Edison Follows Miss Basketball Whitehorn Back to Championship Day
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
March 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – Detroit Edison and Miss Basketball Award winner Ruby Whitehorn will try for the program’s first Division 2 title since 2019 after moving past Ludington on Friday 63-30 in a Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The Pioneers (18-3) will face Grand Rapids West Catholic at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
Edison was felled by the COVID-19 last season, so getting a chance to play at the Breslin meant a little more.
“I was a little nervous because I knew we hadn’t been here in a few years,’’ said coach Monique Brown. “I have a whole new team since the last time we were here. Devin (Hagemann), she has only played 10 games in the last two seasons. To be on the floor where her sister (DeeDee) plays at, I know she was a little nervous. We jumped out a little bit early, but we got a little antsy. We were able to settle down, and overplaying them we were able to pull away from them.’’
Whitehorn came out of the game with six minutes left having scored 18 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists.
“The past few games I’ve learned to keep my attitude in check and trust my teammates,’’ said Whitehorn. “They have my back. It took me a little while not to get on myself when I wasn’t scoring. I realized that when I get an assist, I feel like I’m scoring. I love to rebound. That’s my big thing. It’s the most aggressive thing for me to do on the court. It’s fun to me. When you get a rebound, you look tough.
“Growing up, it was always a dream to play on Michigan State’s court. I thought since I committed somewhere else (Clemson), I thought I wouldn’t get that chance, but God has a way of making things work out.’’
Shouts of “overrated” by the Ludington student cheering section toward Whitehorn were unfounded.
Ludington (20-6) shot 53.8 percent from the field during the first half. But 17 turnovers were the reason they trailed by 13 at halftime despite Whitehorn scoring just four points over the first 16 minutes.
Edison’s quickness was disruptive, forcing the Orioles into bad decisions and 30 turnovers total for the game.
“We work on more defensive drills than anything,” said Brown. “We had a stretch where we’d play a game and not play for six or seven days or play a game and not play for 14 days. We’ve had a chance to get into a rhythm.’’
Whitehorn scored four points early in the third quarter, and Edison extended its lead to 39-21.
Edison eventually doubled the score (43-21) on a basket by Myan Cooksey.
“It wasn’t like I thought it would be,’’ Ludington’s Keelyn Laird said about going up against Whitehorn. “She can jump out of the gym. She’s a really, really good player.’’
Edison scored the first 10 points of the game, forcing Ludington coach Warren Stowe to call a timeout with 4:37 left in the first quarter.
“Tough game for us,’’ said Stowe. “We knew we were going to see an immense amount of pressure all night. We did. It’s like a leaky faucet. It’s what we try to do to teams on the west side of the state, put that type of pressure on them. It wears on you.’’
Oliva Lynn finally scored for the Orioles, after Hagemann had drained a triple, to make it 13-2.
Ludington shook off the jitters and got to within six, at 15-9 with 1:41 to go in the opening period, going inside against the Edison defense.
Ludington’s zone started to affect the Edison offense, and when RyAnn Rohrer scored four straight points the Orioles were within 17-14 with Whitehorn on the bench with two fouls a minute into in the second quarter. The 6-foot-3 Laird made her presence felt inside, scoring a rebound basket a minute later to make it a one-point game, 17-16.
Edison promptly went on a 13-1 spurt to take a 30-17 advantage, and led 32-19 at halftime.
Rohrer scored 11 points during the first half and led the Orioles with 15. Madisen Wardell added 10 points and four steals for the Pioneers.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Edison’s Ruby Whitehorn makes a move toward the hoop as Ludington's RyAnn Rohrer (5) defends Friday. (Middle) Madisen Wardell (15) gets up a shot during her team’s Division 2 Semifinal win. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Zarycki Leaves as Top Scorer, Big Winner
March 25, 2019
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
She didn’t envision 79 varsity victories, three District championships, three league titles or a program scoring record at the time.
As a young girl in her driveway years ago, Edwardsburg’s Kaitlyn Zarycki just wanted to master dribbling between her legs and behind-the-back passes.
Zarycki, who just completed her final basketball season as the Eddies’ electric point guard, likely will sit atop the school’s all-time list of scorers for many years to come after netting 1,609 career points in her four-year career. She also led the team to a record 23 victories this season following a one-loss campaign that ended with a 60-39 defeat to Hamilton in the Division 2 Regional Semifinals.
“It was really hard when Coach took me out in the last minute,” the four-year starter said. “It started to sink in that it was finally over. We had an amazing season, and I’m proud of all these girls. All the hard work we put in was worth it.”
Everything else she has accomplished is slowly starting to register as well. Zarycki, who already held the girls scoring record at Edwardsburg, was aware of the fact she was on the verge of passing Josh Kozinski as the school’s top scorer including both hoops programs. Kozinski ended his time with the Eddies with 1,580 career points in 2013.
In a District title game against Three Rivers, Zarycki poured in 27 points, setting a new record in the third quarter.
“I knew how many points I had, but when I hit it, I had no idea,” she said. “I was just more focused on the game. Afterwards, it felt nice. I am very proud. It makes me happy to see how proud I’ve made my family. I know I couldn’t be here without the program and my teammates as well.”
With a talented and cohesive group, led by a senior class with ample chemistry which also included guards Claire Alby, Bailey Anson, Chloe Bartz and Madison Robinson, the Eddies were able to secure back-to-back District championships for the first time.
Edwardsburg was a combined 79-14 over her four varsity seasons.
“We knew that if everybody played unselfishly and played for each other that we could do something special,” said coach Jon Pobuda, who took over the program four years ago. “We had a great season last year, and we thought we could take it to another level this year. Those girls are always together and enjoyed playing together. It is just a great group of young ladies.
“We went from not knowing if we could win (four years ago) to now expecting to win every game. You have to give credit to Kaitlyn Zarycki. She has taken our program to whole new level. She’s just an amazing talent, selfless and she makes everyone around her better.”
What’s even more impressive is Pobuda and Zarycki didn’t milk blowouts in order to set an individual scoring record. The Wolverine Conference champion’s average margin of victory was around 28 points per game, and Zarycki averaged only 23 minutes per game.
“It’s nice to see these girls who don’t normally get to play, play,” she said. “I’m not a selfish person. I just like to see them play. I knew when I was in that I wasn’t going to play the whole game, so I needed to make every minute count.”
Zarycki finished the year averaging around 22 points, four assists, six steals and five rebounds per contest.
Growing up a coach’s daughter – her father Mark has coached both the girls varsity and JV over the years – it comes as no surprise spending so much time in a gym has translated to accolades and opportunities. Zarycki, who signed to play at Saginaw Valley State University next year, was named to The Associated Press all-state second team as a junior in 2018 and has a good chance to make the first team this year. She was an honorable mention as a sophomore.
Saginaw Valley State had a rough winter, finishing 6-21 overall with all six victories coming in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. But it’s a program hoping to turn things around after seven losses by fewer than 10 points. Saginaw Valley State started two freshmen in all 27 games, which is a great sign for Zarycki next season.
On top of all that, Zarycki earned all-state after an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter relay at last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Track & Field Finals at Zeeland Stadium. Along with teammates Jocelyn Hack, Alexa Markel and Cameron Cleveland, the Eddies logged a school-record time of 4 minutes, 9.72 seconds.
But her legacy will be that of a ball-handling dynamo who finished at the bucket, made eyebrow-raising plays, displayed court vision and tenacious defense on the basketball court.
“I’m glad she’s been with me the last four years,” Pobuda said. “I’m sure a lot of teams are OK with her not coming back next year. She didn’t really care about the stats; she cared about winning.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Edwardsburg’s Kaitlyn Zarycki gets a shot up despite being surrounded by three defenders. (Middle) Zarycki runs the offense against Three Rivers. (Photos by Michael Caterina/South Bend Tribune.)