Hot-Shooting Country Day Wins for Coach O
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 18, 2017
EAST LANSING – As the final seconds of his 12th MHSAA title run at Detroit Country Day ticked away, legendary coach Frank Orlando was serenaded as his school's student section chanted: “We love Coach O.”
Orlando acknowledged the fans, wiped away some tears, and moments later accepted the Class B girls basketball championship trophy along with a group of girls that were extra special to him. And after their 59-48 win against Ypsilanti Arbor Prep at the Breslin Center, they made it very clear that he’s extra special to them as well.
“This season, I really wasn’t thinking about the loss (in the 2016 Semifinals); for me personally, I was playing for Coach O,” Country Day senior Destiny Pitts said. “During the offseason last year after we lost, Coach O had a stroke, so it just kind of hit me hard. This season, I’ve been playing for him, and just knowing how important it is for him. Coming into this, we just had extreme confidence because we just knew we wanted to take the state championship back to Country Day for the fans and our community.”
Country Day’s 12th title came two years after No. 11, which was won with many of the same players as the latest triumph. That one came as a bit of a surprise to Orlando – this one brought out plenty of emotion.
“When we won it when they were sophomores and freshmen, I was excited and I was very happy – I was kind of surprised,” said Orlando, who opened the press conference by stating he planned to come back in 2017-18 for his 37th season at Country Day and 51st overall. “This year, it was more emotional because they’re leaving me now. I like that they’re going, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of sad for me.”
Country Day’s shooting effort was the opposite of sad, as the Yellowjackets hit 22 of 34 (64.7 percent) shots from the field, including 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) from 3-point range. Pitts led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Tylar Bennett had 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting, and Kaela Webb had 13 points and nine assists.
“I think we did that by moving the ball,” Pitts said. “We weren’t forcing shots, we would just keep swinging the ball until we found the open person, and I think each individual player on the team did extremely well sharing the ball, and when they were open they shot it.”
The Yellowjackets (26-1) led for most of the game, moving ahead late in the first quarter and never relinquishing the advantage. They jumped out to a 27-15 halftime lead, holding Arbor Prep to 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) shooting during the opening 16 minutes.
“I thought Country Day played a real good game,” Arbor Prep coach Rod Wells said. “They made a lot of shots, and first half we didn’t make shots, and it was just hard to make up that gap. I’m truly proud of my girls, my girls brought effort, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall that way.”
Arbor Prep (27-1), which won the Class C title a year ago, pushed back in the second half, but every time it looked to get momentum and cut into the Country Day lead, the Yellowjackets had an immediate answer.
Ro’zhane Wells hit a pair of 3s on back-to-back possessions, but Country Day responded with a jumper from Webb the first time and a 3 from Pitts after the second. A Lasha Petree 3-pointer cut the Country Day lead to 11 early in the fourth quarter, but Maxine Moore’s putback halted the momentum. Another Pitts’ 3 on Country Day’s next possession pushed the lead back to 16 with less than six minutes to play.
Arbor Prep cut the lead to nine twice with less than three minutes to play, Country Day responded with a pair of press-breaking layups from Bennett, the second sparking a 9-1 run that put the game away for good. Webb assisted on all but one of those baskets during the run, the other being a 3-pointer she drained from straightaway.
“We played a lot better in the second half,” Rod Wells said. “It took us a while to adjust to the zone. Country Day played us man in the beginning, then they went to the matchup zone and they gave us some problems until halftime. But I’m really proud of my girls, three losses in two seasons. We beat the Class A state champs and the Class C state champs; we just didn’t beat the Class B.”
Petree led Arbor Prep with 15 points and six rebounds, while Wells had 14 points. Adrienne Anderson added seven points and five assists for the Gators, who were making their third straight trip to Breslin and had won 36 straight games.
“I think it’s been a phenomenal run,” Anderson, a senior, said. “I think we’ve pushed each other the whole time, and we’ve had a lot of fun. I love these girls to death. Even after we leave we’re still going to be close, because these are my sisters. Every day in practice we worked hard. I feel like everybody left everything they could’ve done on the court. Country Day just made shots.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Maxine Moore (44) battles Arbor Prep’s Lasha Petree for a loose ball during the Class B Final. (Middle) Yellowjackets Kaela Webb (left) and Destiny Pitts celebrate the program’s latest title with coach Frank Orlando.
Pittsford Arrives at Cusp of History Again
March 16, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Their record alone – 102-2 – is simply incredible to consider.
And by the end of Saturday morning, Pittsford seniors Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark could finish their careers alone as the winningest girls basketball players in Michigan high school history.
The Wildcats’ all-state duo tied former St. Ignace standout Kelley Wright (102-5 from 2011-14) for first on the MHSAA's varsity wins list with their team’s 57-39 Class D Semifinal victory Thursday over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
And that set up one more history-making opportunity Saturday for a team that has put its small Hillsdale County town on the sports map. Top-ranked Pittsford will take on unranked Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in the Class D Final riding a two-season, 54-game winning streak as it looks to finish with a second straight Finals title.
“It’s, honestly, kind of unbelievable,” Burger said. “We come from a small town. No one had every heard of it before the first time we came here. Pittsford … tiny. Like Maddie said last year, we just got a Family Dollar, and that’s like the biggest news ever.
“So for us to be able to come here three years in a row and have the possibility to win a second state championship is just awe-inspiring. And I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to play this long with these girls and with my team, and I’m thankful to do something that’s this great.”
Pittsford will attempt that repeat finish at 10 a.m. Saturday. But getting the opportunity wasn’t as easy as showing up Thursday to what’s become a home court away from home.
Wildcats coach Chris Hodos called Sacred Heart the toughest team his has faced this season, and with good reason. The Irish, without a senior, fell to only 25-2 with the loss after playing in their third Semifinal in four seasons. Sacred Heart was Class D champion in 2015 and fell to Pittsford in the championship game last winter, 48-30.
The Irish led into the second quarter this time and tied the score again with two minutes to play in the first half – before the Wildcats scored the final five points of the half to slowly start to pull away.
“Very simple. Our gameplan was to attack the press and attack the basket,” Sacred Heart coach Damon Brown said. “The energy of putting pressure on them was something we really wanted to do. I think last year we were a little hesitant. I think we were caught up in the moment last year, but this year we were more aggressive. I loved how we played this year.”
Pittsford stifled Sacred Heart with defense and rebounding, forcing 28 turnovers while giving the ball up only 13 times and outrebounding the Irish 37-29 – including 21-5 on the offensive boards.
Clark led with 19 points and eight rebounds, and Burger had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Marissa Shaw chipped in eight points and eight steals – her 171 steals this season rank seventh in MHSAA history.
“Her anticipation is just off the hook,” Hodos said. “You can’t say enough about her. She made big baskets for us tonight. She makes some great passes.”
Sophomore guard Scout Nelson led Sacred Heart with 16 points, and junior forward Sophia Ruggles added eight points and five rebounds. As noted, Sacred Heart didn’t have a senior – the Irish were paced by six juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
“The locker room was a little bit different this year. There was some sadness, but the motivation and the energy to get back at it again and get back here next year has already started,” Brown said. “And that’s what I like, a group of girls who are committed to being the best team they can be. This is just a small hurdle that we’ll overcome.”
“I think it’s a big motivation for us,” Ruggles added. “Like he said, we’re all hungry to get back in the gym and compete, and it just adds a little fire to (our) want to get better.”
Meanwhile, Pittsford's four seniors, including forward Katelyn Kafer and guard Katie Clement, can cement their Breslin legacy with one last win.
And they're prepared to face the hype that will go with that historic opportunity.
"As long as we keep the same mentality we’ve had all year, just to play our game and execute our gameplan, we should be OK,” Burger said. “As long as we don’t let the hype that surrounds the state championship interfere with our team chemistry and our gameplan, I think that definitely should be OK.
“But it’s definitely going to be surreal feeling. It’s going to be the last time I’m out there with my girls. And it’s going to be, definitely, a game to remember.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A pair of Pittsford defenders tie up Sacred Heart’s Sophie Ruggles during Thursday’s Class D Semifinal. (Middle) The Wildcats’ Maddie Clark (10) works to get a shot up over Grace Reetz (2).