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.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 10
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 10, 2025
We’re just three weeks away from the start of Girls Basketball Districts and two weeks from announcing this season’s brackets, and every day we get closer becomes a better one to start studying the Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) used to determine those pairings.
The MPR tables are searchable by Division, team and District number and update as results are entered. This season, for the first time, entire District brackets will be seeded – making every matchup, including those referred to below – important in deciding who will face who first when we get to March.
“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. Grand Rapids South Christian 58, Grand Rapids West Catholic 51 The Sailors (15-2) picked up a half-game lead in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold standings by avenging a 62-49 loss from Jan. 10 to West Catholic (14-2), which made the Division 2 Semifinals a year ago.
2. Pewamo-Westphalia 59, Fowler 53 The Pirates (16-0) are undefeated and took a two-game lead in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, and they also remain the only team to defeat Fowler (13-2) this winter.
3. Ovid-Elsie 41, New Lothrop 39 (OT) The Marauders (15-2) also edged ahead by half a game in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference by avenging a 46-37 loss to New Lothrop (14-2) from Dec. 20.
4. Grass Lake 58, Michigan Center 45 Grass Lake (14-3) needs one more win to clinch at least a share of the Cascades Conference East after finishing a regular-season sweep of the Cardinals (14-2), who are tied for second.
5. Niles Brandywine 45, Vicksburg 28 The reigning Division 3 runner-up Bobcats (16-0) continue to look ready for another tournament run after adding an impressive win over the Division 2 Bulldogs (14-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Saginaw Heritage (14-3) The Hawks have climbed to No. 4 overall in Division 1 MPR with their combination of a tough schedule and plenty of success navigating it. They are tied for second and one game back of Midland in the Saginaw Valley League because of a Jan. 28 loss to the Chemics (14-1), and the other defeats came to Howell (12-5) and Frankenmuth (14-3) to go with wins over Sanford Meridian (12-2), Detroit Cass Tech (13-6), Freeland (12-3), Hemlock (14-3), Berkley (12-6) and last week Mount Pleasant (10-5). Wins over two more opponents could give Heritage especially sizable boosts – Flint Powers Catholic (12-3) on Friday and Kingston (12-1) in the regular-season finale Feb. 25.
Utica Eisenhower (16-1) After finishing 10-13 just a season ago, Eisenhower is potentially closing in on a Macomb Area Conference Red title with its only defeat this winter to reigning Division 2 champion Detroit Edison (12-3) on Jan. 4. Eisenhower handed rival Utica Ford (15-1) its only defeat, 64-49 on Jan. 28, and that result has the Eagles a game ahead in the Red with the rematch finishing the league schedule Feb. 21. Eisenhower also has nice wins over Fraser (11-6), New Baltimore Anchor Bay (14-3) and Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (11-4) and takes on Armada (13-1) three days before facing Ford again.
DIVISION 2
Parma Western (15-1) A District title to finish off last season’s 15-10 run may have provided momentum as Western has rolled this season. The Panthers opened with a 61-51 win over West Catholic, which as noted above made the Division 2 Semifinals last season, and on Jan. 23 dealt reigning Division 2 champion Edison a 53-48 defeat. Western leads in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference by half a game with a rematch against second-place Coldwater (11-6) coming up Feb. 18, and the Panthers also have wins over Battle Creek Lakeview (11-5), Dexter (12-5), Marshall (11-4) and Williamston (10-6). That lone loss to Division 1 contender Belleville (16-1) gave Western another look at elite competition.
Wixom St. Catherine (14-2) The Stars have won 11 straight since finishing December with a pair of losses to Division 1 South Lyon (15-1) and Plymouth (12-6). St. Catherine has clinched the Catholic High School League AA title and is coming off a one-point win over Birmingham Seaholm (11-6). A pair of wins over Allen Park Cabrini (10-4) helped secure the league title, with others over Clarkston Everest Collegiate (12-2) and White Lake Lakeland (11-5) also highlighting the run. Two more opportunities to rise are coming up against Clawson (15-1) tonight and Dearborn Heights Crestwood (14-2) on Feb. 27.
DIVISION 3
Hart (9-0) A 41-32 win over second-place Shelby (14-3) last week has Hart one win away from clinching a share of the West Michigan Conference Rivers championship and ran the Pirates’ league winning streak to 52 over the last five seasons. The only defeat this winter was 53-52 on Dec. 13 to Fremont (15-2), and that came just three days after a 37-34 win over Shelby in their first meeting. Hart bounced back from the defeat with a 46-42 win over Spring Lake (10-6), and the Pirates also have a win over Ravenna (10-6) with that rematch coming up Feb. 19. Hart also will travel to Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (8-2) on Saturday and host Morley Stanwood (11-4) on Feb. 25.
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (14-2) A 2-2 start to this season has Hackett second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley and needing help to catch leader Kalamazoo Christian for a share of the title. But Hackett has won 12 games straight, including rematches with Christian (13-3) and Schoolcraft to avenge those two defeats, and the Irish on Friday finished a regular-season sweep of Lawton (12-3). Hackett also has downed Onekama (12-4) and Galesburg-Augusta (10-6) during this run and can continue to build momentum for the postseason with nice matchups on the way against Centreville (10-3), South Haven (12-2) and Gobles (11-5).
DIVISION 4
Genesee Christian (12-2) The Soldiers have won 14 games both of the last two seasons and have a great path to surpass that total over the next few weeks after opening this impressive run with wins over Fenton (10-6) and Ovid-Elsie (15-2). Genesee Christian – playing as an independent this season – also owns victories over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (12-3) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (11-4), with the losses to Flint Hamady (12-1) and Adrian Lenawee Christian (11-6). Matchups with Division 2 Corunna (10-6) and Linden (10-4) should provide more prep for the District, where the Soldiers could run into Everest again after falling to the Mountaineers to close the last two winters.
L'Anse (13-2) Despite a tough 52-49 overtime loss to Baraga on Jan. 30, L’Anse still controls some of its destiny in the Copper Mountain Conference with Lake Linden-Hubbell (12-4) and league leader Ewen-Trout Creek (15-1) coming up this week. It’s a great spot to be in as the Purple Hornets are coming off back-to-back sub-.500 seasons but have 12 wins this season by at least 15 points to go with a one-point victory over Calumet (10-5). L’Anse also has downed Baraga (12-4) in nonleague play and Felch North Dickinson (10-5), with the other loss to Division 2 Houghton (12-4). A second matchup with Lake Linden-Hubbell and meeting with Hancock (10-4) highlight the final weeks of the regular season.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – St. Charles (12-3) at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (12-0) – Sacred Heart is undefeated in Mid-State Activities Conference play and St. Charles has one loss, from their Jan. 24 meeting won by the Irish 49-40.
Monday – Yale (15-1) at Sandusky (14-0) – Yale leads the Blue Water Area Conference and Sandusky tops the Big Thumb Conference Black.
Tuesday – Flint Powers Catholic (12-3) at Midland (14-1) – The Chemics lead the Saginaw Valley League by a game ahead of Powers and Heritage, with four league games remaining for all three and Powers at Heritage on Friday.
Friday – Wayne Memorial (12-5) at Belleville (16-1) – Wayne’s 57-52 win over Belleville on Feb. 1 had statewide impact, and the rematch will get plenty of attention as well as likely determine the champion(s) of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East.
Sunday – Detroit Public School League Tournament Final at Wayne State – Four teams remain in pursuit: Renaissance (17-1), Martin Luther King (9-8), Cass Tech (13-6) and Mumford (8-4).
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PHOTOS (Top) Lansing Christian’s Sophia Carrillo reaches to collect a loose ball during her team’s 43-37 double overtime over Bath on Feb. 5. (Middle) Ishpeming's Mya Hemmer attempts to put up a shot while surrounded by Gladstone defenders during Gladstone’s 53-46 win on Feb. 4. (Lansing Christian/Bath photo by Click by Christine McCallister. Ishpeming/Gladstone photo by Cara Kamps.)