D4 Preview: Prepared for Finals Tests
March 20, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There is at least one similarity that ties together all four Division 4 teams making the trip to Calvin College this weekend.
All four semifinalists have seen their shares of tough opponents this season and shouldn’t be wowed by the competition beginning Thursday night at Van Noord Arena.
St. Ignace, Adrian Lenawee Christian and Kingston navigated those schedules to finish among the top-ranked teams by The Associated Press at the end of the regular season. Fowler, in part a result of playing mostly larger opponents, had a few more losses entering the playoffs – but has shown the last three weeks it belongs among the best in the smallest classification as well.
Division 4 Semifinals – Thursday
St. Ignace (26-0) vs. Kingston (24-2), 5:30 p.m.
Fowler (17-7) vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian (24-2), 7:30 p.m.
Division 4 Final – Saturday, 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Divisions 4 and 1). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit and streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Jamie Salenbien, second season (50-3)
Championship history: Class D champion 2018, runner-up 2010.
Best wins: 65-40 over No. 9 Athens in Regional Semifinal, 53-38 over Bay City John Glenn, 47-41 over Carleton Airport, 73-66 (OT) over Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Players to watch: Bree Salenbien, 6-2 soph. F (23.6 ppg, 42 3-pointers, 9.0 rpg, 3.6 spg, 3.7 bpg); Dani Salenbien, 5-9 jr. G (13.6 ppg, 3.8 apg, 3.2 spg).
Outlook: After storming onto the scene last season, Lenawee Christian and now-sophomore Bree Salenbien haven’t snuck up on anyone this winter. It hasn’t mattered. The Cougars’ only losses came to Division 3 Michigan Center and Grass Lake, which finished their seasons a combined 40-6. Bree was the Class D Player of the Year by The Associated Press as a freshman, and Dani Salenbien made the all-state second team. Junior guard Libby Miller is another major offensive contributor, averaging 9.5 points per game with 65 3-pointers entering this week.
FOWLER
Record/rank: 17-7, unranked
League finish: Fifth in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Nathan Goerge, ninth season (98-102)
Championship history: Class D champion 1991, runner-up 1990 & 1999.
Best wins: 48-34 over No. 5 Gaylord St. Mary in Quarterfinal, 49-29 over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Regional Final, 43-38 over Bath, 57-25 over Portland St. Patrick.
Players to watch: Sarah Veale, 5-8 soph. G (11.3 ppg, 49 3-pointers); Mia Riley, 5-6 fr. G (11.7 ppg).
Outlook: Fowler has reached the Semifinals for the first time since 1999 after navigating a league won by Division 3 contender Pewamo-Westphalia and with three other teams that won at least 14 games this season. The Eagles finished below .500 the last two before taking a jump, and Veale and Riley are among reasons for Fowler to be excited about the future as well. Riley actually comes off the bench – three seniors and a junior join Veale in a veteran starting lineup.
KINGSTON
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 4
League finish: First in North Central Thumb League Stars
Coach: Jay Green, 12th season (240-46)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 55-34 over Croswell-Lexington, 43-30 over Brown City, 51-31 over Peck, 49-31 over Saginaw Nouvel.
Players to watch: Carley Smith, 5-10 sr. F (9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg); Lily Lyons, 5-6 sr. G (11.2 ppg).
Outlook: After losing in Quarterfinals three times over the last four seasons, Kingston has broken through to make the Semifinals for the first time. The Cardinals have prepared all season facing larger opponents; in addition to those listed above, Kingston also has wins over Lapeer and Saginaw Swan Valley among others and losses to Division 1 Oxford and Utica Eisenhower. Smith, Lyons and 5-11 senior center Jillyan Dinsmore (6.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg) all earned all-state honorable mentions as juniors and help make up an all-senior starting lineup.
ST. IGNACE
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Straits Area Conference
Coach: Dorene Ingalls, 20th season (431-73)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 76-45 over No. 10 Baraga in Quarterfinal, 52-44 over Goodrich, 68-37 over Division 2 honorable mention Kingsley, 55-53 over Detroit Mumford, 63-59 (OT) over Division 3 honorable mention Reese.
Players to watch: Emily Coveyou, 6-0 sr. F (22.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.8 spg); Hallie Marshall, 5-5 soph. G (7.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.4 spg).
Outlook: St. Ignace has reached the final week of the season every season this decade, and is back at the Semifinals for the first time since 2015 coming off three seasons in Class C. Coveyou earned a Class C all-state honorable mention a year ago and puts up the biggest numbers, but eight Saints total score at least 4.8 ppg and she’s one of only two seniors on the roster. The defensive showing has been especially memorable – as a team, St. Ignace gives up only 31.1 points per game and takes away an incredible 22.5 steals per contest.
PHOTO: Lenawee Christian's Bree Salenbien brings the ball upcourt during Tuesday's Quarterfinal win over Fruitport Calvary Christian. (Photo by Mike Dickie Photography.)
Best of Divine Child's Blairs May Be Last as Kennedy Paces Hopeful Falcons
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
January 12, 2023
DEARBORN – The Blair family’s presence within Dearborn Divine Child athletics – and most significantly in basketball – has stretched more than a decade as youngest-of-five-siblings Kennedy Blair takes the court for the last of her four seasons on the Falcons’ varsity.
There was Morgan, who was on Divine Child’s 2011 Class B championship team and went on to a college career at Northern Kentucky and Hillsdale.
Next was Riley, Kennedy’s other older sister who played at Divine Child and Ferris State.
Kennedy’s two older brothers, Quinn and Gannon, also played basketball at Divine Child, with Quinn going on to play in college at William & Mary.
“Being able to watch them play, it helped me grow my IQ,” Kennedy said. “They definitely are huge role models to me.”
Given how all five Blairs loved basketball, one can only imagine the battles that took place on the family’s backyard court.
“We always fought because we are so competitive,” Kennedy said with a laugh. “We play occasionally, and it never turns out well.”
Now a senior at Divine Child, Kennedy, a 5-foot-9 point guard, is not only the last of the siblings to star at Divine Child, but she also might be the best.
Blair is one of the most talented basketball players in the state, coming off a 2021-22 season during which she was named first-team all-state in Division 1 after averaging more than 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals per game.
There’s been no letup or seniorities this year, as going into Tuesday’s game against Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Blair was averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals a contest for a Divine Child team that will take a 9-2 record into a Friday game at traditional state and Catholic League powerhouse Bloomfield Hills Marian.
“You know you have a pretty special player because it’s so impressive to lead in essentially every statistical category for all four years,” said Divine Child head coach Mary Laney, who is in her 19th season at the helm of the program.
Laney said Blair has been even better this year thanks in large part to an increased emphasis in two areas.
One was strength and conditioning over the offseason.
“She’s really gotten even stronger,” Laney said. “She put forth a great deal of effort — more so than in previous offseasons — in regards to strength and conditioning. She came into this season in better condition and stronger than during any other season. That’s helped her game.”
The other was continuing to evolve into just as big of a force on defense as she is on offense.
“She’s really long and always could get a lot of deflections,” Laney said. “Those are now turning into steals. She rebounds the ball really well.”
As was the case with Morgan, Riley and Quinn, Kennedy won’t be done with basketball after high school, as she has signed to play for Bowling Green.
“It was the best fit for me,” Kennedy said. “They know where I’m going to fit in the offense and recruited me really strictly. They knew everything about me and made sure to take their time following everything I do, which I appreciate as a player.”
Before worrying about college basketball though, Kennedy wants to become the second player in the family to have a state championship ring.
Kennedy admits to hearing some good-natured trash talking from Morgan about how she has a championship, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility Kennedy can be a part of a title-winning team as well.
Divine Child was in Division 1 last year, but is competing in Division 2 this season. The Falcons were tied for No. 9 in the first Associated Press poll, released earlier this week.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the path to the Finals will be easier, especially with traditional state power Detroit Edison possibly looming in Regionals.
But with one of the state’s best players regardless of division, the sky is the limit for Divine Child.
“We can get it this year,” Kennedy said. “I can feel it.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Divine Child’s Kennedy Blair considers her options while directing the team’s offense. (Middle) Blair celebrates with her teammates. (Photos by Rick Jakacki, Dearborn Divine Child athletics.)