Hamilton Wins League, Eyes Historic Run
February 22, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
HAMILTON – The Hamilton girls basketball team had high expectations this season after the loss of only one senior from last year’s District championship squad.
So far, the Hawkeyes are living up to those lofty goals.
Hamilton entered the week ranked No. 7 in Class B while boasting a sparkling 17-1 record, and improved it to 18-1 with a 61-33 win over Zeeland East on Tuesday. It already has clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title outright.
“I knew we could have a good team,” said 14th-year head coach Dan VanHekken. “We didn’t win conference last year, but won Districts, so we had a little postseason experience with the kids we had coming back.
“They definitely wanted to win conference, which we feel good about and they should be proud of that for sure, and this has been a pretty challenging league year in and year out.”
The lone loss on Hamilton’s resume occurred in December against Hudsonville, which reached the MHSAA Class A Semifinals a year ago.
The Hawkeyes have gone unscathed in conference play, and have one remaining game against Zeeland West in their attempt for an unbeaten conference season.
“Winning conference was one of our goals, so it was cool to achieve that,” senior Brooklyn Groenheide said. “We worked really hard in the offseason and set some high goals. So far we’re doing pretty good in achieving those goals, and we just have to keep it going. We have to take it one game at a time.”
District play for girls basketball begins next week, and Hamilton is looking toward capturing another crown.
That road will be complicated, though. The Hawkeyes open with conference rival Hudsonville Unity Christian (10-8) and with the possibility of a third meeting with another conference foe, Holland Christian (15-4), in the District Final.
“Unity played us tough the first time, and we won by one at their place,” VanHekken said. “We got them good the second time, but they are playing some good basketball and the third time is never easy. We have a tough District with Holland Christian on the other side.”
Hamilton has never gone beyond the Regional Semifinals, but hopes to set a new standard this time around.
Three years ago, the Hawkeyes posted a school record with 21 wins.
“We’re hoping to make it through Districts, and getting past the first round of Regionals would be a huge goal for us,” senior guard Joslyn Bronkhorst said. “It would be awesome for us to win Regionals, but we will see. Having to beat a team three teams (in Districts) can be tricky, but I think we can do it.”
VanHekken has relied heavily on Bronkhorst and Groenheide. Both have been staples in the program as four-year varsity players.
“We rely on them every day in practice and in the offseason being in the gym,” VanHekken said. “They stay after and shoot, and they are an extension of my voice to the girls. They know expectations, and they deliver.”
A total of six seniors are on the roster. Other main contributors to this year’s success have been seniors Franesha Robinson and Annaka Ediger, junior Ashlyn Wolfran and sophomore Bria Schrotenboer.
“I think on any given night we can compete with some of the better teams,” VanHekken said. “We haven’t seen many teams from the other side of the state, but we feel good about what we have done this year and I think we’ve made a name for ourselves as a team to beat.”
Hamilton, which features an up-tempo offense and pressure defense, doesn’t have a high-scoring superstar on the team.
Instead, it’s a balanced group that shares in the scoring load.
“I have maybe one girl averaging 12 points a game, but I have four or five kids averaging between 8 and 10 points,” VanHekken said. “I love coaching that type of team. I don’t like running a particular set for one kid. I just love running a motion game that is pretty equal for everybody. They can play team basketball, and it’s just fun to play that way.”
Defense has been a main emphasis, according to VanHekken. The Hawkeyes have held opponents to 30 or fewer points eight times.
“They’ve bought in, and they’re enjoying it,” he said. “They understand that deflections can lead to steals, and steals to points.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hamilton's Bria Schrotenboer maintains possession against Byron Center this season. (Middle) Senior Franesha Robinson handles the ball in the post against Hudsonville Unity Christian. (Photos courtesy of Covering Hawkeye Sports.)
Hudsonville Holds On to Clinch 1st Finals Championship
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
April 9, 2021
EAST LANSING — To say Hudsonville’s Jaci Tubergen and Alaina Diaz were locked in during Friday’s Division 1 Final would be an extreme understatement.
One of them went on an 11-0 personal run, while the other had ice water in her veins during a three-minute stretch that helped her team fend off Detroit Renaissance, 65-61, to capture the first girls basketball state championship in Hudsonville history.
Tubergen broke open what had been a tie game just minutes earlier. The junior took a pass from senior Ashlynn Bailey and drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to give her team a five-point lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half. On their next possession, the Eagles once again found Turbergan open, this time from the opposite wing. She hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to eight. A traditional three-point play and baseline jumper by Tubergen capped off a personal 11-point run to push Hudsonville’s lead to 47-34.
“To see shots go in, it’s a good feeling,” said Tubergen, who finished with a game-high 28 points. “Alaina handling the pressure as the point guard and other girls attacking and kicking (out), they got me pretty open. I’m lucky to have teammates who are willing to drive in and draw the defenders, leaving people open on the wings.”
Tubergen would finish with 16 points in the third quarter alone, as the Eagles saw a one-point halftime lead balloon to 14 points heading into the fourth.
But Renaissance, which battled back from a big deficit in Wednesday’s Semifinal against Wayne Memorial to make it to Friday’s Final, wasn’t finished. The Phoenix scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to two points at 54-52. Senior Shannon Wheeler had three steals and senior Mikyah Finley had two herself during the run to help their team get back into the game. Senior Kailee Davis had five of her team-high 26 points over that stretch.
“They did a great job of mixing up defenses,” Hudsonville head coach Casey Glass said. “I think when you play in the moment like that, you let one thing lead to another. The big thing for us was to weather the storm. We knew that they were going to apply pressure. We knew there were going to be spurts in the game.”
The Eagles certainly did weather the storm. Moments after missing the front end of a one-and-one, Diaz calmly stepped back up to the line and sank a pair of free throws which gave her team a 56-52 lead with 2:44 to play. Those were the first points of the fourth quarter for Hudsonville.
Diaz wasn’t done. She would go on to make six more free throws without a miss to help her team pull out the victory.
“I’m just used to the pressure because at practice we usually have pressure free throws and I’m just thinking that I have to do it for my family, my teammates,” said Diaz, who finished 9 of 10 from the line. “I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
Renaissance would make another late push, but came up short. The Phoenix were just 18 of 30 from the free throw line.
“The press eventually starts to get to you, and it eventually started to get to them,” Lawal said. “I just think that we had a few chances after they turned it over (to us), or when we kind of got them to take a rushed shot that led to a rebound and fast break, we weren’t able to convert like we did Wednesday (against Wayne Memorial). I think that’s the biggest difference.”
And he did touch on his team’s missed opportunities at the line:
“I’m not going to give coach (Greg) Kampe credit for this quote, because I’m sure he stole it from someone, but he said, ‘Two things in this world that don’t last, dogs that chase cars and teams that don’t make free throws.’ We didn’t make free throws, so we didn’t last. We got away with it Wednesday against Wayne Memorial. God said you’re not going to get away with it twice.”
Finley finished with 13 points and Wheeler added nine points and eight rebounds for Renaissance, which finished 13-5.
Hudsonville capped off a magical season which saw it finish 23-1. Diaz ended the day with 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior Eva Joldersma had four points and 11 rebounds in her team’s win.
“Going into tonight, I said to myself, ‘I’m the luckiest coach in the state of Michigan,’ ” Glass said. “I’ve gotten more time with my team this year, being in a state championship (game), than any other coach. When you coach, you’re looking for how much time you can spend with your players, or how much impact you can make as a coach. Our team has always been like family. We play together, we push each other.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville's Emmalynn Costen (5) establishes position in the post during Friday's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Renaissance's Nika Dorsey (12) works to get the ball upcourt. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)