GP South Set for Saturday Rematch
March 15, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The last time Grosse Pointe South visited the Breslin Center, it came within 12 seconds of winning its first MHSAA girls basketball championship.
And there’s no hiding that the Blue Devils players and coaches have been planning for this weekend since just about the time they left East Lansing after falling by a point to Grand Haven in last season's Class A Final.
Grosse Pointe South earned a rematch with the Buccaneers by downing Dexter 48-29 in Friday’s second Semifinal. They’ll meet in the championship game at noon Saturday.
“Definitely, we have some really painful memories,” Devils senior Claire DeBoer said. “Just getting that taste last year, (having it go) down to 10 seconds left, we want it even more this year.”
It’s appeared that way from the start. After falling to Chicago Whitney Young in its first game this winter, South has won 25 straight and entered the tournament ranked No. 2 behind Detroit Martin Luther King – which lost in a Quarterfinal.
Like the Devils last season, Dexter (23-4) was playing Friday for its first championship game berth. But with sophomore guard Cierra Rice leading the South attack, the Dreadnaughts never got much footing while falling behind 27-10 by halftime.
“We haven’t faced a team that has that many quality players all season long, and it took us out of some things that we tried to do,” Dexter coach Mike Bavineau said. “We wanted to attack as much as we could against their pressure. Sometimes when a team speeds you up and makes you play a little bit faster than you’re used to, you tend to revert back to things you were able to do against a team not of this caliber. I think that made it difficult for us.”
DeBoer and Rice were South’s leading scorers in last season’s Final, and Rice scored 21 points Friday. The third player Bavineau referred to was junior guard Bre’nae Andrews, who followed with 16 points.
Andrews also has had her sights set on getting back to Breslin – as a member of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett last year, she was unable to play in the Class C Semifinal or Final after suffering an injury earlier in that tournament run.
Senior forward Emma Kill led the Dreadnaughts with 12 points and five rebounds. This season’s run included Dexter’s first Regional title since 1998 and first District championship since 2004.
Rice did most of her damage Thursday driving the lane and made 9 of her 13 shots. She admitted she might have a tougher time against Grand Haven’s 6-foot-5 Abby Cole – but is prepared to adjust.
“My strongest ability is to go to the basket. I probably won’t do it the same way (Saturday); I’ll probably try to shoot a lot more jumpers (because) it’s harder to go up against Cole,” Rice said. “I’ve got to change up my game a little bit, but that’s not a problem for me. I try to work on that.”
Click for a full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Pointe South defenders trap the ball during Friday's Class A Semifinal. (Middle) South's Aliezza Brown had five points and three rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photo.)
Century of School Sports: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 18, 2025
This weekend the MHSAA will conclude its second of three seasons during this “Century of School Sports” 100th-anniverary celebration with the last of its winter championships – the Girls Basketball Semifinals & Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
While boys basketball was the first sport to see its champions crowned by the newly-formed Michigan High School Athletic Association in 1925 – and girls have been playing basketball for their schools in Michigan for more than 130 years – girls basketball was actually the sixth girls sport to gain MHSAA postseason championships, with its first Finals played during the Fall 1973.
This weekend’s MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals actually will be the 51st – the tournament was not completed in 2020 due to COVID-19 – and leads us to our first trivia question:
Q: There have been 200 MHSAA Finals championships won in girls basketball. How many schools have won at least one?
A: 105 schools have won at least one beginning when Detroit Dominican, Hudsonville Unity Christian, Hamtramck St. Ladislaus and Ewen-Trout Creek earned the first.
Detroit Country Day remains atop the lists for most championship game appearances (17) and Finals titles won (13). Detroit Martin Luther King and Portland St. Patrick rank second in appearances with 12 apiece. Bloomfield Hills Marian, St. Patrick and now-closed Flint Northern rank second on the championships list with six apiece. Northern won the most consecutively – four straight in Class A from 1978-81.
Here's another potential stumper:
Q: In what sport was the MHSAA’s first statewide girls championship awarded?
A: Gymnastics, with its first Final on March 11, 1972, three months before Title IX was signed into law.
The first MHSAA Girls Gymnastics Final was followed during the 1972-73 school year by the additions of girls Finals in golf, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field. Then came basketball in 1973-74, skiing and softball in 1974-75 (although there were Girls Skiing Regionals beginning in 1952), volleyball in 1975-76 and cross country in 1978-79.
The 1980s saw girls soccer added in 1982-83, with competitive cheer joining the lineup in 1993-94. Bowling was added in 2003-04, lacrosse in 2004-05, and the first MHSAA Girls Wrestling Individual Finals were competed in 2021-22. Field hockey will be the next addition among girls championship sports, this upcoming fall.
Similar to this “Century of School Sports” series, MHSAA.com published a 57-part celebration of “Title IX at 50” during the 2021-22 school year building up to the 25th MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Conference that following fall. Click to read up on now nearly 53 years of MHSAA girls sports.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills Marian's Trina Govan (42) and teammates celebrate during the closing moments of their 71-49 win over Flint Powers Catholic in the 1988 Class A championship game. (MHSAA file photo)