Marian Encores with Repeat Performance
March 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – There’s pressure, and then there’s the expectation Bloomfield Hills Marian had for this season.
Nothing less than another Class A championship would suffice for a team returning four starters from last year’s title run.
It just so happens the Mustangs are especially good under pressure – and exceptional at the Breslin Center.
Top-ranked Marian ran its Breslin Finals winning streak to four and championship streak to two Saturday with a 51-37 win over No. 4 DeWitt.
“I feel like it’s the big stadium. I know there’s a lot of pressure to perform well, so I want to go out there and try my hardest,” said Marian sophomore guard Samantha Thomas, who has averaged 14.2 points in four Finals weekend games over the last two seasons. “I try to do that every game, but I guess I just do it more at Breslin.
“Sam’s a real people pleaser. She wants everyone to be happy,” Marian coach Mary Cicerone added, “and she knows we were counting on her big-time today.”
Total, the Mustangs have now won six girls basketball championships – tying with two other schools for second-most in MHSAA history. Their seven appearances in MHSAA Finals are tied for fifth-most among girls basketball programs.
They looked more than comfortable after the opening tip this time. Marian (25-1) scored the first 10 points of the game and held DeWitt without a point until the final 28 seconds of the first quarter.
But it wouldn’t be that easy the rest of the afternoon.
The Panthers (25-2), playing in their first MHSAA Final since 1977 and only a 10-minute drive from home, were led by five seniors who all had spent at least three seasons on varsity. They wouldn’t fold quickly.
In fact, the Panthers took a 17-16 lead on junior Lilly George’s basket with 1:31 to go in the first half.
Twice more Marian built a lead. Twice more the Panthers fought back, taking their final lead at 32-31 with 6:54 to play. But they couldn’t withstand a final rush by the Mustangs and the Thomas sisters in particular.
“It just says that we never want to give up,” DeWitt senior guard Claudia Reid said. “Even though it was a hard loss for us, it was a great journey we went on. We went on it together, and we’ll always remember this.”
Marian outscored DeWitt 20-5 the rest of the way. Samantha Thomas had four of those points and junior sister Bailey scored nine despite both playing with four fouls. The Panthers made only one of 10 shots during those final seven minutes.
“I got my fouls pretty early, so I was sitting on the bench for a long time and it’s hard to watch knowing you’re in foul trouble and can’t play,” Bailey Thomas said. “But once I got to go back out there I was going to give it all I’ve got because I didn’t want to be back on the bench.”
Samantha Thomas finished with 17 points and five steals, while Bailey had 12 points, although both played only 18 minutes. Senior guard Kara Holinski picked up some of the scoring load with 10 points, and senior forward Brittany Gray had seven points and eight rebounds.
Reid had 12 points and four assists for DeWitt, and George added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Summer Ward hit a pair of 3-pointers off the bench for the second straight day and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Gray, Holinski and senior guard Jaeda Robinson all played on the Marian varsity as freshmen and were part of the program’s only losing season since 1986. But they finished that winter with a District title and went a combined 68-7 over the last three.
“They came every day to practice hard. They worked. Thanksgiving Day, ‘Can we come in and have practice? And I said I’ve gotta cook, so we came in early,” Cicerone said. “When we look at their picture on our gym wall, I’m going to tell everybody that if you want to get back there, you’ve gotta work. These kids were the epitome of what hard work and dedication are about, and that’s their legacy.”
Click for the full box score and video from the postgame press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Marian’s Brittany Gray blocks a shot during Saturday’s Class A Final at the Breslin Center. (Middle) Samantha Thomas looks for open teammates while DeWitt’s Abby Nakfoor (42) and Lilly George (44) defend.
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 21, 2022
District brackets are posted, almost every league championship is decided, and we’re closing in on the start of the girls basketball postseason in Michigan.
Tourney time begins a week from today, and this will be our final “Breslin Bound” of this format for the 2021-22 girls season as next week we’ll preview the most intriguing District brackets from across the state.
“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. Bloomfield Hills Marian 45, Farmington Hills Mercy 44 (OT) The Mustangs (12-6) would go on four days later to defeat Dearborn Divine Child 44-36 to win the Detroit Catholic League Bishop championship, but edging Central champion Mercy (14-3) on the way caused the first big stir.
2. West Bloomfield 65, Detroit Edison 62 The Lakers (15-1) furthered their status as a Division 1 favorite by handing Division 2 No. 1 Edison (8-4) its first in-state loss since 2017-18.
3. Detroit Edison 60, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 52 The Pioneers did, however, quickly bounce back from that loss to hand Division 3 No. 1 Arbor Prep (15-2) just its second defeat.
4. Portland 53, Lansing Catholic 41 The Raiders’ only loss this season was 55-52 to Lansing Catholic on Jan. 14, and Portland (17-1) put itself in line to share the Capital Area Activities Conference White title with the Cougars (16-1) by avenging it.
5. Elk Rapids 56, Harbor Springs 49 The Elks (16-2) avenged their only Lake Michigan Conference defeat, 49-48 on Jan. 21, to clinch the league title and send Harbor Springs (17-2) into second.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Byron Center (15-2) The Bulldogs have clinched their third-straight Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship with two league games to play and only two single-digit margins over the first 12. Byron Center finished a regular-season sweep of Grand Rapids Christian (13-5) with a 53-44 victory last week and also nearly doubled up O-K Gold co-leader Grand Rapids South Christian (15-3) earlier this season. The Bulldogs sit No. 11 in Division 1 MPR, with the losses to No. 1 Hudsonville (16-2) and No. 8 Rockford (16-2) in December.
Parma Western (17-1) The Panthers have clinched a share of the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title – their third straight – heading into Tuesday’s matchup with second-place Marshall. Western’s only defeat came to Edison on Jan. 25, 60-47, and the Panthers are the only other team to defeat Arbor Prep. And that was just one of an impressive slate of wins, including others over East Lansing (13-4), Brooklyn Columbia Central (12-4), Grass Lake (13-4), Marshall (13-5) and Jackson Northwest (13-5) twice. Western reached the Semifinals last season in Division 2.
Division 2
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (13-6) In a Catholic League Central featuring three top-15 Division 1 teams, Gabriel Richard’s run may not have gotten as much notice. But minus losses to Mercy, Marian and Divine Child, the Irish would be 13-1 – and they handed Divine Child (15-3) a 41-32 defeat Feb. 8 after delivering a 45-36 loss to Marian a week before. The team’s only other defeat came to Lansing Catholic, and it handed Madison Heights Bishop Foley (14-1) its lone loss. This is the third season Father Gabriel Richard has reached 13 wins, and it advanced to the Division 2 Quarterfinals last season.
Imlay City (16-3) The Spartans can finish a perfect run through the Blue Water Area Conference for the second season in a row Tuesday at Almont, and they’ve clinched a third-straight outright championship. The league includes three more teams 11-7 or better, and Imlay City swept all three to go with solid victories over Deckerville (13-4) and Warren Cousino (13-5). The losses also no doubt provided some valuable prep as the team looks to build on last year’s Quarterfinal run – the Spartans fell to Arbor Prep, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (19-1) and Lake Fenton (15-2).
Division 3
Madison Heights Bishop Foley (14-1) A Detroit Catholic League Cardinal championship won Saturday added to the achievements this winter for the Ventures, who also claimed the Catholic League Intersectional #1 title and have won 12 games by double digits. As they seek to build on last year’s Quarterfinal run, Bishop Foley should take confidence from the Cardinal title-deciding win over Wixom St. Catherine (14-3) and a big early victory over Clawson (17-2), among others. The lone loss came by six to Father Gabriel Richard (see above).
Watervliet (16-1) The Panthers finished a perfect run through the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore last week, with their closest win in any game this season by 13 points and their only loss to Kalamazoo Christian (15-4) by three on Feb. 1. Pairs of wins came over Gobles (11-7) and Saugatuck (12-6). Watervliet moved up to No. 7 in Division 3 MPR and gets another strong test Thursday at No. 6 Schoolcraft (17-1) in a SAC crossover of league champions.
Division 4
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (11-7) Even with seven losses, Inter-City Baptist sits No. 11 in Division 4 MPR because of a schedule with 10 games against teams with double-digit wins. The Chargers defeated Auburn Hills Oakland Christian (13-4), Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (11-7) and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (10-4) among others, tying with Oakland Christian for second in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue behind only Division 4 top-ranked Plymouth Christian Academy.
Pittsford (14-3) The Wildcats have won 12 straight since beginning the season 2-3, as they’ve also bounced back from going 6-7 a year ago. They’ve clinched a share of the Southern Central Athletic Association East title with three league games left this week. Pittsford has defeated Colon (14-4), swept Hillsdale Academy (11-5) and also downed Waldron (10-7), with one of those early losses coming at Athens (16-1).
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Detroit Mumford (8-6) vs. Detroit Renaissance (13-5) at Oakland University – Renaissance won their Detroit Public School League Blue matchup 67-56 on Jan. 24, but they’re meeting again in the league tournament final.
Tuesday – Bloomingdale (17-1) at Hartford (16-2) – Two games remain on the Southwest 10 Conference schedule for both as they sit tied atop the standings and with Hartford having won the first meeting 37-31 on Jan. 11.
Tuesday – Chelsea (16-2) at Tecumseh (18-1) – Chelsea has a one-game lead on Tecumseh with one to play on the Southeastern Conference East schedule, and having given Tecumseh its only loss 64-40 on Feb. 1.
Tuesday – Midland Dow (17-1) at Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-3) – The winner clinches a share of the Saginaw Valley League title with one more game to play for both.
Thursday – KLAA championship game at West finalist – Hartland (17-1) or Howell (14-4) could host Wayne Memorial (17-1) or Belleville (13-5), dependent on tonight’s semifinals.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Wayne Memorial, here against Dearborn last week, will play for the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship after clinching the East title. (Photo by Douglas Bargerstock.)