Long Wait Ends as Fowler Returns to Finals
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – It took a couple years, but the wait was worth it for Fowler's girls basketball team.
The Eagles finally closed the book on a disappointing Quarterfinal loss two years ago to stun unbeaten Carney-Nadeau 61-37 in Wednesday's first Division 4 Semifinal at Van Andel Arena.
Fowler junior guard Mia Riley said her teammates had not forgotten a 57-36 Quarterfinal loss to Adrian Lenawee Christian in 2019, a loss which capped a 17-win season. The players used that memory to pound their way into their first Girls Basketball Final since finishing Class D runner-up in 1999.
"We've been waiting, just itching to get back," Riley said. "It was always in the back of our minds, and now it's just a great feeling."
The win snapped a 22-game winning streak for Carney-Nadeau, which had won its previous five tournament games by an average of 19 points per contest. No team had come as close as eight points to beating the Wolves this season.
But Fowler (15-4) never trailed after a layup by Avery Koenigsknecht snapped a 10-10 tie with 1:21 left in the first quarter. Fowler upped the lead to 33-17 at the half and 49-28 at the end of three quarters.
The win sent Fowler (15-4) into Friday's 10 a.m. Final against Bellaire at the Breslin Center.
Eagles coach Nathan Goerge said there was little to complain about after his team forced a whopping 31 turnovers, including 16 in the first half. That defense, which featured five players with at least three steals, was largely responsible for Carney-Nadeau attempting 28 fewer field goals (59-31).
"The execution was absolutely awesome. We had some breakdowns, but none that really hurt us," Goerge said. "We're a tough team to beat when we spread the floor and make shots. We always tell the girls when you have a shot, it's going up. We have a lot of good shooters on this team."
Fowler overcame missing its first nine 3-pointers to land three players in double figures while shooting 37 percent (22 of 59) from the floor.
Sisters Emma and Mia Riley head the list of good shooters. Mia, a junior guard, finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Emma, a sophomore guard, added 18 points and eight steals. Emma Halfmann had 11 points.
Carney-Nadeau was led by Tessa Wagner's 21 points and eight rebounds. Taylor Kedsch added 10 points.
"We've handled the press well, but this was something new for us," Kedsch said.
Wolves coach Ken Lindor said the turnovers made it difficult for the team to sustain much consistency on offense.
"We just really struggled with their pressure," Lindor said. "They pushed us out on offense. We were okay shooting the ball (48 percent), but we had too many unforced turnovers that we don't normally make. We just couldn't get in a flow. They had good ball pressure and took away the passing lanes. We didn't move as well as we usually do; there was a lot of standing around.
"We haven't been this far in 20 years, and one of our goals was to get here,” he added. “We met that goal, and that was pretty special."
PHOTOS: (Top) Fowler's Mia Riley looks for an opening with Carney-Nadeau's Shae Linder defending. (Middle) Emma Riley brings the ball upcourt with teammate Emma Halfmann at her side . (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Canton Corrals Comets in Class A Semi
March 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The way Canton wins would be easy to overlook, if not for the key word in that statement.
It’s become impossible to ignore the defensive-minded Chiefs, who entered this postseason as only an honorable mention in the final Associated Press Class A poll – and advanced to their first MHSAA Final on Friday at the Breslin Center.
Canton prides itself on defense, giving up only 28 points per game this season.
And the Chiefs made that average stick in handing No. 4 Grand Ledge a 35-28 defeat to advance to Saturday’s championship game against Bloomfield Hills Marian.
“Sometimes we haven’t been thought of as a leading team or whatever, underestimated,” Canton senior center Taylor Hunley said. “It’s great to work so hard to make the final day of the season and be able to spend as much time with each other as possible.”
The Chiefs just missed advancing to the Class A championship games in both 2009 and 2010. But this team is different in that its run is a bit unexpected.
Canton’s only losses were to Marian, Mercy, and a couple more contenders in Grosse Pointe South and Waterford Mott. But it was lack of flashiness in their wins that maybe made this team easier to forget – and yet now, unforgettable.
“We always talk about playing on the last day. The first two (Canton) teams that came, that was sort’ve expected because they were ranked in the top three all year and there was a lot of pressure to get here,” Canton coach Brian Samulski said. “These guys have really been able to enjoy this run they’ve put us on. There’s no real pressure. No one talked about them. But we refuse to lose and keep plugging away, and go from there.”
The first few minutes Friday ended up a good indicator of what was to come; Grand Ledge scored the game’s first basket, but not until more than three minutes had been played.
The Comets entered the week with three players averaging double figures scoring – senior sisters Hannah (15 ppg) and Lindsay Orwat (13.4) and 6-foot-3 junior Cori Crocker (10.7). As a team, Grand Ledge averaged nearly 58 points per game before Friday.
But the trio combined for only 21 points, led by Lindsay Orwat’s nine.
“Me and my sister love to shoot off ball screens, but they were right there in our faces,” Hannah Orwat said. “We’d dump it in to Cori, and there would be five girls on her. We couldn’t get in a flow.”
The teams identically took 39 shots, both making 11. But whereas Canton has been used to this kind of game, the Chiefs could sense by the second quarter that the Comets were getting frustrated.
They were knotted 19-19 heading into the fourth quarter before Hunley and senior Paige Aresco keyed an 8-0 run that seemingly put this low-scoring game out of reach for Grand Ledge.
“A lot of great teams are focused on offense, offense, offense. And then they come up against us,” Aresco said. “We’ve done a great job shutting them down, and it’s been kinda shocking for them, I think.”
The Comets, who will graduate six players, were in their first Semifinal appearance. They finished 24-3.
“This group of Grand Ledge girls has been going to school together their whole lives, and we kept focusing on that as the year went on,” Grand Ledge coach David Jones said. “Experiencing this together, being together, we’re proud of accomplishing getting this far. And a lot of the credit goes to this senior class.”
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Canton’s Paige Aresco (14) works to drive against Grand Ledge’s Hannah Orwat. (Middle) Orwat searches for an open teammate as two Chiefs converge.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Grand Ledge grabs a 17-15 third-quarter lead against Canton on a pull-up jumper by Lindsay Orwat. (2) Canton scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to break the game open. This layup by Aresco starts the run.