Flushing Celebrates 'Banner' Season
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 18, 2017
EAST LANSING – Breanna Perry was tired of looking at a lonely state championship banner in the Flushing gymnasium – especially one twice her age.
So the Flushing senior and her teammates went out and got another one.
The Raiders defeated East Kentwood 49-38 Saturday in the MHSAA Class A girls basketball championship game at the Breslin Center. It was the school’s first MHSAA Finals title in the sport, and first in any since winning a girls golf title in 1977.
“We had one banner, and it was how many years ago?” said Perry, who had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win. “It’s nice to have another banner, and it’s nice that it’s recent. I’m going to have to come back like every day just to look at it.”
Flushing (24-3) was making its first appearance in a girls basketball championship game, and had just one run to the Semifinals (1976) in program history. It entered the postseason not only outside The Associated Press’ top 10 rankings in Class A, but also wasn’t listed in the “others receiving votes” category.
On the way to the title, the Raiders knocked off No. 4 Midland Dow – which had defeated them earlier in the season – and reigning Class A champion Warren Cousino.
“This whole tournament has been an out-of-body experience for me, and I think for all the other girls,” Flushing senior Carson Wilson said. “We’re just still trying to comprehend it all. It’s a lot to take in.”
While Flushing was a veteran team – with four seniors in the starting lineup – it was short on postseason experience, as the program had not made it out of the Regional since 2009. That didn’t seem to bother the Raiders on the biggest stage.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world right now, to be able to be part of what these guys have accomplished at Flushing,” Raiders coach Larry Ford said. “What they did today and throughout the whole tournament, I think was nothing short of special – almost, probably, divine in some respects. They’re a team that stays true to themselves, and they showed that today. Everything for these guys starts on the defensive end, and they let the offense take care of itself.”
Lauren Newman led Flushing with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Shelby Morrow added 10 points and six rebounds, while Kamryn Chappell had five assists. Perry added four steals and three blocks.
Corinne Jemison led East Kentwood (26-2) with 12 points, while Mauriya Barnes had seven. East Kentwood shot 28.1 percent from the field, and was held to six second-chance points despite grabbing 18 offensive rebounds.
“We shot very poorly from the free throw line (36.4 percent) and we shot very poorly from the floor,” East Kentwood coach Jimmy Carter said. “You’re not going to win a game like that against a good team with that type of shooting.”
Flushing held a 19-17 lead at the half after getting points from six players, led by six points from Newman.
Aggressiveness on defense and the offensive glass kept the Falcons close in the half, as they shot just 21.4 percent from the field, compared to 47.1 percent for Flushing. East Kentwood grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, and forced 14 Flushing turnovers. East Kentwood had an 11-5 advantage in points off turnovers at the half.
But in the third quarter, Flushing cleaned things up, both on the offensive glass and in the turnover department, to start to pull away from the Falcons. Perry had seven rebounds in the quarter to spark the effort.
“I think we were a little bit more focused, and effort was part of it,” Ford said. “That first half was pretty physical, so we talked about what we had to do at the half – bear down and get a little more physical without fouling. We knew we had to take care of the turnover situation, and I think we cut down our turnover situation.”
The Raiders led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter, and as the clock ticked down, the student section sang “We Are the Champions,” and Ford was able to give his seniors a curtain call.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me that we are state champions,” Newman said. “It kind of just feels like another game in our season. But to achieve that goal and finally get a banner to put up, it’s an unreal feeling and it’s a great accomplishment for our team.”
While East Kentwood didn’t get to finish the season with the same feeling, the Falcons were able to lift their program to a place most didn’t expect it to be four years after winning just one game.
“I’m really proud of our team,” East Kentwood senior Andraya Johnson said. “We went from being an unranked team to being second in the state. That’s a pretty big deal even though we didn’t win.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flushing’s Breanna Perry pushes the ball upcourt during Saturday’s Class A Final. (Middle) East Kentwood’s Andraya Johnson (21) gets a shot past the outstretched hand of Flushing’s Lauren Newman.
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 20, 2023
The seeds for this season’s District brackets are set as nearly 700 Michigan girls basketball teams are finishing up their regular seasons this week in advance of the playoffs beginning Feb. 27.
Brackets were seeded and filled Sunday, and published here for all four divisions:
Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4
This will be the last of our regular-season “Breslin Bound” reports, as next week we switch the format up a bit while previewing several of the strongest Districts across the state.
“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. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 41, Farmington Hills Mercy 27 The Irish (17-3) won the season series with Mercy (17-3), following up their league schedule split with this victory in the Detroit Catholic League Bishop championship game.
2. Grosse Pointe North 36, Utica Ford 28 A Feb. 7 matchup was canceled, but these league champions met after all as North (17-2) claimed the Macomb Area Conference Red/White Tournament title against the Falcons (17-2).
3. Dansville 43, Fowler 38 (OT) The Aggies (17-1) clinched a share of the Central Michigan Athletic Conference championship in memorable fashion by completing a regular-season sweep of the two-time reigning Division 4 champion Eagles (13-7).
4. Frankenmuth 46, Freeland 39 (OT) The Eagles (17-2) ran their Tri-Valley Conference 8 winning streak to 41 in clinching a share of a third-straight league title, with their last TVC loss coming in 2020 to the Falcons (15-5).
5. Rockford 50, Haslett 36 This matchup of league champions saw Rockford move to 19-1 in handing Haslett (20-1) its only defeat.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Coldwater (19-1) The Cardinals made a jump from three wins just two seasons ago to 12-10 last winter and now near-perfect and in position to at least share the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference championship. Coldwater avenged that lone loss, 50-46 to Jackson Northwest on Jan. 10, with a 57-51 victory Feb. 7. Those two are tied for the league lead with two games left to play for both. Coldwater also earned the top seed at the Battle Creek Lakeview District.
North Farmington (20-0) The Raiders are another notable story of a quick turnaround as they’ve gone from six wins two seasons ago to 12-9 last winter to undefeated. They lead the Oakland Activities Association White by a game over Oxford and face the Wildcats on Tuesday with an opportunity to clinch the championship outright. North Farmington also earned the second seed in the District it will be hosting next week.
DIVISION 2
Marysville (16-4) The Vikings have won 11 of their last 12 games, along the way clinching the MAC Blue championship and winning the MAC Blue/Gold Tournament last week with a 41-22 victory over Marine City (15-4). Marysville also avenged an early loss to St. Clair (14-6) in the tournament semifinal, and earned the top seed in the District hosted by Armada as the Vikings seek to build on last year’s Quarterfinal run.
Wayland (17-3) The Wildcats had averaged nearly 14 wins over the last three seasons, so they’ve grown accustomed to being in the mix. But this winter has seen another step forward, as Wayland has won 13 of its last 14 games and clinched a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title with a 46-39 victory Friday over Grand Rapids South Christian – which had handed the Wildcats their most recent defeat, 54-48 on Jan. 20. Wayland also earned a top District seed, at Hopkins, with its only other losses to Byron Center (17-3) and Grand Rapids West Catholic (19-0).
DIVISION 3
Ithaca (17-3) The Yellowjackets have bounced back from a two-game stumble near the end of January to earn a chance to clinch a share of the Tri-Valley Conference 10-2 title Friday. They’re tied atop the league with Saginaw Valley Lutheran – with which they split their regular-season series – and Ithaca earned the second seed in one of the strongest Districts in Division 3, at Bath. Ithaca is up to No. 9 overall in Division 3 MPR, with wins over Valley Lutheran (17-3) and Standish-Sterling (17-3) among 10 total over teams with winning records.
Watervliet (16-4) The Panthers finished a perfect run through the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore last week with a second win over Bridgman (15-4), with that pair and another over SAC Central champion Martin (15-4) among the most notable victories next also to strong losses to Buchanan (18-1), Benton Harbor (13-8), Kalamazoo Christian (17-3) and Stevensville Lakeshore (14-5). Watervliet will be the top seed next week at Bloomingdale.
DIVISION 4
Ontonagon (15-5) The Gladiators have won 15 games for the second-straight season and at least 13 for the fifth consecutive, and they’ve clinched a title share of the Porcupine Mountain division of the Copper Mountain Conference. Ontonagon is the top seed at next week’s District at Bessemer and is 9-0 this season against the other teams in the bracket, with a pair of wins over second seed Ewen-Trout Creek part of the team’s best work. The Gladiators also have a sweep of Lake Linden-Hubbell (15-5) and notable losses to Baraga (16-4) twice, Hancock (17-1) and Calumet (15-4).
Petersburg Summerfield (18-2) A 46-28 win over Morenci on Thursday avenged a 48-41 loss from Jan. 17 and locked up a shared Tri-County Conference championship between the two. Summerfield also sits No. 15 overall in Division 4 MPR and is the top seed at next week’s District at Britton Deerfield. The Bulldogs’ only other loss this season was to Division 2 Ida, 50-42 on Dec. 6, and they defeated Manchester and East Jackson at the end of that month to win Adrian College’s holiday tournament.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Holt (17-3) at DeWitt (18-2) – The Rams own a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title thanks to a 55-53 win over the Panthers from Jan. 31, but DeWitt still has a chance to earn a share as well.
Thursday – Lake City (19-1) at McBain (16-4) – Three teams still have a chance to earn a piece of the Highland Conference title, with this matchup determining if Lake City claims it outright or shares it with McBain and Evart.
Thursday – Wixom St. Catherine (19-1) at Riverview (18-2) – These two will get some more valuable postseason prep with Riverview No. 16 in Division 1 MPR and St. Catherine No. 7 in Division 2.
Thursday – Detroit Renaissance (18-0) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (17-3) – The champions of the Detroit Public School League and Catholic League Bishop tournaments, respectively, meet in the annual Operation Friendship game.
Thursday – Farwell (16-4) at Sanford Meridian (18-1) – Should both win (or both lose) Tuesday, this will determine if Meridian wins the Jack Pine Conference title outright or shares it with the Eagles.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning 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. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as 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.
PHOTO North Farmington's Penelope Creary (3) brings the ball upcourt during her team's Feb. 16 win over Rochester Adams. (Photo courtesy of the North Farmington athletic department.)