Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 10
February 5, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three weeks remain in this girls basketball season, and the Countdown to Calvin is starting to get louder.
League tournaments are either underway or will start this week in the Detroit Public School League, Detroit Catholic League, Charter School Conference or Macomb Area Conference. And while every team gets a fresh start with MHSAA Districts, those single-elimination league competitions definitely set a postseason mood.
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 help us fill in missing scores, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Flint Carman-Ainsworth 57, Bay City Western 52 – All Saginaw Valley League teams are in one division this year, and this created a three-team jam in second place behind Saginaw Heritage as Carman-Ainsworth handed Western its first loss of the season.
2. East Lansing 63, Williamston 43 – These teams entered both undefeated and among the highest-ranked in Class A and B, respectively; they enter this week a combined 30-1.
3. Pittsford 49, Athens 32 – Bellevue’s upset of Athens two days earlier stole some of the excitement (more on that below), but the Wildcats did win their 70th straight game over another Class D power that had entered the week undefeated.
4. Macomb Dakota 53, Port Huron Northern 51 – The Macomb Area Conference Red continues to be one of the state’s most competitive leagues, and at least a share of this season’s title went to Dakota with this close win over Northern, which faces the other possible co-champ Grosse Pointe North on Wednesday.
5. Flint Beecher 58, Flint Hamady 48 – While both are still chasing Class B Goodrich in the Genesee Area Conference Red, Beecher can claim a regular-season sweep of its frequent Class C-contending rival.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Hartland (10-4) – The Eagles can’t catch Howell and repeat as a league champion, but they did hand the Highlanders their first league loss and second of this winter on Friday, 41-37. The win was the fourth straight for Hartland, which is 7-2 over its last nine games and had fallen to Howell in overtime Jan. 9.
Walled Lake Western (13-1) – The Warriors sit atop the Lakes Valley Conference in the league’s first year, with a key matchup against second-place South Lyon East coming up Tuesday. Western on Jan. 26 avenged its lone loss with a 51-43 win over Waterford Kettering – those two shared the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North title last season.
CLASS B
Ida (13-1) – The Bluestreaks have already claimed a share of the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship thanks to a three-game lead on the field. They haven’t lost since falling in the opener to Adrian Lenawee Christian, which is also 13-1. Ida finished second in the league last year to Blissfield, its opponent Friday.
Muskegon Oakridge (12-3) – The Eagles’ West Michigan Conference winning streak is up to 75 games and stretches most of this decade. They downed second-place Shelby 61-43 on Thursday and can clinch a share of another league title Tuesday against Scottville Mason County Central. Oakridge will look to improve next month on last season’s District title and has taken good losses against Class A Grand Haven, Muskegon and Muskegon Reeths-Puffer.
CLASS C
Charlevoix (10-3) – The Rayders scored the final 13 points over the final 1:13 to beat Traverse City St. Francis on Friday, creating a two-way tie between the rivals atop the Lake Michigan Conference. Keep in mind Charlevoix was only 3-19 two seasons ago before improving to 18-7 in 2016-17. The losses this winter came to Manton, St. Ignace and Kalkaska, which all have at least 10 wins.
Hartford (12-2) – The Indians trail only Centreville (14-1) in the Southwest 10 Conference, and both have at least four more wins than the rest of the league. While Centreville won their first meeting Jan. 12 by 41, Hartford deserves this recognition; it’s already surpassed last season’s 11-11 finish.
CLASS D
Bellevue (12-2) – The Broncos, last season’s Southern Central Athletic Association West champion, gave themselves a chance to catch newcomer Athens for at least a shared title this winter by handing the Indians their first defeat, 40-39 on Thursday. Bellevue had fallen to Athens by two points on Dec. 12 and also has lost to Pittsford (see note on 70-game winning streak above).
Gaylord St. Mary (14-1) – The Snowbirds have won every game since falling to Clare in their season opener, and only Bellaire on Jan. 17 has come within single digits of catching them. That 41-39 win put Gaylord St. Mary in first place in the Ski Valley Conference, but the rivals meet again Tuesday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Bellaire (12-2) at Gaylord St. Mary (14-1) – The first meeting, and first place in the Ski Valley Conference, went to St. Mary 41-39. Both are likely Class D contenders as well.
Tuesday – Flushing (13-2) at Goodrich (10-3) – The reigning Class A champion and a regular Class B contender are leading their respective leagues this winter.
Tuesday – Freeland (13-2) at Alma (11-3) – The Falcons won the first meeting 47-38 and continue to hold a one-game lead on the Panthers in the Tri-Valley Conference Central along with a 37-game league winning streak.
Tuesday – Saginaw Heritage (13-0) at Midland (9-4) – Heritage won big the first time around, but this meeting counts in the league standings – and a Midland win would make the SVL at least a four-team race.
Wednesday – Detroit Renaissance (10-6) vs. Detroit Communication Media Arts (12-1) at Detroit East English – This PSL tournament second-round game pits a league champion in CMA and a runner-up in Renaissance.
PHOTO: Muskegon Oakridge's Sophia Wiard works to get past a Shelby defender during Thursday's win. (Photo by Sherry Wahr.)
Stifling D, Board Domination Earns Fowler Full Repeat Celebration
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2022
EAST LANSING – Carly Andros could have simply gotten back on defense.
The Fowler junior missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with less than two minutes to play Saturday in a game her team had essentially already wrapped up.
But Andros did what Fowler had done throughout its 61-46 Division 4 Girls Basketball Final victory against Plymouth Christian Academy – crashed the boards, secured the offensive rebound and turned an empty possession into a layup.
Fowler dominated the glass on its way to a second-straight Finals title, out-rebounding Plymouth Christian 42-20, including a 15-2 edge on the offensive boards. Fowler turned that into 14 second-chance points, continually turning Plymouth Christian defensive stops into backbreaking scoring plays.
“We’re not the most imposing team, but they just work so hard and they’re always going at the glass,” Fowler coach Nathan Goerge said. “We talk about taking away second-chance opportunities for the other team, and because we’re willing to attack the offensive glass, we have so many second-chance opportunities. So it’s just a huge opportunity for us.”
It was the third title for the Fowler program, which had three Finals appearances during the 1990s, including the Class D win in 1991.
Winning a second straight would have been special on its own, but being able to celebrate with a large contingent of fellow students and fans – which was missing last year because of COVID-19 protocols – added to the experience.
“We are so blessed to have had both of these opportunities,” Fowler senior Mia Riley said. “Even last year when the fans couldn’t come. It was, not really downplayed, but people couldn’t be there and it wasn’t the same environment. To be able to have it this year and to be able to get everything (that was missing) last year just made everything so worth it. It was such a great experience, and I’m so glad to go through it with this group of girls.”
Riley led Fowler with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while her younger sister, Emma, had 14 points. Emma Riley scored her 1,000th career point early in the third quarter.
Grace Epkey added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Fowler. Taylor Weber had nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, and Andros had seven rebounds.
“Understandably so, (the Riley sisters) get so much attention because they’re such fantastic players,” Goerge said. “I kind of said it before, this game was going to come down to our role players, if you will, and all of them stepped up huge. It was a total team win for us tonight. I couldn’t be happier for the girls.”
Senior Anna Fernandez scored 23 points to lead Plymouth Christian in her final high school game. Junior Morganne Houk added 17 points.
“Our kids came to win,” Plymouth Christian coach Rod Windle said. “There was a little bit of disappointment at the end in terms of what they dreamed for, what they hoped for. Certainly, in reflection when the day is done there will be some rejoicing about the season we had. I’m really proud of the effort these players gave. They’re competitors, they dream big and they got after it tonight.”
Plymouth Christian was within four midway through the second quarter, but a 9-0 Fowler run over the final 2:21 of the half blew the game open.
Weber started it with a 3-pointer, and Mia Riley and Epkey ended it, working for a pair of layups in the final minute to put their team up 27-14 at the break.
Plymouth Christian, meanwhile, went scoreless over the final 4:25 of the half.
Fowler didn’t shoot well during the first half (10 of 30), but grabbed nine offensive rebounds and had seven second-chance points. Epkey had five offensive boards herself in the half.
Fowler also moved the ball effectively and had eight assists on 10 first-half field goals. While piling up twice as many assists as turnovers (four), their defense forced seven first-half turnovers of Plymouth Christian.
That, combined with 5 of 20 shooting, made offense difficult for Plymouth Christian.
“Plymouth Christian is a fantastic team with exceptional guard play, so the challenge was to contain (Fernandez and Houk) and kind of run them off the 3-point line as best we could,” Goerge said. “I’m sure those two had some high-scoring totals, but I thought overall the girls did an amazing job defensively.”
Plymouth Christian got as close as eight points in the third quarter, but each time it did, Fowler had an answer. That included a pair of 3s from Madison Wirth and another from Weber late in the third, with each directly countering big plays from Houk and Fernandez and giving Fowler an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We made some runs that I thought might roll into us coming back, but we got denied by their own runs,” Windle said. “They were able to run back and continue to maintain their lead tonight.”
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler celebrates its repeat Division 4 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Eagles’ Mia Riley (25) dips into the lane among Plymouth Christian’s defenders including Grace Fernandes (4) and Sophia Arlen-Olsen (12). (Below) Carly Andros (4) gets up a shot as Morganne Houk (2) defends. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)