Divine Child Family Grows with New Season
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
December 11, 2015
DEARBORN – Last April, Dearborn Divine Child assistant girls basketball coach Julie Kaniewski received some news for which she was not prepared.
Kaniewski and head coach Mary Laney have been close friends most of their lives. They played basketball together at Divine Child, graduated the same year and played on two Class B championship teams (in 1993 and ’94). Kaniewski and Laney were putting a close on the season when Laney made a stunning announcement.
“We were working with the returning players,” Kaniewski said. “We were going over some stuff for the summer, and as we were ending things Mary said, ‘By the way, I’m pregnant.’ Being a math teacher, I put it all together. That put her due date near the start of the season. She said she’d be there for tryouts. I said, can you guarantee that?”
On Nov. 24, Laney gave birth to an 8-pound, 8-ounce boy, Owen Michael Laney. He’s the third child for Mary and her husband Chris Laney.
But Owen Michael was the first to be born during the basketball season. Their first child, Ellen, was born on Oct. 26, 2010, and their second, and first boy, Niall, was born Sept. 18, 2012.
The birth of Owen Michael added a little excitement for the Laneys on Thanksgiving, and a bit of consternation for Kaniewski.
“Some things are just out of my control,” Mary Laney said. “It made for a nice Thanksgiving. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. Things will be better when (Owen Michael) gets his days straightened out from his nights.”
Things are already better for Kaniewski. Her best friend is back on the bench and coaching. In fact – and to the relief of Kaniewski – Laney was back coaching Dec. 2, two days before the Falcons’ opener at Chelsea.
No question, it was stressful for both coaches. What helped alleviate some of the pressure is their friendship. There’s nothing Kaniewski wouldn’t do for Laney, and vice versa.
And laughter helped.
“I was a little nervous,” Kaniewski said. “I can joke with her. I told her you’ll be on epidural and I’ll be coaching.”
Their bond extends to their immediate families as well. Kaniewski has two children approximately the same age as Laney’s first two. Kaniewski’s oldest is Elizabeth, who will be 5 years old in May. Thomas will turn 3 in April. Elizabeth and Ellen Laney attend dance class together, and in late October the coaches came to pick up their children when Laney sounded an alarm.
“She said she was having contractions,” Kaniewski said. “I said, no, no, no. That can’t happen.”
It was a false alarm.
Laney did miss nine days with her team, including scrimmages. The preparation would have been a challenge even without the pregnancy. Divine Child was 20-6 last season but all five starters graduated. Add that two players suffered injuries, one a torn knee ligament, the other a concussion.
Formulating tryouts and making cuts tested Kaniewski’s resolve. Both Laney and Kaniewski had ideas on who their starters would be for some time, but things change. Players get better. Some don’t progress as quickly as others.
“That’s been the hard part,” Kaniewski said. “Then there was the parent meetings. I told Mary, no, no. I don’t want to do that alone.”
Laney, for the sake of both, moved the parent meeting up so they could tackle that together.
Then they received some outside help. Mary Lou Jansen, who coached those fine Divine Child teams during the early 1990s, offered her assistance. Kaniewski was grateful.
“She spent a few days with me,” Kaniewski said. “The kids were responsive. It’s just a different set of eyes.”
The lack of experience has forced the two to concentrate on the basics and not over-complicate things. Divine Child had opened 0-3 heading into Saturday night’s game against Saginaw Nouvel.
“Not many teams come back with no starters,” Laney said. “This group has been receptive. We’ve had five of six Division I players over the past several years. We don’t have that. We’re not worried about wins and losses. We want them to play hard and communicate.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Chris and Mary Laney hold their newborn, Owen. (Middle) The Laney children, Ellen, Niall and Owen, smile while wearing their Divine Child hats. (Photos courtesy of the Laney family.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 6, 2025
There’s really no such thing as a holiday “break” for many of the state’s basketball teams – and instead of slowing down, several seemed to move closer to top speed with impressive runs over the last three weeks.
Today’s “Breslin Bound” covers that final week of the full schedule before school let out to finish December and the two weeks of break that rolled us into January and a few strides closer to the midpoint of this season.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Renaissance 50, Detroit Edison 48 The Phoenix (9-0) began a 4-0 run through the break by avenging last season’s eight-point loss to the reigning Division 2 champion Pioneers (6-2).
2. Belleville 46, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 45 The Tigers (7-0) claimed arguably their most impressive win yet this winter over last year’s Division 2 runner-up Irish (8-1) at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest at Wayne Memorial.
3. Pewamo-Westphalia 53, Flint Powers Catholic 50 The Pirates (7-0) have impressed winning four games this season by three points or fewer, claiming this one over a Powers team (5-2) coming off a run to the Division 2 Quarterfinals last year.
4. Rockford 52, Howell 35 Two days after Howell (4-3) made some impressive noise with a win over Saginaw Heritage, the Rams (7-1) showed again they are still one of the teams to chase with this victory at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest.
5. Greenville 54, Kent City 35 Greenville (7-1) tied its win total from last year (six) with this Cornerstone Holiday Classic victory over Kent City (6-2), then surpassed last season’s success by defeating Grand Rapids Covenant Christian two days later.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Belleville (7-0) The Tigers are coming off a drive to the Division 1 Semifinals last season and haven’t slowed a step. They added a 3-0 run at Metro Detroit events over the break to an impressive start, downing Parma Western and East Kentwood in addition to the win over Father Gabriel Richard noted above – with the wins over Western and FGR those teams’ only losses this season. All this season but the FGR victory have come by at least 15 points, including as well impressive showings against Muskegon and reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield.
Midland (6-1) The Chemics welcomed back past coach Elaine Mahabir after seven seasons away and three straight sub-.500 finishes, and they already are approaching last season’s nine wins coming off defeating rival Dow 55-52 and Northville 65-63 in overtime to close December. Midland’s 42-37 win over Flint Hamady to open this winter remains Hamady’s only loss, and the Chemics’ lone defeat came to one-loss Grand Haven. The win over the Chargers broke an 11-game losing streak against Midland’s rival going back to the 2019-20 season.
DIVISION 2
Negaunee (9-0) A Division 2 semifinalist last season, Negaunee has made at least the Regional Finals the last three years and is keeping to that high standard again. The Miners’ performance at their Irontown Holiday Bash at the end of December especially sticks out – Negaunee handed previously-undefeated Ewen-Trout Creek a 47-30 defeat before downing Ludington 50-41 in a rematch of last year’s Regional championship game. On Friday, the Miners will play their first of two games against reigning Division 4 champion Ishpeming, the only team to defeat Negaunee during the 2023-24 regular season as they split matchups and shared the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East title.
Sault Ste. Marie (6-1) The Blue Devils have run into Negaunee in the postseason two of the last three, and they may be on a collision course again especially given the Sault’s great start which has included wins over St. Ignace and Harbor Springs and the only loss to still-undefeated Chelsea at Aquinas College. The 57-41 Harbor Springs win Friday avenged a loss from a year ago, and the 50-49 win over the Saints on Dec. 13 remains St. Ignace’s only defeat with a rematch coming up Friday. Sault Ste. Marie finished 14-7 a year ago and won the Straits Area Conference but is playing as an independent this season and has a remaining schedule loaded primarily with Division 1 opponents.
DIVISION 3
Blissfield (7-1) A loss in another well-planned test against undefeated Division 2 Tecumseh left the only flaw on an otherwise perfect record so far as the Royals look to build on seasons of 27 and 22 victories, respectively. Blissfield’s start also has included a 43-35 defeat of Brooklyn Columbia Central – avenging last year’s Regional Semifinal loss – and most recently a 45-43 close call against Leslie. The Royals have won two straight Lenawee County Athletic Association titles and this time should face some serious competition from undefeated Ida and Adrian Madison (also 7-1). The first matchup with Ida is Thursday.
Sandusky (7-0) A 38-14 win over Deckerville at Little Caesars Arena was the latest for this undefeated contender and the state’s all-time winningest girls basketball coach Al DeMott. The Wolves reached the Division 3 Quarterfinals a year ago with their only regular-season loss coming in the first of two meetings with league rival Harbor Beach – which Sandusky plays for the first time this season Thursday as both seek to win the first-year Big Thumb Conference Black. Caro and Unionville-Sebewaing, with 11-point losses, have come closest to approaching Sandusky so far.
DIVISION 4
Munising (6-0) The Mustangs could be on the verge of equaling their 8-0 start from last season, when they went on to finish 21-5. But to do so, they must begin this week Tuesday with a win over Bark River-Harris, which finished just ahead of Munising for the Skyline Central Conference Large-school division title last winter. The Mustangs should be ready to give it a go; they’ve defeated four teams that are 4-2 so far and have won all but one of their games by at least 16 points.
Onekama (6-0) The Portagers have jumped from three to five to eight to 14 wins over the last four seasons, respectively, and could add to that run this winter after a start that’s included a pair of victories over Maple City Glen Lake – after splitting with the eventual Northwest Conference co-champion last season – plus single wins over Traverse City St. Francis and Elk Rapids. Onekama will have two more chances to avenge 2023-24 losses this week, Thursday against Benzie Central and Saturday against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Country Day (8-0) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-0) – Both own notable wins from the first five weeks, but whichever comes out on top will have its best victory yet this winter.
Thursday – Ewen-Trout Creek (7-1) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (7-0) – There’s intense recent history here as LL-H was second and E-TC third in the Copper Mountain Conference last year, with E-TC then ending the Lakes’ 23-2 season in the Regional Semifinals.
Thursday – Chelsea (6-0) at Tecumseh (6-0) – The Southeastern Conference White may come down to these two again after they split last season’s two meetings – and the championship.
Friday – Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (7-1) – The Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold has five teams at 5-3 or better, and these two look to be among top contenders with West Catholic coming off winning the O-K Blue last year.
Saturday – Tecumseh (6-0) at Rockford (7-1) – Two days after the Chelsea matchup, Division 2 title hopeful Tecumseh will test itself against a Division 1 championship contender.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTOS (Top) Belleville's Paisley Stephens (4) gets to the basket during a win over Parma Western on Dec. 21 at Detroit Renaissance. (Middle) Tecumseh's Faith Wiedyk (2) drives the baseline against West Bloomfield also at the Lady Phoenix Shootout. (Photos by Team Arreguin Photos.)