Lumen Christi Starts Fast, Surges Ahead to Earn 1st Finals Appearance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – Jackson Lumen Christi showed in Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal that it isn’t just a two-person team.
Titans first-year coach Scott Stine anticipated that Niles Brandywine would try and take away his two talented sophomores, Kenna Hunt and Lucy Wrozek, so he turned to a senior starter to provide an early spark.
Lily Ganton buried a pair of 3-pointers during a 14-0 run to start the game, and it paved the way to a convincing 51-33 victory.
“The first 10 minutes of play we played lights out, we made shots,” said Stine, who guided Ypsilanti Prep to three Division 3 titles over the last four years before taking over at Lumen Christi this school year. “They came out in a kind of a funky defense and if you read the newspaper, you guys can change that narrative. We are more than just two players.
“Lily and I had a conversation that if they came out and tried to do a triangle (defense) or something similar, I let her know that I had all the confidence in the world in her and to let it fly. She came out there and really showed that she's a great basketball player.”
Ganton finished with 13 points, with three 3-pointers total.
“You never know how the game is going to go, but it’s great when Coach puts that confidence in you and my teammates trusted me to go out and knock down shots,” Ganton said. “If they leave me open then I’m going to shoot the ball, and it was nice to get that early lead and some cushion in a game like this.”
The Titans (24-3), who were making their first appearance in the Semifinals, now will play in their first Final at 4 p.m. Saturday against Pewamo-Westphalia.
“It’s pretty amazing, but it really shows all the hard work that we’ve put in is paying off,” said Hunt, who filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and seven steals.
“We still have one more game so we are going to lock in on that game, but it is truly a blessing to be able to be in this position and get this opportunity to play at an amazing place with this team and coaching staff. It’s the best thing I could ask for.”
Lumen Christi led 18-3 after the first quarter and stretched it to 29-10 at the half.
The Titans, who led by as many as 22 during the second half, registered 17 steals and scored 24 points off turnovers.
“Since the day I've had them they said they wanted to be champions,” Stine said. “And we are still one game away from that, but I told them I know what it takes and I’ve been here and I know what it looks like to win. They have done every single thing I've asked of them.”
The Bobcats, who were making their third-straight trip to the Semifinals, had previously won all of their tournament games this winter by double digits.
However, the slow start, coupled with 23 turnovers, was too much to overcome.
“Rough start, probably bad coaching, but it’s really hard to contain Kenna and Lucy and there’s a reason they are Division I prospects,” Niles Brandywine coach Josh Hood said. “They’re tough to defend, but we could’ve thrown in the towel in the second half and we didn’t.
“We battled, and I’m proud of the girls. Three times in a row here is pretty impressive.”
Freshman Zaya Price led the Bobcats with 18 points and nine rebounds.
PHOTOS (Top) Lumen Christi’s Kenna Hunt works to get to the basket with Brandywine’s Lily Gill (11) defending Thursday. (Middle) Lucy Wrozek (14) looks for an open teammate while Mackenna Price (10) pursues. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Inland Lakes Stacking Successes as Expectations Continue to Grow
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
Now that another great girls basketball season is over, Daryl Vizina is spending more time off the court.
But the Indian River Inland Lakes coach is spending just as much time in court.
Vizina, who serves as probate judge in Cheboygan County, has been balancing coaching and estates since 2019. At the time he was first elected, he also was coaching middle school boys basketball for Inland Lakes.
He took over the girls varsity basketball program in 2020, assuming the helm of a team coming off a 3-18 season. And, the Bulldogs hadn’t won a District championship in three decades or a conference title in two.
Inland Lakes now has won three straight Division 4 District titles. The Bulldogs reached a Regional Final for second time in three years, falling to St. Ignace. And, after capturing the Ski Valley Conference trophy a year ago, the Bulldogs racked up 21 wins against just five very close losses this winter in finishing second in the league.
The Bulldogs and Vizina are looking forward to returning next winter with even higher expectations. They will graduate only two seniors this spring.
The culture has changed from expecting a few wins to winning every time the Bulldogs step on the court.
“Winning comes at a price,” said Vizina, who was riding a bus back from a middle school game at Central Lake as the election results were being tabulated for his first term on the judicial bench. “The expectations are a blessing in a lot of ways but they also cause a lot of strain on the program. The girls walk into the gym every day knowing we’re expecting to perform, expecting to play well, and it’s a different state of mind.”
Next year’s expected returnees include center Ava Belford, who just had a terrific freshman season. Junior forward Chloe Robinson, who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds, will also be back, as will defensive standouts Elizabeth Furman, a sophomore, and junior Mary Myshock.
Furman and Myshock are considered among the best defenders in the area. They combined to shut down or slow down other teams’ leading scorers and were key reasons the Bulldogs held opponents to fewer than 40 points in 18 games.
“I would expect we are going to be better next year,” Vizina said. “We’ve got some young players that if they (experience) the growth I anticipate I think they are going to become really great ball players, and we have a core of older players that will be returning that are high-level.”
But you never can be certain, Vizina noted.
“You don’t know how much time people are willing to put in during the summer,” admitted Vizina. “You don’t know about injuries and other things that happen outside our control. But if we take care of business and we have good health and keep on the trajectory we’re on, I would expect us to be really, really good next year.”
The Bulldogs were only a few points shy of an undefeated regular season as the largest margin of defeat was only seven points – to this year’s conference champion, Gaylord St. Mary. The Bulldogs played their conference rival twice, as they always do, and fell short in overtime in the other contest.
“Our four regular-season losses were by a grand total of 14 points,” Vizina recalled. “If you look at really how close to being even better than 21-5 we were, we had a lot of success.”
The Bulldogs have patterned their play after the Michigan State Spartans and longtime coach Tom Izzo. In particular, they like the Spartans’ transitional offense.
“I am a big Michigan State guy,” Vizina said. “They are such a threat to run on you the other (way).”
Pressure defense and rotating eight to 10 players most games – and sometimes all 11 rostered players – has been a point of emphasis for Vizina since his middle school coaching days.
“We want to guard people the minute they get off the bus,” Vizina said, while noting the Bulldogs’ previous history featured a sit-back zone style. “It was really a struggle to get the girls to play fast, both transitional offense and fullcourt defenses. This year is the first year they really started to buy into it.”
Other keys to the Bulldogs’ success are the establishment of more youth programs and the increase of the school’s top female athletes making basketball their number one sport.
“Most of our great athletes in the school play basketball, and with a lot of them it’s become their primary sport, and I think that’s so important because where you really make ground is in the summer time,” Vizina explained. “They can choose between softball or volleyball or going to the beach, or basketball.”
Inland Lakes started a third and fourth-grade team five years ago, and some of those players made big contributions to the varsity this year.
“With our youth programs, we’ve got girls starting to fall in love with basketball at a young age,” Vizina said. “They’re now coming in as freshmen playing good minutes on varsity, and it’s really rewarding to see that bear fruit.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Inland Lakes junior Mary Myshock (11) defends during a game against East Jordan this season. (Middle) Bulldogs coach Daryl Vizina directs his team during a timeout. (Below) Junior Chloe Robinson (12) puts up a jumper over a pair of defenders. (Photos by Jared Greenleaf/Cheboygan Tribune.)