canton prides itself on defense, giving up only 28 points per game this season.
And the Chiefs made that average stick in handing No. 4 Grand Ledge a 35-28 defeat to advance to Saturday’s championship game against Bloomfield Hills Marian.
“Sometimes we haven’t been thought of as a leading team or whatever, underestimated,” Canton senior center Taylor Hunley said. “It’s great to work so hard to make the final day of the season and be able to spend as much time with each other as possible.”
The Chiefs just missed advancing to the Class A championship games in both 2009 and 2010. But this team is different in that its run is a bit unexpected.
Canton’s only losses were to Marian, Mercy, and a couple more contenders in Grosse Pointe South and Waterford Mott. But it was lack of flashiness in their wins that maybe made this team easier to forget – and yet now, unforgettable.
“We always talk about playing on the last day. The first two (Canton) teams that came, that was sort’ve expected because they were ranked in the top three all year and there was a lot of pressure to get here,” Canton coach Brian Samulski said. “These guys have really been able to enjoy this run they’ve put us on. There’s no real pressure. No one talked about them. But we refuse to lose and keep plugging away, and go from there.”
The first few minutes Friday ended up a good indicator of what was to come; Grand Ledge scored the game’s first basket, but not until more than three minutes had been played.
The Comets entered the week with three players averaging double figures scoring – senior sisters Hannah (15 ppg) and Lindsay Orwat (13.4) and 6-foot-3 junior Cori Crocker (10.7). As a team, Grand Ledge averaged nearly 58 points per game before Friday.
But the trio combined for only 21 points, led by Lindsay Orwat’s nine.
“Me and my sister love to shoot off ball screens, but they were right there in our faces,” Hannah Orwat said. “We’d dump it in to Cori, and there would be five girls on her. We couldn’t get in a flow.”
The teams identically took 39 shots, both making 11. But whereas Canton has been used to this kind of game, the Chiefs could sense by the second quarter that the Comets were getting frustrated.
They were knotted 19-19 heading into the fourth quarter before Hunley and senior Paige Aresco keyed an 8-0 run that seemingly put this low-scoring game out of reach for Grand Ledge.
“A lot of great teams are focused on offense, offense, offense. And then they come up against us,” Aresco said. “We’ve done a great job shutting them down, and it’s been kinda shocking for them, I think.”
The Comets, who will graduate six players, were in their first Semifinal appearance. They finished 24-3.
“This group of Grand Ledge girls has been going to school together their whole lives, and we kept focusing on that as the year went on,” Grand Ledge coach David Jones said. “Experiencing this together, being together, we’re proud of accomplishing getting this far. And a lot of the credit goes to this senior class.”
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Canton’s Paige Aresco (14) works to drive against Grand Ledge’s Hannah Orwat. (Middle) Orwat searches for an open teammate as two Chiefs converge.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Grand Ledge grabs a 17-15 third-quarter lead against Canton on a pull-up jumper by Lindsay Orwat. (2) Canton scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to break the game open. This layup by Aresco starts the run.