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.)
West Catholic Comes Back from Double-Digit Deficit to Get Past Reigning Champ
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids West Catholic hadn’t faced adversity like that all season.
The Falcons trailed by double digits at halftime of Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal, but forged a furious second-half comeback to upset 2024 champion Detroit Edison 54-48 at the Breslin Center.
“I don’t think we’ve had situations where we were down that much at halftime or in the third quarter, but it just speaks to the resiliency that our kids have,” first-year West Catholic coach Derek Paiz said. “We’re just going to keep fighting.”
West Catholic (24-3) will face Tecumseh (26-1) at 6:15 Saturday in the Division 2 Final.
The Falcons trailed 26-14 at the half and 30-15 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter before making their charge.
Senior Anna Ignatoski was the catalyst and led West Catholic with 29 points, including four 3-pointers. She also added six rebounds.
“This means the world and I give all of it to God, and I’m just so thankful to be back playing and playing with these girls,” said Ignatoski, who missed the past two seasons due to multiple ACL injuries.
“I knew coming into this game that we were the underdogs and we had nothing to lose. I wanted to help my team prove everyone wrong, and we did that tonight.”
West Catholic lost in the Semifinals a year ago to Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard at the buzzer.
“This is my first year, but these girls have done it three years in a row; this is their second home,” Paiz said. “With those girls we had on the floor, I knew we were going to be all right. We’ve been preparing this season for exact moments like this.
“We set a goal at the beginning of the season, my first day in, to go win a state championship, and every day these girls have been working toward that. We never lost faith.”
The Falcons outscored Edison 40-22, including 23-12 during the fourth quarter. Ignatoski had 24 points in the second half and made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal it.
“She’s a shot maker,” Paiz said. “She had that look in her eye. She wanted the ball in her hands at the end of the game. She wanted to put the game away.”
Senior Alisha Dykstra added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“This is so surreal, and I’m so blessed,” Dykstra said. “With the love we have for one another, we can do anything if we put our mind to it. We knew they were going to be a good team, but we knew we were built for this because we work hard and we put the time in.”
Nicole James led Edison (19-7) with 23 points, while Isis Johnson-Musah had 12.
“I knew they were going to be hungry to win, and I told my team at halftime that they were going to make a run and we just had to weather the storm,” Pioneers coach Monique Brown said. “Mentally we lost it when they started catching up, and I haven’t seen that in my teams in previous years.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids West Catholic celebrates its comeback win Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Falcons' Anna Ignatoski (3) and Detroit Edison's Caitlyn Green rush upcourt during their Semifinal. (Photos by Keionna Banks/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)