Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 2
December 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Calendar year 2018 is drawing to a close, but anticipation is just starting to ramp up as girls basketball teams head into the holidays.
For many, there won’t be much of a break as they prep to play in a number of showcase events around the state.
Saturday saw the Best of Michigan Classic at Detroit Edison and a number of top Division 1 and 2 teams compete – we highlighted a few of those below. Similar events will follow over the next three weeks, before the schedule shifts to league competition and taking the next steps toward playing meaningful games at the end of February and into March.
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. Detroit Renaissance 61, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 38 – The Phoenix bounced back from an opening loss to Harper Woods Chandler Park to down Division 3 contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at the Best of Michigan Classic at Detroit Edison.
2. Columbus Africentric Early College (Ohio) 65, Detroit Edison 60 – We don’t usually highlight a Michigan team’s out-of-state loss, but falling by only five to an Ohio power with a University of Tennessee recruit featured by Sports Illustrated last month is still quite a showing.
3. East Lansing 45, DeWitt 41 – With the first of two regular-season meetings this close, it’s a good bet these two will determine a league champion and possibly more again this winter.
4. Southfield Arts & Technology 68, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 55 – A&T is a two-point loss to Saginaw Heritage from a 4-0 start, and Carman-Ainsworth is another well-respected team from Division 1.
5. Corunna 54, Goodrich 53 – Last week was an early indication this could be a special season for the 4-0 Cavaliers. In addition to beating the always-contending Martians, Corunna finished with an overtime win over Flint Hamady.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Brighton (3-0) – After three straight 14-win seasons, the Bulldogs could be candidates to take another step and enter Kensington Lakes Activities Association West play as one of three unbeaten teams. Brighton opened with a two-point win over Marquette at Petoskey and has followed with two double-digit wins including a 23-pointer over Okemos last week.
• Wayne Memorial (2-0) – The Zebras graduated a Miss Basketball finalist from last season’s Class A semifinalist team but haven’t missed a beat. They opened last week nearly doubling up Division 2 hopeful Williamston and then beat Illinois power Chicago Whitney Young 71-56 at the Best of Michigan Classic.
DIVISION 2
• Comstock (3-0) – The Colts have one of the state’s sharpest shooters in 1,000-point scorer Daisy Ansel and should have high aspirations after last season’s 19-2 run. Comstock is looking to first three-peat in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red and finished its week with a 58-31 win over reigning league runner-up Niles Brandywine.
• Edwardsburg (4-0) – The Eddies haven’t lost a league game the last two seasons and earned their first Wolverine Conference South win this winter against Three Rivers on Friday. Edwardsburg, coming off a 22-2 run, has three wins by 20 or more points so far – with the fourth victory a three-pointer over Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West co-leader Portage Central.
DIVISION 3
• Adrian Madison (4-0) – Last season saw the end of Madison’s six-season hold on the Tri-County Conference title; the Trojans finished second. But they bounced back into league play last week with a big win over Sand Creek coming off solid nonconference showings versus Blissfield and Hudson.
• Ishpeming Westwood (5-0) – The Patriots opened with an overtime win over Menominee and have just kept rolling. Last week’s 66-40 win over rival Ishpeming avenged last season’s District loss, and at this rate Westwood soon should be circling Jan. 18 and Feb. 15 dates with also-unbeaten Negaunee.
DIVISION 4
• Martin (3-0) – The Clippers improved five wins last season to 13-11 and tied for fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore. Over this season’s first two weeks, Martin has beaten Saugatuck – the other fourth-place team from last winter – and avenged two losses to last season’s runner-up Coloma with a 46-40 victory.
• Onaway (3-0) – The Cardinals are making their move early after finishing 10-10 last season. They beat Posen by 10 in their opener after losing twice to the Vikings last winter, and last week’s 40-26 win over Central Lake further avenged an early 2017-18 defeat.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Plymouth (3-0) at Brighton (3-0) – These two look early like possible favorites in the KLAA West; Plymouth was second in the former Black and Brighton third in the Gold last season.
Thursday – Macomb Dakota (4-0) at Grosse Pointe North (3-1) – These two shared the Macomb Area Red title last season before North won their Regional meeting by two on the way to making the Class A Semifinals.
Friday – Freeland (3-1) at Saginaw Heritage (3-0) – Heritage is, of course, the reigning Class A champion, and Freeland is always one of the best from the Saginaw area as well.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (3-1) vs. Detroit Country Day (1-2) at Lawrence Tech – Country Day won Class B last season, and Edison won C and could be the Yellowjackets’ biggest obstacle in the new Division 2.
Saturday – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (4-1) at Muskegon Oakridge (3-0) – The Gators’ tour of the state’s best heads west, where Oakridge is yet to have a game closer than 17 after going 22-4 a year ago.
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: Ishpeming Westwood's Madelyn Koski (10) drives to the basket last week with Ishpeming's Emma Poirier (2) defending. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Frankenmuth Drives League Streak to 97
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
December 13, 2016
Tom Keller is willing to talk about the streak if you ask him.
He’s starting to get used to it.
“It’s funny; it seems like a lot of people are bringing it up lately,” said the Frankenmuth girls basketball coach, who has led his team to 97 straight Tri-Valley Conference East wins. “We actually talked about it in practice the other day for one of the few times.
"(The streak) happens on a day-to-day basis. In our program, we don’t really set a lot of goals; we’re much more concerned about the process. If we do things the right way day after day, those wins and those streaks kind of take care of themselves.”
Frankenmuth hasn’t lost a conference game since Feb. 10, 2009 -- a 37-31 setback against Birch Run. Since then, eight senior classes have graduated, and dozens of players have gone through their entire varsity careers without a conference loss.
While it’s not something Frankenmuth players dwell on, it’s also not something they take for granted.
“You don’t just show up and put on your uniform and get the streak,” senior Hannah Karwat said. “We do have to work hard to get the winning streak we have. We work hard in practice.”
Karwat is one of very few Frankenmuth players on this year’s team with varsity experience. She’s a third-year player and first-year starter. Her classmate Lindsey Mertz started several games as a junior and is in her fourth year with the team, but Frankenmuth graduated five of its top six players from a year ago.
The Eagles have done well so far, starting the season 3-1, including earning a 36-34 win this past week against TVC East rival Essexville-Garber to stretch the streak to 97. Their next league games are Wednesday at Bridgeport and home Friday against Millington.
“It’s always an interesting way to start the season when you have kids who are brand new to varsity,” Keller said. “Also, we have those kids that are returning in completely different roles than what they played in the past. We have two seniors who have played, and they’re going from being role players to go-to girls on this year’s team.
“It’s fun. I think it makes for great competition. When you have so many openings for a new team, it’s fun and great competition because everybody is vying for those roles. It does seem to draw out the best competitors.”
Mertz has settled in as a forward, although she has experience as a post player and a guard from her first three seasons and can go back to either if the Eagles need it. Karwat’s role has expanded following the graduation of a pair of 6-foot-plus post players. She’s 5-4½, but appears unfazed by the height disadvantage she faces each night.
Mertz and Karwat are two of five seniors on the team. Among the others is Sara Aldrich, who spent her junior season toward the end of the bench but has worked her way into a starting role, something Keller said he loves to see. Kayla Kueffner and Emily Janson, the Eagles’ other two seniors, are injured and have yet to play this season.
What those seniors may lack in experience, they make up for with leadership.
“Something that our program has valued is leadership,” Mertz said. “We have been doing leadership lunches once a week where we meet and talk about leadership and how serving the other girls on the team and dedicating time would help everyone grow on the team.”
Frankenmuth is matching that leadership with an aggressive style of play, making up for a lack of size.
“We’re making efforts to really attack the paint,” Keller said. “We still get touches inside, but we do it through penetration. In years where we’ve had two 6 footers, we were a high-post, low-post kind of team and we took advantage of that. This year, we’re very guard-oriented.”
Changing his team’s style based on personnel has helped Keller find success in each of his previous 10 seasons as Frankenmuth’s girls coach. The Eagles have won a conference title in each of those seasons, and added five Class B District titles, including at the end of the last two seasons.
Keller said he was fortunate to inherit a great program, one that won the Class B title in 1992 and Class C in 1996 and also owns four MHSAA Finals runner-up finishes.
It’s a tradition, Mertz and Karwat said, that has girls in the community’s youth program pining to put on a Frankenmuth jersey one day. They also grow up knowing what it takes to get that honor.
“When I was younger, a lot of the girls in my grade loved basketball,” Mertz said. “But a lot of girls have quit because they know what’s expected and they know they can’t match that effort. Sometimes we’ll frighten some girls out of the program, but that makes the team we have one of the toughest group of girls because you have to be tough to be a part of it.
“Usually the girls that come out are the ones that are in it for the long haul, and willing to do the dirty work and put in the effort.”
Keller said he wasn’t quite sure what would equal a successful season for this year’s team. Getting better and more consistent each day is his main focus, and he’s optimistic that will happen.
As for the streak, Keller and the Eagles would love for it to survive. If it doesn’t, however, they’ll simply work to start the next one.
“It’s going to come to an end eventually, whether it’s this week or later this season or next season,” Keller said. “When it happens, we’ll just come back the next day and get ready for the next game.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Frankenmuth's Brooklin Karwat drives to the basket against Essexville-Garber last week. (Middle) Eagles coach Tom Keller speaks with Kaylee Kujat during the tightly-contested matchup. (Below) Frankenmuth players celebrate after defeating the Dukes 56-54. (Photos by Chip DeGrace/Eagle Eye Photography.)