'Downtown' Heats Up as Saints Advance
March 19, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – It just happens sometimes, Margo Brown said after she landed her name among the most accomplished long-range shooters in MHSAA Finals history.
And Thursday was just about the best time for another of the hot streaks that have earned the St. Ignace senior a reputation as one of the top bombers in the state.
Brown drilled seven straight 3-pointers to drive the Saints on a 19-point swing and into their third straight MHSAA Final with a 59-50 comeback win over top-ranked Frankfort in the late Class D Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
"Downtown Margo Brown," as her coach called her after, made her first 3-pointer with St. Ignace trailing midway through the second quarter, and her seventh put the Saints up six points with 6:14 to play. Total, she made 7 of 9 from behind the arc to contribute to team percentages that generally defy logic. For the game, St. Ignace shot a respectable 49 percent from the field – but 64 percent from 3-point range.
“It was just a huge momentum change. It got everyone pumped up, the crowd and team especially,” Brown said. “The first half only a couple of us stepped up, and the second half I knew I had to bring it. It was now or never, we’ve gotta get there Saturday. Let’s make some shots, make some plays.
“I just get pumped up. I have a lot of intensity.”
And an incredible shooting touch. She’ll surely be St. Ignace’s most marked player when she and the No. 6 Saints (21-5) face No. 2 Pittsford (26-0) in the Class D Final at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Brown made 11 3-pointers in a game earlier this season, which will tie for third-most in MHSAA girls basketball history when added to the record book this spring. She had made 51 coming into this week, and should push to make the MHSAA record book list for single-season 3-pointers as well, depending on how many she adds in the championship game.
She played the biggest part in earning that opportunity – but one of a number of parts needed in the comeback effort.
Making a pair of 3-pointers as well, Frankfort (24-2) built an eight-point lead six minutes into the game. The Panthers pushed the advantage to 13 with 5:46 left in the first half. Junior Mackenna Kelly did most of the damage, scoring 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting to that point.
Enter Saints junior forward Shakir Smith, who took over defending Kelly and helped hold the Central Michigan University recruit to 2 of 13 shooting the rest of the game.
Junior guard Abbey Ostman and senior center Sarah Smith joined Brown on St. Ignace’s 2013 Class D championship team, and they had roles to play Thursday as well. Brown had 23 points and four assists, and Ostman added 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the floor. Smith had seven points plus game highs of eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
“Basically, I said it’s going to have be an all-out team effort. You’re going to have to dive on the floor and show how bad you want it,” St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls said of her halftime time pep talk, given with the Saints trailing 28-20.
“We weren’t just going to get an 8-point basket. We had to go one play at a time. And when Margo can shoot from halfcourt, it helps.”
Frankfort cut its late deficit to five on senior Shayla Soto’s bucket with 54 seconds to play. But the Saints made 7 of 8 free throw shots down the stretch – including the final two by Brown.
“When Margo came out nuclear – that was beyond hot – that was something else,” Frankfort coach Tim Reznich said. “She’s been a great player for quite a while. And we had our best player chasing her."
Kelly finished with 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Frankfort, which played in its first Semifinal since winning back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006. Sophomore guard Cecilia Schmitt added 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Frankfort is a combined 47-4 over the last two seasons.
Click for the full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Margo Brown (24) drives to the basket Thursday against Frankfort. (Middle) The Panthers’ Mackenna Kelly works for space with the Saints’ Jade Edelman defending.
Performance: Bellaire's Lexi Niepoth
January 12, 2018
Lexi Niepoth
Bellaire senior – Basketball
Bellaire’s 5-foot-8 forward added another memorable accomplishment to a high school career she expects to finish this spring with 11 varsity letters across three sports. Niepoth, a Class D all-state honorable mention a year ago, grabbed 27 rebounds to go with 24 points in a 54-21 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston on Friday to set a school record for rebounds and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Niepoth is averaging 15 points, 14 rebounds (including six offensive), 3.8 steals and 2.2 assists per game, and her 27 rebounds made the MHSAA record book tying for 17th-most grabbed in one game. Niepoth is a four-year varsity basketball player, and this season’s team is 8-1 and ranked No. 2 in Class D by The Associated Press. Niepoth’s impact on both ends of the floor is obvious; she’s the best passer on the team to go with her scoring and rebounding, and she’s a “ball hawk” defensively able to guard every position while helping key the Eagles’ press. Niepoth also was a four-year varsity volleyball player and all-area selection as an outside hitter, and she’ll play her third year of varsity softball in the spring – she had to miss last season after injuring an ankle near the end of basketball season.
Her athletic successes go hand in hand with her classroom performance. Niepoth has a 3.945 grade-point average and is leaning toward studying psychology at Ferris State University after graduation. She has worked as a teacher aide in a special education class and would like to work with children in the future. She serves as a fine example to players coming up in Bellaire’s program, and she’ll be back on the court Friday against Pellston – before a matchup Wednesday against rival Gaylord St. Mary that likely will pit the first-place teams in the Ski Valley Conference.
Coach Brad Fischer said: “From day one she has made us a better team. Flat-out, she is a game changer, a tenacious player that never quits on a play. She can and often does dominate the game by her relentless effort rebounding and controlling the boards. The defensive pressure she puts on our opponents makes us go. … Her impact on the entire program may be immeasurable. For the past four seasons she has given her team, the program, and me as her coach the belief and confidence that no matter who we play we have the chance to win each contest. Not every program can say that, and I can without hesitation. Belief and confidence plays an important role in athletics, academics, and in life. With her that belief and confidence has made it throughout our entire program by her peers watching her and the constant positive examples we use of her for our younger players to emulate. That has made such a positive flow of influence from the high school level all the way down to our youth program. Lexi has been one of the main reasons for our recent success through her dominance, reliability and being a great teammate and role model on and off the court.”
Performance Point: “I don’t really think about it as I play. I just go for the ball. At halftime, my coaches kept telling me to rebound, and I could just tell; they were like, ‘You’re pretty close to the record.’ So I just kept rebounding and didn’t want to think about it a whole lot, so I didn’t freak out. When I was sitting on the bench, the JV coach that was sitting on the bench came to me and said, ‘You’re really close. Just keep playing, and keep rebounding.’ During the game, I don’t really think about how much I score or how much I rebound, so it’s rewarding – and it shocked me, to be honest.”
Own the boards: “My coach says sometimes in practice how I’m falling in love with just jumping for the ball instead of boxing out. But I feel like when they shoot it, I just assume it’s not going to go in, because obviously I like to rebound. But I also try to watch where the ball is going to bounce off the rim. I don’t really box out, to be honest. I just kinda run around the people – and then just jump as high as I can to try to get the ball.”
Finish strong: “We’re senior-based. I’ve been with Tally Goodwin all four years too, and I think her and I probably work the best just because we’ve had that experience. … Ever since freshman year, I never really thought senior year would come. I think it’s kinda cool: We were good freshman year. We were good sophomore year. We struggled junior year, and this year I feel like everything is clicking and the teamwork and team chemistry is probably one of the best I’ve had all my four years.”
Be the example: “I love the younger kids, and actually last year I was the coach and helped out with one of the youth programs. I just hope that I’m a good role model for them to become and do their best – (to teach them) the work ethic, or always trying your hardest even if you’re down by 15 or you’re up by 20, to try to still go after every ball, try to still make every lay-up, every shot. And also how you work with your teammates and how you work with the other teams, your sportsmanship and your attitude.”
On a mission to help kids: “I went to Belize on a mission trip with my youth group (over Christmas her freshman year), and it kind’ve all started there. You do things for them, say things to them. You teach them, and it sticks. It’s rewarding to see what you taught them and their growth.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Bellaire's Lexi Niepoth (13) blocks a passing lane during a game this season. (Middle) Niepoth makes a move to the basket. (Photos courtesy of the Bellaire girls basketball program.)