Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 6
January 14, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As the midpoint of this Michigan high school girls basketball season approaches, most teams are focusing on league competition – and there are plenty of stories to tell.
Start with the top game in our “Week in Review” below – which saw the end of an 82-game conference winning streak. Three of our five games to watch over the coming week also have league title significance.
Of course, there are some epic nonconference matchups still on the way – and we highlight a few of those as well.
Expect to see District brackets added to the MHSAA Website this week and first-round games added to team schedules. 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. Whitehall 67, Muskegon Oakridge 56 (3 OT) – Whitehall handed Oakridge its first West Michigan Conference loss since 2013, a stretch of 82 league games, to move into a first-place tie with the Eagles.
2. Saginaw Heritage 48, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 41 – Saginaw Valley League Red leader Heritage remained undefeated by downing Blue leader Carman-Ainsworth in the former’s second-closest game this winter.
3. Detroit Martin Luther King 56, Detroit Cass Tech 53 – The Crusaders held on to the top spot alone in the Detroit Public School League Midtown division by handing the Technicians their first league loss.
4. Detroit Edison 64, Muskegon 42 – The Pioneers won a star-studded matchup that featured multiple Miss Basketball Award hopefuls.
5. Kalamazoo Christian 48, Comstock 38 – The Comets bounced back from two straight losses to hand Comstock the only defeat of an impressive winter so far.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• Saline (7-0) – The Hornets appear on their way to soon surpassing last season’s 11-11 finish. Their first game closer than 19 points came Friday in the Southeastern Conference Red opener, when Saline won a battle of unbeaten edging Temperance Bedford 57-56.
• Southfield Arts & Technology (8-1) – The Warriors are playing for a third straight Oakland Activities Association Red title, but that could be just the start. A&T beat reigning Class B champion Detroit Country Day 65-54 last week and owns a 13-point win over Flint Carman-Ainsworth, noted above. The defeat was by two points to reigning Class A champion Saginaw Heritage in the season’s second game.
DIVISION 2
• Armada (6-1) – Reigning champion Armada has won 19 straight Blue Water Area Conference games and is tied for first heading into Tuesday’s matchup with co-leader Croswell-Lexington (see below). The loss came to Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in mid-December, but the Tigers haven’t had another game closer than 22 points since their season opener.
• Croswell-Lexington (6-1) – Croswell-Lexington tied for second in the BWAC a year ago and has five wins by double digits this winter including a 19-pointer over third-place Imlay City on Friday. The only defeat came by nine to Port Huron Northern, an annual power from one of the state’s best leagues.
DIVISION 3
• Gobles (7-0) – Two straight first-game MHSAA Tournament exits has taken Gobles out of the state spotlight some, but the Tigers are roaring back. They avenged last season’s District loss to Kalamazoo Hackett last week, and could earn another boost against also-unbeaten Martin on Friday in a matchup for first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore.
• Iron River West Iron County (6-2) – The Wykons may have started slowly, relatively speaking, at 1-2 this winter including a loss to still-undefeated Ishpeming Westwood. But they handed Negaunee its first defeat last week and followed that with a one-point win over Menominee. Both were nonleague victories, but West Iron sits first in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper as well.
DIVISION 4
• Adrian Lenawee Christian (9-1) – The Cougars began their reign as last season’s Class D champion with an opening-night 59-54 defeat to Michigan Center, a strong Division 3 contender this winter. But that competition no doubt prepared Lenawee Christian as it has since beaten Country Day by five, one-loss Carleton Airport by six and one-loss Bay City John Glenn by 15 – and last week avenged last season’s only defeat by beating Monroe by 13.
• Mackinaw City (6-1) – The Comets are looking to build on last season’s 15 wins, a six-win improvement from 2016-17, and appear on the way with all double-digit victories this winter to go with a lone loss to Brimley. Mackinaw City is tied for first in the Northern Lakes Conference with undefeated Wolverine – Friday’s opponent – and last week doubled up reigning league champion Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian 66-32. The Comets lost three times last season to the Swordsmen, including in a Regional Semifinal.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Rockford (8-2) at Grand Haven (8-0) – These are two of three teams unbeaten early in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play, and Rockford plays the third, East Kentwood, on Friday.
Tuesday – Grosse Pointe North (7-1) at Port Huron Northern (8-2) – Both are unbeaten in the Macomb Area Conference Red and carry statewide intrigue as well.
Friday – Schoolcraft (8-0) at Centreville (7-0) – These two Division 3 powers both have won all of their games by double digits this winter.
Friday – Farmington Hills Mercy (6-1) at Bloomfield Hills Marian (7-0) – This continues to be one of the best hoops rivalries in the state, and they’re tied early atop the Detroit Catholic League Central standings after sharing the title last season.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (9-1) vs. Detroit Mumford (9-1) at Warren Fitzgerald – The PSL West-Town leading Mustangs are a two-point loss to St. Ignace from unbeaten, and Edison hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent in a calendar year.
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: Sandusky held on to its share of the lead in the Greater Thumb Conference East on Thursday with a 36-29 win over Harbor Beach. (Click to see more from Varsity Monthly.)
Muskegon-Area Girls Hoops Builds Prestige
December 7, 2016
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Artrese Williams noticed something new at her basketball games last winter:
Big crowds.
Williams, now a senior leader and defensive stopper for the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team, was blown away by the student sections, noise and just overall increased interest in girls basketball last season as the evenly-matched trio of Reeths-Puffer, Muskegon High and Muskegon Mona Shores battled for supremacy in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green.
“I love it when there’s a big crowd and the students are getting crazy,” said Williams. “That’s all the motivation I need.”
The Meijer Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic took notice of the growing buzz surrounding the girls games along the lakeshore – driven by a spike in talent, particularly at the area’s larger schools – and this year for the first time will feature a girls varsity opening game at its one-day, three-game event Dec. 28 at Reeths-Puffer High School.
Reeths-Puffer will tip off at 5:30 p.m. against perennial power Muskegon Oakridge in a showcase that has become a Muskegon-area tradition over Christmas break. The event is in its 15th year.
“Our committee has noticed much more interest in girls hoops, no question about it,” said Mack, a longtime boys and girls basketball coach at Mona Shores, who has served as the Hall of Fame Classic director since its inception in 2002. “They have earned the right to be part of this event.”
Mack expects an outstanding girls game leading into a clash of Top 10 boys teams in Grand Rapids Christian and Holland West Ottawa, followed by the traditional boys finale of Muskegon against East Kentwood.
Williams can’t wait to get the crowd going as a senior on her home floor, where she leads a veteran team that includes fellow seniors Elysia Mattos (guard) and 6-foot twin towers Brooke Larabee and Delaney Bolles.
As juniors, those four helped the Rockets knock off Muskegon and Miss Basketball runner-up Mardrekia Cook (now at Michigan State) during the regular season but came up just short in three tough losses to OK Green champion Mona Shores, including a season-ending 47-38 defeat in the Class A District title game. Reeths-Puffer finished the season 15-6.
“It doesn’t seem like anyone is really talking about us this year, but we have experience and I think our conditioning has been a lot better, plus we have the motivation,” said Williams, a speedy, 5-4 guard whose older sister Camaryia Williams and cousin Kalisa Williams also were standout players for the Rockets and now play at Muskegon Community College.
Mona Shores is the league favorite again with the return of Miss Basketball candidate Jordan Walker and junior Alyza Winston, while Muskegon also boasts a deep, experienced team. The sleeper along the lakeshore could be the O-K Red’s Grand Haven, which is only four years removed from back-to-back Class A championships.
“There’s just a really special group of girls players in the Muskegon area right now,” said ninth-year Reeths-Puffer coach Brandon Barry. “I think it’s great that was recognized.”
Reeths-Puffer’s matchup with Oakridge, which boasts a stellar backcourt in senior sharpshooter Hannah Reinhold and sophomore point guard Sophia Wiard, has special meaning for the veteran coach. Barry has taught at Oakridge since 1989 and in July was inducted into the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame after his 25th year as the Oakridge baseball coach.
“I’ll cheer for them every other night,” Barry said of the Eagles, who have won 50 consecutive games in the West Michigan Conference under coach Terry DeJonge. “We have had some great games with them the past few years, and this should be another one.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Coach Brandon Barry and his Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team get ready for introductions before an O-K Black conference game last year at Muskegon High School. (Middle) Artrese Williams (5) is one of four senior starters for the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls basketball team, which will play Muskegon Oakridge on Dec. 28 in the opening game of the 15th annual Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)