Girls Basketball: It's the Final Countdown
March 14, 2012
Four months after the opening tip, girls basketball season will come to close this weekend at Michigan State's Breslin Center.
All four reigning champions are back -- Inkster in Class A, Dearborn Divine Child in Class B, St. Ignace in Class C and Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes in Class D. But also arriving in East Lansing are nine teams that have never won an MHSAA girls basketball championship -- including Class B favorite Goodrich.
The schedule, ticket and broadcast information follows below, along with team-by-team looks at all 16 competing this weekend.
Semifinals - Thursday
Class C
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (22-4) vs. Concord (26-0) - 1 pm
St. Ignace (25-0) vs. Morley-Stanwood (26-0) - 2:50 pm
Class D
Portland St. Patrick (19-6) vs. Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (21-4) - 6 pm
Athens (20-5) vs. Crystal Falls Forest Park (21-5) - 7:50 pm
Semifinals - Friday
Class A
Grand Haven (25-1) vs. Inkster (21-5) - 1 pm
Ann Arbor Huron (21-5) vs. Grosse Pointe South (22-3) - 2:50 pm
Class B
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (23-3) vs. Freeland (22-3)- 6 pm
Goodrich (26-0) vs. Dearborn Divine Child (24-2) - 7:50 pm
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6 pm
Class C - 4 pm
Class D - 10 am
Tickets cost $8 per session for Semifinals and Finals. Parking at Breslin costs $5. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and FoxSportsDetroit.com. The Class D, C and A Finals will be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit, with the Class B Final on Fox Sports Detroit Plus channels.
And now, a look at the contenders:
Class A
ANN ARBOR HURON
Record/rank: 21-5, unranked
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference Red
Coach: Steve Vinson, ninth season (142-64)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 52-39 over Saginaw Arthur Hill (Quarterfinal), 58-34 and 51-41 over Temperance Bedford, 47-36 over Brighton (District Final), 48-40 over Hartland (Regional Final).
Players to watch: Devin Talley (5-8 sr. G – 10.6 ppg, 2.7 spg, 2.5 apg), Logan Sims (6-0 sr. C – 8.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
Outlook: Huron has won 18 straight games after a 3-5 start, but those losses – four came against Class A Semifinalists Detroit Pershing and Inkster and Class B powers Goodrich and Detroit Country Day – no doubt have made Huron more prepared for this weekend. The River Rats have been building toward this kind of run with three straight league titles and District championships three of the last four seasons.
GRAND HAVEN
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Red
Coach: Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer, 14th season (219-109)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 42-40 (2 OT) over honorable mention East Lansing (Quarterfinal), 43-39 over No. 4 Detroit Martin Luther King, 45-36 over No. 6 East Kentwood, 44-35 over Class B No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Players to watch: Shar’Rae Davis (5-9 sr. G – 10 ppg, 5.0 apg), Alex Law (5-11 sr. F – 12 ppg), Abby Cole (6-5 jr. C). (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Grand Haven just got past East Lansing in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, but should have no problem rebounding for a game it’s likely been waiting a year to play. The Buccaneers fell by a point to Detroit Renaissance in a Semifinal last season, and Davis, Law and Cole plus the team’s three subs that game all are back. That lone loss this season came to East Kentwood, and Grand Haven has won 21 straight.
GROSSE POINTE SOUTH
Record/rank: 22-3, honorable mention
League finish: Tied for first in Macomb Area Conference White
Coach: Kevin Richards, fifth season (83-30)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 74-51 over honorable mention Warren Cousino, 56-45 over honorable mention Romeo (Regional Semifinal), 58-54 over No. 8 Waterford Kettering (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Caitlin Moore (5-10 sr. G – 16.2 ppg, 2.9 apg), Claire DeBoer (6-1 jr. F – 13.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.0 apg).
Outlook: The Blue Devils’ run is even more impressive considering the team has just four seniors, and only two who start – plus two freshman guards with significant roles. Grosse Points South beat its first five postseason opponents by 10 points or more – and also posted an impressive loss this season, falling to Class A Semifinalist Inkster 73-71 in overtime in the Blue Devils’ sixth game this winter.
INKSTER
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 10
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Ollie Mitchell, first season (21-5)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recently 2011).
Best wins: 56-53 and 59-56 (District Final) over No. 7 Westland John Glenn, 56-53 over No. 2 Lansing Waverly, 59-40 over No. 4 Detroit Martin Luther King (Quarterfinal), 52-51 over Class B No. 6 Dearborn Divine Child.
Players to watch: Kelsey Mitchell (6-1 sr. F – 19.5 ppg), Jamie Madden (5-8 sr. G – 16 ppg), Ariyanna Taylor (5-10 sr. F – 14 ppg).
Outlook: In addition to the mentioned wins above, Inkster has beaten both Semifinalists it could see if it defeats Grand Haven on Friday – the Vikings defeated Ann Arbor Huron 71-61 early in the season and Grosse Pointe South 73-71 in overtime a few weeks later. Mitchell – who has signed with the University of Michigan – leads an imposing frontcourt featuring four players 6-feet and taller and two more who are 5-11. Mitchell and Madden both started last season as well.
Class B
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 6
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League Central
Coach: Mary Laney, eighth season (131-60)
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recently 2011), one runner-up finish
Best wins: 45-35, 54-32 and 53-36 over Class A honorable mention Farmington Hills Mercy, 47-41 over Class D No. 7 Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, 48-42 over Class A No. 4 Detroit Martin Luther King.
Players to watch: Rosanna Reynolds (5-9 sr. G – 12 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Morgan Blair (5-9 jr. G – 11 ppg, 3.2 apg).
Outlook: The reigning champion hasn’t had to face a ranked opponent during the postseason so far, but prepared plenty during the regular season. On top of its impressive wins mentioned above, Divine Child fell by one to Class A Semifinalist Inkster and by nine to Class C Semifinalist Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett. Plus, senior guards Cara Miller and junior forward Mallory Myler joined Reynolds and Blair in last season’s starting line-up and together carry the most Finals experience of any team at Breslin this weekend.
FREELAND
Record/rank: 22-3, honorable mention
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Central
Coach: Tom Zolinski, fifth season (93-27)
Championship history: Won Class C title in 1998.
Best wins: 66-52 over honorable mention Gladstone (Quarterfinal), 50-43 over honorable mention Muskegon Oakridge (Regional Semifinal), 63-39 and 73-66 over honorable mention Bullock Creek, 60-58 over Class C honorable mention Saginaw Valley Lutheran.
Players to watch: Tori Jankoska (5-7 jr. G – 25.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, 58 3-pointers), Tara Padgett (5-5 jr. G – 12.1 ppg, 4.0 apg).
Outlook: Jankoska, who will sign with Michigan State this fall, is arguably the top junior in the state and will get the chance to play on her future home floor. She and Padgett key an offense averaging 59 points per game and also has cleared 70 five times this season. The Falcons avenged one of their two losses – against Saginaw Valley Lutheran – with the other coming to Class C top-ranked team Morley-Stanwood.
GOODRICH
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference Red
Coach: Jason Gray, 13th season (266-38)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-47 over No. 3 Detroit Country Day (Quarterfinal), 70-67 over Class C No. 9 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 61-24 over Class A honorable mention Auburn Hills Avondale, 56-36 over Class A No. 3 Midland, 63-46 over Class A No. 10 Inkster.
Players to watch: Aketra Sevillian (5-6 jr. G – 13.7 ppg, 3.4 spg), Frankie Joubran (5-11 sr. F – 11.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Taylor Gleason (5-8 jr. G – 11.1 ppg, 3.6 apg).
Outlook: Goodrich could make the argument as the state’s top team, regardless of class. Four starters are back from the squad that fell by two in double-overtime to eventual Class B champion Divine Child during last season’s Semifinals. The Martians have beaten their opponents by an average of 64-30 this winter. Joubran has signed with Belmont and senior guard Destiny Stephens has signed with Detroit Mercy.
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 23-3, No. 10
League finish: First in O-K Gold
Coach: Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate, 19th season (347-60)
Championship history: One MHSAA title (2010), one runner-up finish
Best wins: 48-33 over No. 2 Portland (Regional Semifinal), 49-46 (OT) over No. 5 East Grand Rapids (District), 54-35 and 46-31 (Regional Final) over honorable mention Grand Rapids South Christian, 68-41 and 53-28 (District Semifinal) over honorable mention Grand Rapids Christian, 48-34 over Class A No. 10 Inkster.
Players to watch: Tiesha Stokes (6-0 sr. C – 10 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.8 spg), Shellis Hampton (5-10 sr. G – 10 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 5.0 apg), Addie Johnson (5-11 sr. F – 10 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.2 spg).
Outlook: Stokes and Hampton also played significant roles on the 2010 championship team and are among eight seniors who have led this squad to its third Finals in four seasons. Grand Rapids Catholic has won nine straight and knocked out two top-five teams along the way. The Cougars are especially hard to defend because of their balance – three more players average six points per game, and sophomore Alyzia Dilworth hands out five assists per contest.
Class C
CONCORD
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 2
League finish: First in Big 8 Conference
Coach: Jeff Redman, fifth season (62-50)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 31-28 over honorable mention Grass Lake (District Semifinal), 56-45 over No. 4 Niles Brandywine (Quarterfinal), 52-42 and 50-40 over Athens.
Players to watch: Megan Redman (5-4 jr. G – 13 ppg, 3.0 apg), Maycee Brigham (5-10 jr. F – 11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
Outlook: A team with only three seniors is just three seasons removed from a 0-21 finish. But Jeff Redman has led the Yellow Jackets to two straight league championships and a run this season that’s included 22 wins by 10 or more points. Two of those wins were over Class D Semifinalist Athens. Megan Redman earned an all-state honorable mention this week.
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 9 (tied)
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Coach: Joe LaMagno, first season (18-3)
Championship history: Finished runner-up in 2011.
Best wins: 51-33 over No. 7 Flint Hamady (Regional Semifinal), 46-37 over Class B No. 6 Dearborn Divine Child, 77-63 over Class A No. 10 Inkster.
Players to watch: Madison Ristovski (5-10 sr. G – 19.2 ppg, 9.0 apg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 spg), Haleigh Ristovski (5-10 jr. F – 10.2 ppg).
Outlook: University Liggett’s return seemed inevitable after it fell in last season’s Final 65-54 to St. Ignace. It is the only team left in Class C without a perfect record, but those losses all came to Class B or A schools, including B top-ranked Goodrich by three points. Ristovski was named the state’s Miss Basketball on Monday and has signed with the University of Michigan. Her freshman sister Lola also is a major contributor, starting and averaging 12.2 points per game. The Knights are without sophomore guard Bre’nae Andrews (11.7 ppg), who has a leg injury.
MORLEY-STANWOOD
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association
Coach: Bob Raven, 19th season (319-116)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 70-50 over No. 8 McBain, 44-42 over No. 5 Kent City (Regional Final), 59-44 over Saginaw Nouvel (Quarterfinal), 62-53 over Class B honorable mention Freeland.
Players to watch: Bailey Cairnduff (5-10 sr. G – 16.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.3 spg), Alexis Huntey (6-1 sr. F – 15.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.5 apg).
Outlook: All-staters Cairnduff and Huntey hope to make this final run a memorable one after also leading the Morley-Stanwood volleyball team to that Class C championship in the fall. The Mohawks have won 11 straight conference and seven straight District championships – and more than 20 games in each of the last seven seasons too. But this is the first time in five tries during that run that they advanced to the Semifinals. Senior guard Elyse Starck adds 13 points per game and 3.7 assists as the main distributor to those standout posts.
ST. IGNACE
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 3
League finish: First in Straits Area Conference
Coach: Dorene Ingalls, 13th season (264-56)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recently 2011), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 70-69 (OT) over No. 9 Houghton (Regional Final), 73-65 over No. 8 McBain (Quarterfinal), 68-39 over Class D honorable mention Brimley.
Players to watch: Lauren Goldthorpe (5-8 sr. G/F – 15.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 4.0 spg), Kelley Wright (5-10 soph. G – 13.9 ppg, 4.7 apg, 5.4 spg), Emily Hinsman (5-10 soph. G – 12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.0 spg).
Outlook: The reigning champion actually has reached the Final the last two seasons, falling in 2010. Goldthorpe, Wright and junior guard Sarah Cullip (10.4 ppg) started in last season’s championship game, although the team as a whole has picked up a lot of slack after graduating two eventual college players last spring. Goldthorpe earned an all-state special mention this season.
Class D
ATHENS
Record/rank: 20-5, honorable mention
League finish: Third in Big 8 Conference
Coach: Calvin Quist, seventh season (122-46)
Championship history: Has not appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 34-32 and 48-34 (Regional Final) over No. 10 Climax-Scotts, 31-30 over No. 8 Lansing Christian (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Sierra Stevens (5-5 sr. F – 10.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg), Leia Fuller (5-8 jr. F – 5.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg).
Outlook: Athens has been on the verge of a trip to Breslin – Quist has led the Indians to six straight District championships, three Regional titles in four seasons, and at least 20 wins in five straight. Athens is on the low end, literally, in terms of size – Fuller is the team’s tallest player at 5-8. But that hasn’t affected the Indians defensively – they give up just 36 points per game, and have allowed more than 45 only three times. Two losses came to Class C Semifinalist Concord.
CRYSTAL FALLS FOREST PARK
Record/rank: 21-5, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Skyline Conference
Coach: Jeff Syrjanen, seventh season (121-35)
Championship history: Finished runner-up in 1995.
Best wins: 63-58 and 50-47 (Regional Final) over No. 1 Bark River-Harris, 50-39 and 50-29 over honorable mention Rapid River, 52-42 over No. 5 Eben Junction Superior Central (Regional Semifinal), 59-57 over No. 3 Gaylord St. Mary (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Alexis Gussert (5-11 soph. F – 21.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 spg, 2.0 bpg, 45 3-pointers), Tanner Bartczak (5-11 sr. F – 10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.2 spg).
Outlook: The Trojans have staked their claim by beating three of the top five teams in the final Associated Press poll, although they also won 21 games last season. Gussert, an all-state selection this week, is the best player you probably haven't heard of right now – but you’ll know all about her by the end of the weekend. Just a sophomore, she’s got major college eyes turned toward the northwest corner of the Upper Peninsula.
PORTLAND ST. PATRICK
Record/rank: 19-6, unranked
League finish: Fourth in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Al Schrauben, 27th season (531-137)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recently 2002), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 41-29 over No. 2 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (District Semifinal), 65-61 over East Kentwood West Michigan Lutheran (Regional Semifinal), 52-27 over Pewamo-Westphalia.
Players to watch: Sidney Hill (5-8 sr. C – 7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Courtney Dixon (5-10 jr. C – 7.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
Outlook: Don’t overlook the Shamrocks because of their record, lack of rank, or no player scoring more than eight points per game this season. Few programs have had as much success on Girls Basketball Finals weekend. Although St. Patrick’s last championship game appearance was in 2006, it has won District titles four of the last five seasons and Regionals the last two.
WATERFORD OUR LADY OF THE LAKES
Record/rank: 21-4, No. 7
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic High School League East
Coach: Steve Robak, fifth season (105-22)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recently 2011).
Best wins: 37-35, 53-40 and 42-35 (District Final) over No. 6 Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 38-30 over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (Quarterfinal), 47-44 and 39-38 over Allen Park Cabrini.
Players to watch: Carlee Cottrell (5-9 sr. G – 11.8 ppg, 3.3 apg), Lexie Robak (5-9 jr. G – 11.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 43 3-pointers), Tori Duffey (5-8 sr. G – 11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg).
Outlook: Our Lady has won the last two Class D championships, and Lexie Robak and junior guard Ava Doetsch (9.7 ppg) started for both of those teams, while Cottrell also started in last season’s Final. Robak and Cottrell were named all-state earlier this week. The Lakers again battled through a tough schedule including a number of bigger schools, with losses to Class B Semifinalist Dearborn Divine Child and Class C Saginaw Nouvel. But they allowed only two postseason opponents within 28 points.
PHOTO: Waterford Our Lady senior Tori Duffey drives to the basket during a game against Marine City Cardinal Mooney. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
Pittsford Plays to Paint Breslin Blue Again
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
December 10, 2015
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
PITTSFORD – Pittsford High School girls basketball coach Chris Hodos made a bold prediction prior to the 2013-14 season: He told athletic director Mike Burger that their Wildcats were going to go 20-0.
Pittsford, coming off a 15-5 finish, went on to complete the regular season unbeaten before losing in the Final of the District tournament.
After watching the 2014 MHSAA Class D Final, Hodos made another bold prediction to Burger. He called the athletic director and said, “I’m at the Breslin Center, and I’m telling you right now we can make it.”
Hodos is 2 for 2. Pittsford took a 26-0 record into last season’s championship game and built a 20-point lead on St. Ignace before losing 64-60 in overtime.
Hodos is making no predictions this year. But with the majority of that team back and a sly grin on his face, it is obvious he expects another great season from the Wildcats.
Small-town girls, big-time players
Pittsford is a civil township in Hillsdale County, and the 2000 census listed the population as 1,600. It certainly does not jump off a map when searching for it. The high school has 211 students this year.
Therefore, when someone says he or she is from Pittsford, it could cause confusion. Pittsburgh is a likely misunderstanding.
“I played football at Adrian College, and my buddies would say, ‘I saw your hometown in Detroit,’” Hodos said. “I’d tell them, ‘No, that’s Pittsfield. That’s not it.’ That’s just one of the things I hear.”
Pittsford might be a small dot on the map, but in Class D girls basketball, it is a major player.
The Wildcats have not lost a regular-season game since Jan. 24, 2013, when they fell to Bellevue. Since then, Pittsford has won 50 consecutive regular-season games and is 60-3 overall.
Two all-staters are back from last year: juniors Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark. Burger is a slick point guard who averaged 19 points per game last year and set the school record with 170 assists (with just 51 turnovers). Clark, an athletic player who can do it all, averaged 20 points last year and recently became the first Pittsford athlete to receive all-state honors in volleyball.
Laura Smith, one of two seniors on the team, also averaged in double figures in scoring last year, and center Madison Ayers returns after missing all of last season. She was on varsity as a freshman and started as a sophomore. The other starter is junior guard Madison Dominique.
As such in a small town, most of the girls have known each other since grade school and played sports together most of their lives, and Jaycie Burger believes that has been an asset.
“What sticks out the most is how well our team chemistry is,” she said. “We all get along really well, and when you have a team that gets along as well as we do – we all work really hard in practice and we never let any one of us take a play off – we all really care about each other, and that transfers into everyone working hard on the court.”
The Wildcats aren’t extremely tall, but their quickness and athleticism overwhelm most of their opponents, and they have won many more games by lopsided scores than nail-biters. Burger makes it sound simple.
“We like to play fast, get up in the passing lanes and play good defense, beat their defense down the floor and get a fast break,” she said.
Winners from the beginning
When the girls were in grade school, observers noticed they were good. But nobody would have predicted the sort of success they would have in high school. Not even Jaycie Burger’s father, Mike, the athletic director.
“We knew they were really good, and we knew they loved the game and loved each other, so we thought they had the opportunity to be really good high school players,” he said, “but we never expected that they would do this stuff.”
It also presented him with a dilemma. Burger, the football coach, could have coached the girls team but opted for the boys, and he encouraged Hodos, his boys basketball assistant, to apply for the girls job.
“I thought it was not in my best interest to coach the girls,” Burger said. “My son plays basketball, too, he plays for me, but Jaycie needs to be where she can do her thing. She doesn’t need her dad looking over her shoulder. Dad can go sit with the rest of the parents and enjoy the game.”
Jaycie Burger, who plans to play basketball at Hillsdale College after graduation, and Clark, who likely will play basketball or volleyball in college, are in the same grade and attended the same church at a young age.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Clark said of Burger. “I’ve played with Jaycee my whole life, and Laura recently, too. I think we started playing in the second or third grade.
“We were beating people all along, but as we got older we just started beating them more and more. We hoped that we would be good, and it has paid off. Being able to play together for that long, we know each other’s abilities and our strengths.”
Road to Breslin
There really were not too many scares along the way last season as the Wildcats regularly beat teams by 30 or 40 points. But a visit to Breslin was never a certainty, except maybe to Hodos.
“At the beginning of the year, I did not think about playing at Breslin,” Clark said. “As we got farther in the tournament, I could see that it was definitely possible and we could go far, and we did. At times I felt a little pressure that we could be perfect, but in the end I focused more on the game and brushed it off.”
Hodos, who had made the bold prediction of getting to Breslin a year earlier, said the moment that became a reality was something he will never forget.
“When the buzzer rang at Battle Creek Harper Creek in the quarters, and I knew we were going to the Breslin Center, I just remember looking at the scoreboard,” he said. “It was an amazing feeling.”
When the time came for the Semifinals and Final, the team arrived so early for the game that it beat the Fox Sports Detroit television crew, which had hoped to film the girls getting off the bus.
With a 20-point lead in the third quarter, the Class D title felt so close. But as things often happen, it slipped away. Smith said she spent a lot of time re-watching the game on a DVD purchased by her parents.
“Sometimes I just sit in my room and watch it,” she said. “I look at it, and I usually look at myself and see what I could have done better. But as a team we played great, and I wouldn’t really have changed much.
“Last year was probably for me a dream come true because my whole high school career I’ve always wanted to go to the Breslin Center, and last year we made it.”
Smith also said that breezing through the schedule last year might not have been a good thing for the team when it came to the MHSAA Finals.
“We weren’t used to playing close games and handling the pressure that comes with it,” she said, “so that’s why Coach has scheduled a lot of teams that will give us more competition. If we get in that situation down the road, we’ll know how to handle it.”
For the athletic director/father Burger, the memory of the excitement and little bit of apprehension prior to the championship game is still emotional. He knew St. Ignace would use an intense defense directed at the play of the point guard – his daughter Jaycie.
“It was amazing when she walked on the court,” he said. “To know all the sacrifice and hours and hours and hours of work she put in made it special. But I knew what St. Ignace was going to do, and I knew what she was going to be up against. I knew they were going to double and trap her and run people at her because I know what they do. I knew all that, and then to see her flourish. She played remarkable.
“It was an incredible experience. We didn’t win, but it didn’t matter.”
One thing that helped make it such an incredible experience was the community support received by the Wildcats. As more than one person said, “they turned the Breslin blue.” Blue is the primary color of Pittsford athletics.
“When we got to the Breslin and saw everyone there – everyone wearing blue – we actually did turn the Breslin blue,” Smith said. “It was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people from Pittsford in one spot before, and it was great.”
But it wasn’t just people from Pittsford. The Wildcats touched much of Hillsdale County.
“It was fun for the community, and it wasn’t just the Pittsford community; it was everybody,” Hodos said. “Hudson, North Adams, Jonesville people, Hillsdale people, it was really amazing everybody who was there and wearing blue for the Semifinals and Finals.”
New season
A year ago, Pittsford was still Pittsburgh, or Pittsfield, or something else to some people. But now Pittsford wears a big target on its back in girls basketball. The players know that they will get the ‘A’ game of their opponent every night.
“And we will bring ours as well,” Clark said.
The schedule has been beefed up, just like Smith indicated. One of the new teams to the schedule was Grass Lake, which Pittsford defeated Tuesday night 71-62 to bump its record to 2-0. Grass Lake was coming off an 87-point performance in its previous game against Concord.
“We’re always looking for good games,” Hodos said. “We picked up Grass Lake, we’re playing Class A Belleville over Christmas break at the Airport Holiday Showcase. They have 1,800 kids in their school. It will be a big stage for the girls. We also will scrimmage Marshall over Christmas break.
“It’s not about winning every game in the regular season; it’s about winning that last one.”
No matter how it turns out, it seems another special season is in store for Pittsford girls basketball and the school of 211 students
“When I look at this team, I see a team that probably will not happen around here again,” Mike Burger said. “They’re the best girls basketball team I’ve seen in this area in my whole life.
“You very rarely get two or three girls of that caliber – it’s usually one really good player. It’s the perfect storm, the perfect time. The kids work really hard. We never thought about getting to the Breslin Center, that was never the goal. It was about playing the game with a passion to play the game and a passion to represent the school and the community.
“Everything just came together. I don’t know how it did, it just did. The parents just let the kids play and let them be kids. It’s the perfect storm. I don’t think I will ever see this again in Pittsford in my lifetime.”
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford players huddle in front of their bench and a large cheering section during the 2015 Class D Final at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Jaycie Burger pushes the ball upcourt with two St. Ignace players trailing. (Below) Maddie Clark defends the rim against a Saints shooter.