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.)
Reese Volleyball Heroes Hope to Have Rockets' Hoops Firing Next
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2021
Reese girls basketball coach Josh Pickell had never been happier to have low turnout through the first two weeks of practice.
The Rockets were down to four varsity players and had to combine with the junior varsity to run full sessions as the school’s volleyball team was making its Cinderella run to the MHSAA Division 3 Volleyball Finals title two weekends ago.
“As a coach, I just have to realize that the girls are going to need some time after doing what they did,” Pickell said. “It’s an incredible feat. It was kind of good for our entire program, with some other girls getting the extra practice time and seeing how cool it is for a girls team like the volleyball team to go that far. It was good for our freshman team and our JV team getting that time.”
All but two of the 11 players Reese took to Kellogg Arena are basketball players, including returning all-state honorees Maddi Osantowski and Aydan Dalak, who were at the forefront of the Nov. 20 title win against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
“I’m just hoping the momentum we had in volleyball, because we have so many girls that play volleyball and basketball, that it would just shift into basketball,” Osantowski said. “Just having that many girls to be able to shift to different sports, I think it shows how athletic the whole team is.”
The multi-sport seniors are taking slightly different approaches to getting into basketball, but neither is taking much time. Osantowski planned to return to practice Friday, giving herself less than a week after recording 71 kills and attempting more than 200 attacks during the final weekend of the volleyball season. Dalak, meanwhile, was on the basketball court Monday. She had been at previous practices, too, just not participating.
“I just sat and watched sometimes. I just wanted to see how the team was looking,” said Dalak, who was the setter on the volleyball team and plays point guard for the basketball team. “I was a little tired (Monday), and I’m usually not. But I’m not used to running back and forth for 30 minutes. I did OK. It was fine.”
Playing multiple sports is the norm at Reese, a school with fewer than 300 students. It’s necessary to keep multiple programs strong, and the coaches work together to ensure that happens.
“I really encourage doing multiple sports,” Reese volleyball coach Angie Compton said. “Last spring, I called the basketball coach and said, ‘Let’s do our youth camp together.’ That way, hopefully more kids will do both of them. Then, hopefully, you’re keeping more girls thinking that both sports are great.”
What Osantowski – who also plays softball – and Dalak – who has played softball but plans to run track next spring – are doing in terms of success, however, is not normal anywhere.
Dalak was named second-team all-state by the Michigan High School Volleyball Coaches Association, a year after earning honorable mention in the sport. She was named honorable mention all-state in basketball as a junior.
Osantowski was a first-team all-state selection in volleyball this season and honorable mention in 2020. She was second-team all-state in basketball as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore, and she was named first-team all-state in softball as a junior, as well.
“If not all of the athletes are playing (multiple sports), the teams aren’t going to be as good,” Osantowski said. “I actually do not play travel. I did travel softball and basketball in middle school, and I did one year of travel volleyball. It’s kind of hard to transition (from sport to sport). I just focus all on one thing in the season, because I know I have to do it for my school.”
Neither Osantowski nor Dalak have made a college choice, but their mindset is pretty similar. Both are leaning toward playing volleyball collegiately, which is a change from years past when they thought basketball would be the route to the next level.
They will juggle that process with what looks to be a promising basketball season. The Rockets are coming off a 12-2 finish, and while their postseason run was ended in the District Semifinal, the loss came against eventual Division 3 semifinalist Hemlock. A familiar connection will lead the way, as the passes from Dalak to Osantowski that proved so successful on the volleyball court are pretty common on the basketball court, as well, with Osantowski’s role as a shooter.
“I’m like her little assister,” Dalak said with a laugh. “She stands in the corner and I’m good at driving and kicking it out to her.”
Just like in volleyball, they’ll be surrounded by a strong group of their classmates, including Josie Johnson. The Reese libero was an honorable mention all-state selection in volleyball, and is a standout guard on the basketball team.
“We’ve already talked about it, we think we can do this for basketball, too, but we have to work hard like we did for volleyball,” Dalak said. “We need to have fun and keep that energy going into basketball.”
But the volleyball title has sparked belief in more than just the players who won it. That's a new feeling for a school that had one Finals title prior to Saturday – won in boys cross country in 1964.
“I think even for the boys basketball team, I was talking to them today, and said, ‘You know, you guys can win a state championship, too,’” Osantowski said. “I think people can see now that we can do this, so they think it can happen more, or at least they can go farther.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Reese teammates Maddi Osantowski (left) and Aydan Dalak are hoping to carry their volleyball success into basketball season this winter. (Middle) Osantowski serves during the Division 3 Final win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. (Below) Dalak sets up another teammate against the Kestrels. (Top photo courtesy of the Reese girls basketball program; volleyball photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)