Highlight Reel: Girls Basketball Finals
March 21, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
The 2014-15 girls basketball season came to an end Saturday with four MHSAA Finals at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University.
Below are highlight clips from every game plus links to watch them in full.
Class A
Bloomfield Hills Marian 51, DeWitt 37
PANTHERS OVERCOME EARLY DEFICIT - After a slow start, DeWitt pulled even with Bloomfield Hills Marian in the second quarter of the Class A Final. In transition, Lilly George takes a nice pass from Claudia Reid to give their team the lead.
SISTER-SISTER - Bloomfield Hills Marian broke the Class A Final with DeWitt open in the third quarter. Sisters Bailey and Samantha Thomas team up in transition for a layup.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Class B
Detroit Country Day 49, Haslett 41
WEBB ON THE TRIPLE - Kaela Webb led Detroit Country Day with 20 points in the Class B Final against Haslett. Here's a 3-pointer from the side in the third quarter.
DeCOOK KEEPS HASLETT CLOSE - Haslett closed to within two points late in the game when Kenzie DeCook scored on a fastbreak off a nice defensive play.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Class C
Calumet 57, Flint Hamady 49
HAMADY HAWKS PRESSURE - Defensive pressure by Flint Hamady results in a couple of steals and baskets for Jalisha Terry early in the third quarter.
KINGS GET THE BLOCK & THE BASKET - Calumet turns a defensive play into points. First, the block by Abby Bjorn, and then the fastbreak basket by Alexis Loukus.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Class D
St. Ignace 64, Pittsford 60 (OT)
BURGER DOWN THE LANE - Pittsford built a 20-point lead in the third quarter in the Class D Final against St. Ignace. Here Jaycie Burger drives the lane for two.
SAINTS COME ALL THE WAY BACK - St. Ignace came back from that 20-point deficit, the largest in Girls Finals history, to defeat Pittsford for the Class D title. In the first minute of overtime, the Saints finally took the lead with two baskets from Abbey Ostman. Here's the second of those scores on a fastbreak.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
PHOTO: St. Ignace’s Margo Smith drives for two points against Pittsford during the Class D Final.
Defense Keys Hamady Semifinal Surge
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Flint Hamady made it to Van Noord Arena this season on a defensive effort that gave up only 40.4 points per game heading into Thursday’s Semifinal matchup with Lake City.
During the second half, the Hawks nearly shut down the Trojans entirely to lock down a spot in Saturday’s championship game.
Trailing heading into the third quarter, Hamady allowed just 13 points over the final 16 minutes to get past Lake City 42-33 and earn a return to the Finals for the sixth time and first since finishing Class C runner-up in 2015.
“We didn’t come with the best first half,” Hamady senior guard Jordan McKeller said. “But we look at each other as sisters, and at the end of the day it’s us and the coaching staff. We were able to keep our heads up and play together as a team.”
The Hawks (21-5) will play for their first MHSAA championship since 2010 at 4 p.m. Saturday against Pewamo-Westphalia.
Hamady is putting up just under 52 points per game this season. But the defense has hit another level during the tournament as the Hawks have gone from facing a number of larger opponents to schools their size. Including Thursday’s game, Hamady is giving up just 36 points during the playoffs.
Major differences in slowing down Lake City were 6-foot-1 senior forward Treshondra Williams and 6-2 junior center Aryana Naylor. Hamady outrebounded Lake City 37-27 – and 20-9 during the seconds half – and those two combined for 20 boards over the four quarters.
“I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half. They’re just a good shooting team,” Hamady coach Keith Smith said. “We wanted to stay more attached to number 12 (Makayla Ardis), she’s a good shooter. And in the second half we put Aryana Naylor on their 32 (Rylie Bisballe), made the adjustment there, and Ari did a good job.”
Lake City led by as many as four for most of the third quarter. But McKeller’s basket with 2:10 to play in the period gave the Hawks their first lead after the break, and they never gave it back.
Lake City (22-3) went from making 41 percent of its shots from the floor during the first half to 27 percent during the second. The Hawks, meanwhile, had a key six second-chance points during the fourth quarter as they pushed the lead to as large as 12.
Naylor and McKeller both had 10 points to lead Hamady, and Naylor also grabbed eight rebounds. Williams had nine points and 12 rebounds.
“We had a lot of nerves in the first quarter, but the girls were feeling good,” Lake City coach Bill Tisron said. “The second half we were pretty tense. I thought we got good looks, but their size took over. They had a lot of second opportunities in the second half, and I thought that was the difference.”
Ardis made 6-of-12 shots from the floor for a game-high 14 points to go with four steals. Junior forward Megan Hose grabbed eight rebounds.
Lake City was playing in its first Semifinal since the 1976 team won the Class D championship. Four starters and the top sub from Thursday should return next season, as Ardis was the only senior who saw more than a minute of action.
“It’s been really fun. To be the first team in 43 years (at the Semifinals) it’s pretty amazing – just the experience has been awesome,” said Bisballe, the team’s leading scorer this winter. “We’re just going to be a better team (next season), and our goal is to get back here again.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Hamady's Xeryia Tartt works to get past a Lake City defender. (Middle) The Trojans' Megan Hose (13) looks for an opening in the Hawks' defense.