Goodrich Wins Matchup of Undefeated Contenders to Earn Chance to Finish Unbeaten
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
EAST LANSING – Goodrich hopes to become the next Division 2 champion Saturday at Breslin Center.
But in the meantime, the Martians can lay claim to being the state’s last unbeaten team heading into the final day of the season.
In a matchup of 27-0 teams, Goodrich earned the right to play for its first championship since winning the second of back-to-back crowns in 2013, claiming a 47-41 win over Grand Rapids South Christian in a Friday Semifinal.
Goodrich (28-0) will try to dethrone 2025 champion Tecumseh, which eliminated Goodrich in last year’s tournament, at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
The Martians made it to Breslin Center undefeated largely because of its stout defense all season, and that was on display against South Christian.
“We were able to do what we’re looking to do every game,” Goodrich head coach Jason Gray said. “And our defense really showed up tonight. They hit a couple of big 3s late against us, but in general, that’s about as good of a job as you can do defending that team.”
The Martians limited South Christian to 16 of 42 shooting from the field, but seven of those field goals came during the first quarter.
Over the last three, Goodrich held the Sailors to 9 of 29 shooting. For the game, South Christian was 3 of 18 from 3-point range.
“Pressure defense pushed us out a little bit,” Sailors head coach Erika Brown said. “We couldn’t get into our normal dribble-drive where we could turn the corner and get into the paint tonight. We weren’t seeing the post as well as we probably could have.”
Goodrich dominated the second quarter and built a big lead during the fourth before holding off a late South Christian comeback.
Leading 36-28 going into the fourth quarter, Goodrich stretched the margin to 14 at 43-29 with 4:59 remaining on a 3-pointer by senior Kayla Hairston.
The Sailors had an answer though, reeling off nine straight points to cut its deficit to 43-37 with 3:13 remaining. The last six points of that run came courtesy of senior Lizzie Woithuis, who drained back-to-back 3-pointers.
“We just knew what we had to do,” Hairston said. “They went on a little run, but that didn’t change our mindset. They didn’t make us rattled. They didn’t stress us out. We just had to play our style no matter what.”
Hairston delivered maybe the biggest rebound of the game after missing two free throws with 58.3 seconds left and Goodrich up 44-39.
After the second miss, she tracked down the rebound near the baseline and got the ball out to junior teammate Baylor Lauinger, who was fouled and hit two free throws with 48.4 seconds remaining to make the lead seven.
Goodrich held firm defensively and hit one more free throw to hold off South Christian.
Hairston scored 17 points, and Lauinger added 11 points for Goodrich.
Goodrich held a 28-19 lead at halftime after a 10-2 run. It was a different story to start the third quarter, as South Christian went on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 31-28.
But the Martians scored the last five points of the third quarter and had too much of a cushion for South Christian to overcome.
Sophia Prins, a four-year varsity standout, scored 13 points to lead the Sailors and finish off a tremendous high school career.
“Overall, we can’t let this one game define us,” Prins said. “We have to look back at how good we performed every single game up to this point of the whole season.”
PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston splits a pair of South Christian defenders driving to the hoop Friday. (Middle) The Martians’ Sydney Place (11) and Sailors’ Sophia Prins watch Place’s shot fall as the official signals a 3-pointer. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Girls Hoops Writes Latest Chapter in Muskegon's Famed Sports History
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
EAST LANSING – It’s hard to believe that in the storied history of Muskegon’s athletics program, firsts still can be achieved.
The Big Reds girls basketball team accomplished another one in Friday’s first Division 1 Semifinal.
For the first time in program history, Muskegon will appear in a championship game following a 69-46 win over a Utica Eisenhower team that was also seeking its first trip to the Finals.
“A lot of us were emotional after this game,” said senior and Miss Basketball Award runner-up Mariah Sain, who led all scorers with 25 points. “Even though we have one more game to play, we also just made history today. I’m super proud of my team.”
Senior Camiyah Bonner added 16 points for Muskegon (25-2), which connected on 28 of 43 free-throw attempts and held a 43-33 rebounding advantage.
Trailing 18-14 with 5:45 remaining in the second quarter, Muskegon cranked up its defensive intensity and found rhythm in its halfcourt offense, going on a 15-1 run to take a 29-19 lead with 47.7 seconds remaining until halftime.
Muskegon came out in the second half and extended its lead, scoring the first nine points of the third quarter to go up 38-21 with 3:14 left in the period on a free throw by sophomore Antanique Sargent.
Eisenhower didn’t score its first point of the second half until 2:54 remained in the third quarter.
“I thought the girls came out and took a really good punch from (Eisenhower),” Muskegon head coach Bernard Loudermill said. “(Eisenhower) in the first quarter played really well. I think we had some missed defensive assignments, but the second quarter came and we got back to playing Lady Reds basketball.”
Muskegon took a 44-28 lead into the fourth quarter, and while allowing Eisenhower to climb above the 40-point mark with 5:24 remaining in the game, kept answering with baskets of its own. The Big Reds ultimately stretched their lead to 63-42 with 2:37 remaining on a layup by Sain.
Muskegon entered the game allowing just 29.5 points per game, and its defense carried the load again. Eisenhower was held to 13 of 51 shooting from the field including 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
“I thought they were a very good man-to-man team,” Eisenhower head coach Madison Ristovski said. “They did a good job of trying to get us out of the paint. We’re pretty good at getting into the paint and drawing defenders and kick-out for shots. I thought they were really physical.”
The season also was historic for Eisenhower and set a standard for what could be a special future for the program.
Making their first Semifinal appearance since 1982, the Eagles had seven sophomores and a freshman on the roster, with three sophomores establishing themselves as starters.
“I think for the school, it’s been amazing, and for the community with the support we’ve received,” Ristovski said. “I mean, it’s been 44 years. It’s been so fun, and we have such a young team.”
One of the senior leaders who has been so instrumental to Eisenhower’s success all year, Gabby Gojcaj, scored 11 points to lead the Eagles on Thursday.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon's Camiyah Bonner (4) drives to the basket Friday with Eisenhower's Natalya Stojcevski (24) defending. (Middle) Mariah Sain (10) considers her options while directing the offense. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)