Kent City Finds Shooting Touch to Reach 1st Final
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
EAST LANSING – Kent City has overcome every obstacle this season, and Friday the undefeated Eagles will play Grass Lake for the Division 3 girls basketball championship after defeating Calumet 59-53 in a Semifinal on Wednesday at the Breslin Center.
Grass Lake (19-1) advanced to Friday’s championship game when Hemlock opted out of the tournament Wednesday morning. Both Kent City and Grass Lake will be playing in a Final for the first time.
The Eagles (21-0) opened up an 11-point lead to start the fourth quarter Wednesday and held on despite the Copper Kings getting to within 54-50.
Kent City had a balanced offensive attack with Jenna Harrison scoring 15 points, Madelyn Geers 14, Kenzie Bowers 13, and sister Lexie Bowers 10.
“We just had to take a deep breath and relax,’’ said Harrison. “We knew eventually the shots would start falling.’’
Elli Djerf led the Copper Kings (20-1) with 22 points.
“She kept us in the game; she played her heart out,’’ said Calumet coach Matt Laho. “We needed to have a couple more players go with her, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.
“We had some defensive breakdowns in the third quarter, some bad rotations. It’s easy to make shots when you’re wide open.’’
Kent City pressured Calumet from the start as both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter. Both teams were under 25-percent shooting over those first eight minutes as the teams managed just 14 points for a 7-7 tie.
Geers, who scored four points in the first quarter, picked up her second foul with 9.8 seconds left in the period. Calumet then went on an 8-3 run to start the second quarter, using a triple from Djerf to take a 15-10 lead and force Kent City coach Scott Carlson to call a timeout.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Lexie Bowers got the Eagles back to within two of the lead, 17-15, as the offenses heated up.
A 10-0 run including consecutive threes from Bowers gave the Eagles a 24-19 advantage. But Djerf scored the last three points of the quarter to get the Copper Kings to within 24-22 at halftime.
“We knew eventually we’d make shots,’’ said Carlson.
Strom and Djerf scored the first six points of the third quarter to give Calumet a 28-24 lead, but Kent City’s offense, led by Geers, responded with a 20-9 run to take a 44-37 lead on a triple and floater by Kenzie Bowers.
Harrison finished the frantic quarter with a triple to give Kent City a 49-41 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
When Geers scored to start the fourth quarter, the Eagles had their largest lead of the game, 51-41.
Up 11, 52-41, Kent City went to its delay game, forcing the Copper Kings to foul.
“We have enough ball-handlers to run clock for five minutes.’’ said Carlson. “They were tired, and playing defense that long wears you out.’’
Lexie Bowers led Kent City with 10 points while Marybeth Halonen had seven for the Copper Kings.
“We’re living the dream right now on the big stage,” Carlson said. “I think it’s a huge advantage for us having played today (while Grass Lake didn’t).’’
PHOTOS: (Top) Kent City's Jenna Harrison (4) makes her way around a Calumet defender Wednesday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Madelyn Geers (24) defends as Calumet's Jana Loukus looks for an opening. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2026
With Sunday’s announcement of this season’s Girls Basketball District seeds and matchups, more than 650 teams across the state now know their championship paths once the playoffs begin.
But the journey really started months ago – and there’s one more week left this regular season for contenders to build up momentum as they prepare to play for more. We detail some of what we've seen and what to expect below.
“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. Grass Lake 52, Brooklyn Columbia Central 42 These two have met in three straight Cascades Conference championship games, and Grass Lake (19-1) won its third straight title in adding to a previous victory this winter over Columbia Central (17-3).
2. Flint Powers Catholic 49, Saginaw Heritage 40 The Chargers (19-2) won this matchup of Saginaw Valley League division winners, sending Heritage to 15-6.
3. Goodrich 58, Fenton 27 The Martians (21-0) won their third-straight Flint Metro League overall championship, downing Fenton (14-8) for the second time this season.
4. Rockford 61, Grand Haven 41 The Rams (19-1) finished an outright championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and a season sweep of the Buccaneers (17-3).
5. Farmington Hills Mercy 60, South Lyon East 47 The Marlins (16-4) handed East (19-1) its only loss this season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
DeWitt (16-4) The Panthers have wins over four teams with at least 15 victories this winter, and all four of DeWitt’s losses came to teams with at least 15 wins. Despite splitting with Holt, the Panthers finished just behind the Rams in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, but could see Holt again in a Regional Final. DeWitt also has an opportunity to see East Lansing again in their District Final after falling to the Trojans in their second of two regular-season meetings.
Holt (15-4) After finishing second and tied for second in the CAAC Blue to DeWitt the last two seasons, Holt celebrated clinching the outright championship by finishing a regular-season sweep of East Lansing on Feb. 13. The Rams then followed with an impressive 52-51 win over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richand and impressed as well despite falling to Haslett (18-2) by three points on Thursday. All four losses have come to opponents with at least 15 wins this season.
DIVISION 2
Warren Regina (15-5) The Saddlelites have tied last season’s win total with at least three more games to play, and one more victory will give them their highest total in at least 15 years. The losses came in clumps; Regina won its first seven games, lost five of the next seven, but have now won six straight. The Saddlelites finished third in a Catholic High School League Central West that also included Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (16-3) and Farmington Hills Mercy (16-4), both Division 1 teams.
Yale (19-1) The Bulldogs clinched a share of their third-straight Blue Water Area Conference title Friday and can make the championship outright Tuesday against second-place Armada – and after Yale and Armada shared the championship a year ago. The Bulldogs’ only loss this winter came to Division 1 New Baltimore Anchor Bay (17-2), and Armada in the teams’ first matchup is the only other opponent to get within single digits.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (15-3) Five of six teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley have winning records, and topping them is undefeated Kalamazoo Christian – which has won the title outright with an opportunity to finish a perfect league run against second-place Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep on Tuesday. The three Comets’ losses came to Division 1 and 2 opponents that are a combined 48-12, and K-Christian will be playing next week for a fourth-straight District title.
Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (15-4) The Crusaders made a memorable jump last season starting 1-3 and ending as the Division 3 runners-up. They got rolling a little more quickly this winter and have won eight straight while clinching the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue title outright despite playing in a league that has four of six teams with at least 13 wins. Lutheran Northwest also has tested itself nonleague with losses to Division 1 Clarkston and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and Division 2 St. Clair.
DIVISION 4
Mio (16-4) The Thunderbolts will seek to add to two straight trips to the Regional Semifinals when they begin their postseason march next week, and they’ll hope to secure a third-straight league title tonight when they play Hillman with a share of the North Star League Little Dipper championship on the line. Mio split back-to-back games with Au Gres-Sims, which has clinched a share of the title. Mia McGregor has passed 2,000 points this season as a junior and is in line to pursue the all-time MHSAA career scoring record next winter.
Portland St. Patrick (16-4) The Shamrocks have been championship contenders – and won their share – over the last several decades, but this season is a little different as past championship player and assistant coach Michelle Smith has taken over the program from longtime leader Al Schrauben. The success continues. While St. Patrick is fourth in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference – which features four teams with at least 16 wins – all of its losses have come to those other three teams, which all play in Division 3.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Kingston (21-0) at Deckerville (17-3) – This will finish determining one of the final league races still outstanding, as Kingston has clinched a share of the Big Thumb Conference Blue title but Deckerville can do the same by avenging an earlier 53-34 loss to the Cardinals.
Tuesday – Beaverton (17-2) at Standish-Sterling (17-3) – These two will face off for the overall Jack Pine Conference championship after also facing each other Friday, with Beaverton winning the first round 58-47.
Thursday – Belleville (21-0) vs. Howell (20-1) at Northville – This has been one of the most anticipated matchups in the state for weeks as the reigning Division 1 champion Tigers seek to finish as repeat overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association champs.
Thursday – Rockford (19-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (20-0) – Both are strong candidates to finish at Breslin Center next month, the Rams in Division 1 and the Sailors in Division 2.
Thursday – Negaunee (19-1) at Gladstone (17-3) – Gladstone will be seeking to avenge a 30-19 loss to the Miners from Jan. 27, and they’re lined up to potentially see each other in a Division 2 District Final next week as well.
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PHOTOS (Top) Mio’s Mia McGregor (33) handles the ball during a game against Saginaw Arts & Sciences earlier this month. (Middle) Baraga's Danica Jahfetson directs the offense against Ishpeming. (Mio/SASA photo by Kolleth Photo. Baraga/Ishpeming photo by Cara Kamps.)