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.
Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 10
February 6, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re getting late into this girls basketball season. But that hardly means everything is figured out, even as league titles are being awarded and tournament contenders are keeping an eye on possible opponents who could crop up down the road.
See Ypsilanti Community, which fell for the first time this season Saturday, to Muskegon. Or Goodrich and Byron, two Flint-area teams who also took unexpected defeats last week to Davison and Durand, respectively.
Bottom line: A lot of teams still have the chance to create an exciting finish this winter even as odds look stacked again them. Read on to learn about a few more that have stuck out in this week’s Breslin Bound report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Carson City-Crystal 35, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 32 – The Eagles broke the 19-game regular-season winning streak of the reigning Class D runner-up, and followed this win by also avenging its other loss this season to Merrill.
2. Detroit Country Day 60, Southfield Arts & Technology 51 – In a season of impressive wins, this one ranks right up there for the Yellowjackets, with the Warriors falling to 9-4 versus one of the state’s toughest schedules.
3. Williamston 74, East Lansing 47 – The Hornets have put together a strong run over the last two seasons, but this win over a 13-2 Class A team has to be among the most impressive victories during that time.
4. Detroit Edison PSA 43, Flint Hamady 39 – Sandwiched between losses to Class A Detroit Martin Luther King and Class B Country Day, DEPSA downed Class C Hamady, the only team of the three it could see again in the postseason.
5. Edwardsburg 57, Buchanan 39 – The Eddies backed up their status as a rising team in Class B by handing the first loss this season to Buchanan, which then fell again to rival Comstock in its next game.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Brownstown Woodhaven (11-3) – The Warriors have won eight straight and beat Wyandotte Roosevelt 53-51 last week to move into first place with the Bears in the Downriver League. Woodhaven finished second in the league last season to Allen Park, with which it split this winter.
Roseville (10-5) – The Panthers have won seven straight to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Silver championship. One more win will guarantee an improvement on last season’s 10-10 overall finish as well.
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day (13-0) – The Yellowjackets have come back from last season’s Semifinal loss to Grand Rapids South Christian on a tear. Last week might have been their best with the above-mentioned win over Southfield Arts & Technology and another over DEPSA, and Country Day is the only team that has beaten Detroit Martin Luther King.
Kingsley (10-3) – The Stags were quietly cruising to a solid season when they made a big wave by handing Kalkaska its first loss this season, 53-43, on Thursday. The victory also tied Kingsley’s win total for all of last season.
CLASS C
Homer (12-3) – The Trojans trail leader Springport by two wins in the Big 8 Conference but have a win over the Spartans and see them again Tuesday. They also see second-place Jonesville again next week, controlling their destiny as they look to repeat as league champions.
Kingston (13-2) – A quarterfinalist in Class D last season, Kingston is continuing its surge but now in Class C. The Cardinals sit first in the North Central Thumb League and have won nine straight since falling to still-undefeated Sandusky in December.
CLASS D
Custer Mason County Eastern (12-2) – The Cardinals have doubled up last season’s six wins in taking the lead in the West Michigan D League. A 61-60 win over Bear Lake on Thursday avenged one of those two losses this winter.
Waterford Our Lady (12-2) – Coming off making the MHSAA Semifinals last season, the Lakers are building for another run with 11 straight wins after opening 1-2. Those losses, though, came against arguably the Class B favorite in Country Day and 12-win Class A Clarkston.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Marquette (14-1) at Houghton (15-0) – From a strong group of Upper Peninsula teams, these might be the best in addition to being among the largest of likely MHSAA title contenders from that side of the bridge.
Tuesday – Birch Run (11-3) at Frankenmuth (11-4) – The Eagles needed a two-point win over Millington on Thursday to run their Tri-Valley Conference East win streak to 105, but the Panthers may present the toughest challenge of this season.
Tuesday – Sandusky (14-0) at Reese (13-1) – The Thumb has some of the state’s best Class C teams, and these might be the top of the crop, with one undefeated and the other winners of 13 straight.
Tuesday – Marine City (13-1) at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (15-0) – This is a matchup of top Class B teams in the state, with Marine City getting a chance to show it’s in the title mix along with one of the most discussed contenders.
Friday – DeWitt (14-1) at Lansing Waverly (10-4) – The Warriors on Jan. 4 handed DeWitt its only loss, and a sweep would all but give Waverly the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title.
PHOTO: DeWitt, here in a win over Mount Pleasant, can avenge its only loss this season when it takes on Lansing Waverly on Friday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)