Experience Pays for Veteran Saints
March 14, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Senior Sarah Cullip and junior Kelley Wright learned a few things during their previous trips to Breslin Center that surely came to mind during Thursday’s Class D Semifinal against Climax-Scotts.
And with neither team able to find the back of the net, both had to call on those lessons to lift the top-ranked and undefeated Saints back to a familiar spot among those who will play on the final day of the season.
Wright made only 6 of 20 shots from the field, but connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:54 left in regulation. Cullip missed more than half the game because of foul trouble, but made two free throws with her team up only three and 25 seconds to play as the Saints held on for a 42-36 victory.
St. Ignace (26-0) will face three-time reigning champion Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes at 10 a.m. Saturday to try to earn a second MHSAA championship in three seasons. The Saints fell in last season’s Class C Semifinals, but won Class C in 2011 and finished runner-up in 2010.
“I think it was really crucial that I’d been here and played in this gym multiple times before, to know I have to calm down in a pressure situation,” said Cullip, who has been on the floor during all four of her team’s Breslin trips. “It’s just another free throw. It could be the first play of the game or the play that saves the game.”
The Saints have proven plenty this season that they can win big. Their first and only game closer than 10 points before Thursday came in the Regional Final, a 74-68 win over No. 6 Posen. St. Ignace has scored more than 80 points six times this season and more than 90 on three occasions.
But unranked Climax-Scotts (20-6) didn’t allow the Saints to get into their usual rhythm.
The Panthers finished with more field goals, 17-15, and the same number of rebounds. They actually shot better from the floor, 38 percent to 32. But Climax-Scotts got to the free throw line for only two attempts and had 20 turnovers. St. Ignace made 10 of 20 free throw tries and turned the ball over only 10 times.
The trip to Breslin was Climax-Scotts’ first to Finals weekend since finishing Class D runner-up in 1986.
“I can’t be prouder of my girls. They took on the number one ranked team in the state – number one from the get-go – and gave them probably the best game they’ve played all year,” Climax-Scotts coach Dana Perrin said. “I told the girls after the game they had nothing to hang their heads about, be sad about.”
St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls, meanwhile, recalled some of the tears in her players’ eyes after they fell during last season’s Class C Semifinals to eventual champion Morley-Stanwood – and how those likely paid off in extra resolve this time around.
Senior guard Brook Chambers could play only seven minutes Thursday because of an ankle sprain she re-aggravated during the Quarterfinal. Cullip, the team’s second-leading scorer and best defender, played only 15 minutes because of foul trouble.
“It obviously wasn’t the prettiest of games,” Ingalls said. “But at this state of the game, if you can win ugly, it’s a good thing."
Senior center Fallon Froberg led Climax-Scotts with 14 points and seven rebounds, but she had nearly half of her team’s 17 field goals. “Just them making chaos is the toughest thing,” Climax-Scotts senior guard Janae Langs said of the Saints’ defensive pressure.
Wright finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Abbey Ostman grabbed 13 rebounds for the Saints.
Click for a full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace three-year starter Kelley Wright pushes the ball up court during Thursday's Semifinal. (Middle) Wright defends Climax-Scotts' Destiny Froberg (10). (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 1
December 10, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s high school girls basketball teams wasted no time firing up highlights as their season tipped off last week.
Without giving the rest of this first “Countdown to Calvin” report away, we saw one reigning MHSAA champion fall and another just barely remain unbeaten – while an incredible winning streak ended and a few much shorter but perhaps someday notable ones got started.
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]. (And remember, new this season: The tournament is now organized by Divisions, 1-4, instead of the traditional Class A-B-C-D.)
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Adrian Lenawee Christian 57, Detroit Country Day 52 – The reigning Class D champion Cougars bounced back off an opening-night loss with a statement downing reigning Class B champ Country Day.
2. Hudson 38, Pittsford 30 – The Tigers put an end to Pittsford’s 106-game regular-season winning streak that stretched back to Jan. 28, 2013.
3. Saginaw Heritage 45, Southfield Arts & Technology 43 – The reigning Class A champion Hawks are favorites for the Division 1 title, but the Warriors look like contenders now as well.
4. Michigan Center 59, Adrian Lenawee Christian 54 – That last season’s Class B semifinalist Cardinals won this opener wasn’t stunning, but it looks even better considering Lenawee Christian’s work later in the week noted above.
5. East Kentwood 52, Muskegon 51 – The Falcons earned a slight upper hand in a matchup of what should be a pair of Division 1 contenders this winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
• East Lansing (3-0) – The Trojans graduated the Miss Basketball Award winner off last season’s Class A runner-up team and immediately bounced back to open with a 59-55 win over Division 2 contender Williamston, followed by a big victory over Lansing Waverly and a 66-63 win over last season’s Quarterfinal opponent, Muskegon.
• South Lyon East (2-0) – The Cougars nearly doubled their 2016-17 win total last season in finishing 13-8, and victories last week over Livonia Churchill (47-42) and Canton (50-41) set them up nicely for this week’s test against Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
DIVISION 2
• Chelsea (2-0) – The Bulldogs began building on last season’s 17-5 finish with wins over Marshall (40-38) and Dearborn Divine Child (54-46), the Marshall win avenging one of last winter’s defeats.
• Hamilton (2-0) – Two straight 20-win seasons and a trip to last winter’s Class B Quarterfinals have the Hawkeyes established among teams to watch. They opened with a 62-42 win over Grand Rapids South Christian, coming off a 19-win season, and then edged Grand Rapids Catholic Central 42-40.
DIVISION 3
• Whittemore-Prescott (2-0) – The Cardinals won four games all of last season but are halfway to matching that total after opening victories over Posen (50-45) and Fairview (36-35).
• Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (2-0) – Last season’s Class C runner-up opened with a 60-52 win over Division 1 power Clarkston (a Class A quarterfinalist last winter) and 59-55 victory over another impressive Division 3 team, Maple City Glen Lake.
DIVISION 4
• Ewen-Trout Creek (2-0) – The Panthers opened the season with a 49-45 win over Chassell, one of the only teams to beat them during last winter’s 16-5 run. Ewen-Trout Creek nearly doubled up Lake Linden-Hubbell to close the first week.
• Rudyard (3-0) – The Bulldogs’ fast start last week included double-digit wins over Manistique and Frankfort and a three-pointer, 54-51, over Newberry. Rudyard lost twice last season to Newberry in finishing 9-14, but showed signs of what may be to come by winning a District title.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Waterford Kettering (1-1) at Bloomfield Hills Marian (2-0) – Combined these two went 35-12 last season, and Kettering’s loss last week was by two to reigning Class C champion Detroit Edison.
Tuesday – Negaunee (2-0) at Marquette (2-1) – These likely are two of the best in the Upper Peninsula, with the Redettes’ loss last week by just two to Brighton.
Tuesday – Williamston (1-1) at Wayne Memorial (0-0) – After making the Class A Semifinals a year ago, Wayne’s new lineup gets an early test.
Friday – DeWitt (1-0) at East Lansing (3-0) – This is one of those matchups to always circle; eventually they also meet in the postseason, and often that victor makes a run at the title.
Saturday – Detroit Renaissance (0-1) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (2-0) at Detroit Edison – This might be the most intriguing in-state matchup of the DEPSA Holiday Classic as Renaissance also won its District last 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: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Scout Nelson makes a move toward the basket against Morley Stanwood in a season-opening win. She went over 1,000 career points last week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)