Heroes Rise to Earn P-W's Legendary Win
March 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – The seconds couldn’t tick off the clock fast enough Saturday for a Pewamo-Westphalia girls basketball team on the verge of its first championship for the third season in a row.
Side by side on the bench, each with four fouls, sat juniors Ellie Droste and Hannah Spitzley – who together scored more than half of the Pirates’ points this winter.
On the floor, senior Rachel Huhn faced the start of the fourth quarter charged with holding things together as the only other player with significant experience from P-W’s last two tournament runs.
“Seeing those two in foul trouble, I knew especially being a senior leader, I knew my focus was just to keep everyone positive, keep everyone together,” Huhn said. “Just keep us in one unit, and stay calm.”
She also knew she was now the team’s top offensive option – but surely she didn’t anticipate knocking down the most important shot in her program’s history.
Huhn’s fourth-quarter 3-pointer with 5:31 to play was P-W’s only field only over the final 11 minutes and 13 seconds Saturday, and only points during a 9 minute, 28-second stretch that saw the Pirates lead over Flint Hamady go from 11 to one with 1:45 to play. It also ended the reason the Pirates never lost the lead as they clinched the Division 3 championship with a 40-33 victory at Van Noord Arena.
Huhn also connected on all four of her free-throw attempts over the final 32 seconds as P-W completed a run that began with a trip to the Class C Final two years ago, followed by an appearance in the Semifinals last season.
“It just feels amazing to go out this way, because everyone on this team – all 16 girls – have worked so hard for this,” Huhn said, “In the offseason we’ve done so much improving our own skills, and I just feel like we work so well together. To come close sophomore and junior year and put the cherry on top my senior year, it’s just a great feeling.”
This P-W team was the 11th to reach the season’s final week, and followed Class C runners-up also in 1983 and 1984. The Pirates finished 27-1, their only defeat to Division 2 power Detroit Edison, which had beaten P-W in the last two playoff trips.
The Pirates led all but 56 seconds Saturday. But after pushing the lead to double digits during both the second and third quarters, it took just about everything the Pirates could offer to withstand a Hamady team with a significant size advantage and a defensive press that played a big part in P-W’s 22 turnovers – with half coming during the Hawks’ 13-3 second-half run to draw within one.
“We knew they had some speed, but we didn’t quite know how quick they were,” Hamady coach Keith Smith said. “Now that I look back at it, I probably should have brought the pressure a little earlier. But we did respect (Droste’s) play … but I think we got her a little rattled. And we were also trying to get her out of there when she got four fouls.”
As significant as navigating the pressure, the Pirates outrebounded Hamady 32-19 despite having only one player 6-foot and one more taller than 5-8. They did so with that 6-footer, Spitzley, playing 19 seconds over the last 8:49 before fouling out and six players grabbing between 4-7 rebounds apiece.
P-W had practiced playing with Spitzley or Droste fouled out – but Pirates coach Steve Eklund never anticipated that scenario becoming real-life in this game.
His players couldn’t have responded better.
Huhn’s 3-pointer was followed by Spitzley’s re-entry and then departure, and then Droste came back into the game at 3:43 to play. The teams took turns missing shots before junior guard Xeryia Tartt’s free throw pulled Hamady to within 32-31 with 1:45 to play.
The Hawks (21-6) grabbed the rebound off Tartt’s miss on the second free-throw attempt, but Droste stole the ball and was fouled trying to finish a break. She made a free throw to push the lead to two, and the Pirates followed with another stop when junior guard Emily Nurenberg ended up with the ball after Hamady lost its dribble attempting to tie the score. Droste ended up with possession, was fouled, and this time made both free throws to make the lead 35-31 with 42.5 seconds to play. The Pirates then limited the Hawks to one missed shot on three straight possessions, with Huhn twice grabbing rebounds during that shutdown stretch. They also made 8 of 10 free throws over the final 1:14.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we out-pointed them. We took care of the basketball at times, we made our free throws, and defensively we got stops,” Eklund said. “With 40 seconds left we were happy. We had the lead, we were at the free throw line, and I said, ‘Girls, I think we need three or four more stops.’ And I think we got three stops in the last 40 seconds.
“We drill every day, get a stop and score. Today was get a stop and free throws.”
Droste finished with 18 points, including 12 on free throws. Huhn had 10 points and six rebounds, and Spitzley had eight points. Junior guard Kiera Thelen scored two points but led the rebounding effort with seven.
“I just knew my teammates, the entire time, they had my back,” Droste said. “Me and Hannah both got into foul trouble, which really, it’s hard because you’re so used to being out there in tight situations. But we have such confidence in our teammates – we trust them so much that we know no matter what we can come out with the win.”
Tartt had 15 points and five of her team’s 14 steals to lead Hamady, which was playing in its first Final since finishing Class C runner-up in 2015.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia players, including senior Rachel Huhn (far right), celebrate the team’s first MHSAA Finals title Saturday at Van Noord Arena. (Middle) The Pirates’ Ellie Droste tries to keep possession while a pair of Hamady players apply the pressure.
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2025
The calendar has played out well this girls basketball season, as last week saw several league championship deciders and this one will see a few more as teams also prep for the start of District play.
Brackets for that first round of the MHSAA Tournament were announced Sunday, with all teams seeded based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR). We'll dive into those soon. But for now, there are still plenty of stories to tell as teams finish up the regular season.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 63, Detroit Renaissance 39 The Fighting Irish (20-1) have not played a single-digit game since suffering their lone loss in December to Belleville by a point, and this Operation Friendship win over the Phoenix (18-2) might be their most impressive of a 13-game winning streak.
2. Belleville 54, Detroit Edison 40 The Tigers are hoping to finish next month as Division 1 champions and continued their impressive surge into the postseason by downing the reigning Division 2 champ Pioneers (13-5).
3. Utica Ford 60, Utica Eisenhower 45 The Macomb Area Conference Red finished with these two sharing the title as Ford (19-1) avenged its 64-49 loss to Eisenhower (19-2) from Jan. 28.
4. Armada 56, Yale 45 With one league game left for both, these two could share the Blue Water Area Conference title after Armada (16-2) avenged its 69-62 loss to Yale (18-2) from Jan. 28.
5. Dexter 51, Temperance Bedford 41 The Dreadnaughts (15-6) pulled even with Bedford (18-2) in the Southeastern Conference Red with one league game left for both, avenging a 51-42 loss in their first meeting.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Farmington Hills Mercy (15-4) The Marlins have bounced back from a rare down (relatively speaking) season. Mercy finished 12-12 a year ago but rebounded to share the Catholic High School League Central West championship. The Marlins defeated Detroit Mumford 56-40 in an Operation Friendship game last week and can count wins over Howell (16-5) and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (16-3) – the second in a rematch after losing the first meeting – among their most impressive. Mercy finishes the regular season with a few more tests against Detroit Edison (13-5) and Detroit University Prep (15-3).
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (19-2) The Huskies have improved from eight to 11 to 16 and now 19 victories over the last four seasons, respectively, and this time also clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship outright thanks to Friday’s 51-38 win over runner-up Grand Rapids Catholic Central (14-6). The Cougars had handed FHN its only league loss; Grand Haven (17-3) is the only other team to down the Huskies this winter. Northern meanwhile has wins over Muskegon Mona Shores (15-6), Hudsonville (14-6) and Portland (17-3) as well.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids South Christian (19-2) The Sailors have won 11 straight games and with Friday’s 53-42 win over Wayland (13-7) guaranteed a shared O-K Gold title with Grand Rapids West Catholic. South Christian lost its first meeting with West Catholic (18-2) by 13 and won the rematch Feb. 7 by seven; the Sailors also trended the right away with Wayland after winning that first meeting by just two points. South Christian also has defeated Holland Christian (17-3) and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, with the other loss to Hudsonville. Holland Christian and Wayland are part of the same District at Hopkins.
Sault Ste. Marie (14-5) With the dissolution of the Straits Area Conference after last season, two-time reigning champion Sault Ste. Marie has played as an independent this winter and capitalized by loading the schedule with several strong opponents. The Blue Devils have lost to Chelsea (16-3), St. Ignace (19-1), Freeland (17-3), Traverse City Central (13-5) and DeWitt (19-1) – but those losses no doubt have helped prep them for the postseason, along with wins over Harbor Springs (18-2) and Petoskey (11-8) among others. After falling to eventual Division 2 semifinalist Negaunee in District play last year, the Sault will head into an otherwise downstate bracket next week.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (16-4) While the Comets saw their league winning streak end at 27 games this season, they’ve run their Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley title streak to three. That one league loss came to rival Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (18-3) in the second game of a split. Christian’s only other loses were to Paw Paw (16-4), Edison and Saugatuck (19-1) – and the Comets have swept first-round District opponent Lawton (14-5) and are coming off a win over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (10-5) with Grandville Calvin Christian (16-4) up next. They could see Hacket one more time in the District Final.
McBain (14-4) The Ramblers are tied for second in the Highland Conference and one game behind Evart with one league game to play. Gaining a share of the league title is possible, but even without it McBain’s improvement has been notable after finishing 12-11 overall and tied for fourth in the league a year ago. The Ramblers did split with Evart (19-2), winning the first game and losing the second, and also split with Manton (16-4) and Beal City (12-10) in league play. Evart will host next week’s District, and a third matchup between the two could play out in the championship decider.
DIVISION 4
Frankfort (13-5) After opening this season with three losses, Frankfort is 13-2 and has clinched a share of the Northwest Conference championship despite losing to third-place Onekama (16-4) on Friday. Tuesday’s game against second-place Leland (16-4) will determine if the Panthers claim the title outright. Success wasn’t unexpected after Frankfort made the Division 4 Semifinals last season and brought back key pieces from that team. But the Panthers certainly have impressed, avenging a one-point opening loss to Buckley (14-6) with a 13-point win and also losing only to the Portagers, Roscommon, Evart and St. Ignace.
Indian River Inland Lakes (17-3) The Ski Valley Conference is one of the only undecided leagues left, and as noted below reigning champion Inland Lakes can secure at least a share of it with a win over Gaylord St. Mary tonight. The Bulldogs lost their first meeting with the Snowbirds 51-47 in overtime, and their only other losses were by two to Harbor Springs (18-2) and by one to Pickford (11-9). A sweep of East Jordan (16-5) finished off last week has kept Inland Lakes in the title hunt, and the Bulldogs are favorites next week at Rogers City as they look to claim a third-straight District title.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Gaylord St. Mary (17-2) at Indian River Inland Lakes (17-3) – The winner will take over first place alone in the Ski Valley Conference – with St. Mary either clinching the league title outright, or Inland Lakes claiming a share with a Thursday game to play against Johannesburg-Lewiston.
Thursday – Gladstone (19-1) at Negaunee (19-0) – Arguably the top two teams in the Upper Peninsula will cap the regular season with a rematch after Negaunee won their first meeting 45-28 on Jan. 28.
Thursday – Belleville (20-1) at Northville (14-7) – The champions of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East and West, respectively, will meet for the overall league title.
Thursday – Sandusky (19-1) at Cass City (18-1) – These are the champions from the Big Thumb Conference Black and White, respectively, and they could meet a second time in two weeks in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal.
Thursday – Haslett (18-2) at Parma Western (19-1) – These two league champions – Western from the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference and Haslett from the Capital Area Activities Conference Red – also might be meeting for a preview with a possible Division 2 Regional Semifinal rematch possible.
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PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Alexis Curran defends Negaunee's Aubrey Johnson as she drives toward the basket during the Miners' 48-22 win Feb. 14. (Middle) Williamston's Jaiden Griffith (3) works to get upcourt during an early-season game at Okemos. (Marquette/Negaunee photo by Cara Kamps. Williamston/Okemos photo by John Johnson.)