Manchester Celebrates 1st Championship
March 16, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Taylor Manders placed a hand on each side of her head Saturday, not entirely sure what to say when her sister Jessie ran up and gave her a huge hug.
A few seconds later, they and their teammates would celebrate the first MHSAA Finals championship in Manchester High School history.
Manders’ speechlessness probably had something to do with simple joy – before this season, Manchester had never even played in a Quarterfinal. There might’ve been some disbelief in there too after a start that made this look early like a Saginaw Nouvel win going away.
And don’t forget a little anticipation. The Lady Dutch had built for this season throughout Manders’ high school career and improved throughout. This winter they picked up a final edge, and it might’ve been the difference-maker in a 57-52 championship game win over the Panthers.
“When I was a freshman, we had a pretty good team. But we lacked chemistry. Sophomore year definitely was a rebuilding year,” Manders said. “Junior year, we were there. But we didn’t have the mental (side). This year we gained all the mentality. The biggest difference was our mentality in us being so strong this year.”
Manchester finished 27-1, its only loss to Class A Semifinalist Dexter. The Dutch entered postseason play ranked No. 3 in Class C, while Nouvel was No. 4.
Along the way the last three weeks, Manchester also eliminated No. 2 Niles Brandywine and two more teams that had received votes in the final Associated Press poll, Ypsilanti Arbor and Adrian Madison.
The Dutch knew how to beat strong teams. But the good news Saturday is they also knew how to climb out of a deficit.
Manchester had gotten down early against Michigan Center in the Regional Semifinal and trailed Riverview Gabriel Richard by eight just minutes into Thursday’s eventual seven-point win. This time, the Dutch found themselves down 14-2 to Nouvel with less than a minute to go in the first quarter.
“The thing is, we’ve seen more pressure defense before. … We just weren’t moving to the seams they gave us,” Manchester coach Cori Kastel said. “We were forcing things. We weren’t patient. And when we try to force and make things happen, that’s when we fall apart instead of maintaining our composure.”
But where other teams might have, Manchester didn’t lose it.
Nouvel had eliminated two top-10 teams during the tournament, including No. 1 Reese. The Panthers closed out a number of elite squads throughout the season.
The Dutch didn’t become the last.
Nouvel outrebounded Manchester 12-4 during the first quarter; Manchester outrebounded Nouvel 31-16 the rest of the game. Nouvel shot six free throws and made two during the first quarter, while Manchester didn’t have an attempt. Nouvel made two free throws on seven tries the rest of the game; Manchester made 17 of 21.
“Somehow, offensively, we really struggled. We weren’t executing the way we did in the first quarter. For whatever reason, we just lost that flow in our offense,” Nouvel coach Kris Hengesbach said. “And then, coupled with them making big 3-point shots, when we did make a stop they’d get an offensive rebound and put it back in. That did us in.”
“We didn’t play like we were down either. We were just playing our game,” said Dutch senior center McKenna Erkfritz, who had game highs of 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. “When we had a chance to push the ball, we pushed the ball. We really composed ourselves. We used what we’ve been using all season, and it worked for us.”
When Manchester took its first lead of the game on an Erkfritz jumped with 2:48 to play in the third quarter, more than a thousand maroon-clad fans in Breslin’s northeast corner erupted.
The Dutch pushed the lead to 35-32 by the end of the quarter. And only a jumper by Nouvel senior Taylor Hengesbach with two seconds to play brought the final margin back to five.
She finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in her final game of an all-state career playing for her mother Kris. Junior Rachel McInerney added 15 points and six rebounds.
“Our student body is really close; our school is kinda like a family, and I knew they were still proud of us in the end even though we didn’t come out with the number one trophy,” Taylor Hengesbach said. “They’re still proud of us, and I’m still proud of our team.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Manchester players prepare to embrace senior McKenna Erkfritz during Saturday's medal ceremony after winning their first Class B championship. (Middle) Lady Dutch senior guard Taylor Manders finished with nine points, five rebounds and six assists. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview
March 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament field was reduced from more than 700 to 128 last week with a number of the expected contenders moving on – and few of the unexpected joining the group as well.
See below for four teams from each class that jumped out as we watched Districts finish up and anticipated the start of Regionals tonight. Click for brackets for all 32 and stay with Score Center tonight for scores and updated matchups.
Class A
Dearborn (16-7) – The Pioneers saw a two-season league title streak end, but have improved four wins from a year ago and won their District with a 56-51 victory over Allen Park – which finished 18-4. Dearborn has won 12 of its last 14 games.
East Lansing (17-6) – The Trojans emerged from a District that featured the reigning runners-up in Class A (DeWitt) and B (Haslett), downing Haslett 60-42 in an opener, then rival Grand Ledge 52-36 before beating surprise Lansing Waverly in the Final; 57-41. The Trojans have won 10 straight.
Saginaw Heritage (21-1) – The Hawks’ season looked like it might get away when they fell to Midland Dow 48-40 on Feb. 12 after the team lost standout Jaela Richardson to injury for the rest of the season. But Heritage has rebounded to win six straight and beat Dow 42-32 in the District Final.
Southfield Lathrup (20-3) – The win in the District Final, 56-28 over Southfield, was significant in that the two schools will merge into one after this school year and Southfield was a league champion this winter. But on the way, the Chargers also beat two more league champs in Berkley and Detroit Renaissance.
Class B
Alma (11-10) – The Panthers entered the postseason with a sub-.500 record, but opened last week with an overtime upset of Belding (which beat Alma in the District last season) and then won the title with a 15-point clincher over Shepherd.
Freeland (20-3) – The Tri-Valley Conference Central champion won its ninth straight game in a nail-biter, beating league rival Saginaw Swan Valley 56-53 in double overtime for the District title. The Falcons had beaten the Vikings by only six and five points during the regular season.
Reed City (11-11) – The record may not jump out, but the Coyotes are leaps and bounds better than 2014-15, when they finished 0-21. Reed City tied for fourth in the Central State Activities Association Gold this winter, but beat co-champion Big Rapids in the opener before edging Clare 48-47 in the Final.
Stevensville Lakeshore (19-2) – The Lancers won their first District title since 2013 with a 57-35 win over Benton Harbor, holding Tigers star Kysre Gondrezick to a still-impressive 24 points after she had scored an MHSAA-record 72 in a double-overtime District-opening win a few days earlier.
Class C
Gobles (22-0) – The Tigers nearly saw their perfect run end against a familiar foe, surviving a 65-62 triple-overtime thriller against Hartford in the District Final. Gobles had beaten Hartford, which finished 15-8, 61-18 and 62-28 during the regular season.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (16-5) – Last week ended much differently than District week in 2015. Covenant Christian opened with a 45-19 win over Grandville Calvin Christian, a league champion and the team that eliminated the Chargers last year. They then won 54-18 over a Saugatuck team that finished 18-5.
Iron Mountain (14-8) – The Mountaineers repeated as District champs in something of an unexpected scenario. Iron Mountain met up with Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference foe Norway for the third time, and this time won 51-40 after falling 63-37 and 79-45 in the regular-season meetings.
Traverse City St. Francis (22-1) – The Lake Michigan Conference champion hadn’t crossed paths this season with Northwest Conference champion Maple City Glen Lake, but ended the Lakers’ season at 20-3 with a 62-55 win in the District championship game after beating 15-win Elk Rapids in the Semifinal.
Class D
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (18-3) – The annual Mid-South Conference power took another step this season, winning its league again and then its District with a 42-35 victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian; the Storm fell in its first District game in 2015.
Athens (16-7) – After closing the regular season with three losses in its final four games, Athens is back in familiar territory thanks to a 51-49 overtime District Final win over Mendon – which finished 17-4. Athens also beat Mendon for a District title last season.
Bellevue (17-6) – The Broncos continue to improve under former Eaton Rapids standout Kayla Whitmyer and are four wins better than a season ago. Bellevue beat Battle Creek St. Philip 36-30 in the District Final a week after falling 40-36 to the Tigers amid a three-losses-in-four-game skid.
Fruitport Calvary Christian (19-3) – One more win will give Calvary Christian 20 for the third straight season, but would mean much more than that; also for the third straight season, the Eagles meet Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in a Regional Semifinal and have lost the last two meetings.
PHOTO: Reed City and Clare players scramble for a loose ball during Reed City’s one-point District Final win last week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)