Marian Keeps Celebrating With 5th Title
March 15, 2014
By Tom Kendra
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING – With all of the hoopla and postgame celebrating after Bloomfield Hills Marian's emotional MHSAA Class A Semifinal victory over rival Farmington Hills Mercy on Friday afternoon, it's no wonder veteran coach Mary Cicerone was worried about a letdown.
Especially when the next opponent was experienced Canton, arguably the state's most suffocating defensive team.
"We were in celebration mode after beating Mercy," Cicerone conceded, "and I was worried they weren't going to come out here aggressive (Saturday)."
Leave it to a freshman to calm the nerves of her 31st-year head coach.
Samantha Thomas, a 6-foot freshman, scored a game-high 15 points, including nine in the critical third quarter, to lead Marian to a 44-26 victory over Canton in Saturday's MHSAA Class A championship game at the Breslin Center.
"In the first half, we were being selfish a little bit," said Thomas, whose sophomore sister Bailey Thomas scored eight points and finished with a game-high four steals. "We started to spread them out in the third quarter. We drove a few times and missed, and I was there to get the rebound and put it back in."
The Mustangs (25-2) won the 560th game and fifth MHSAA championship under Cicerone, but her first since 1998. Marian won four Class A titles between 1988 and 1998.
Not many figured this would be the team to end that title drought, with a roster that featured just one senior in 6-1 forward Laura Bruton.
Canton did a good job on Bruton, limiting her to three points and two rebounds in her final prep game, but it was the athletic ability of the Mustangs' underclassmen that sparked them in Saturday's second half.
Samantha Thomas, who has yet another family member involved with the program as her father, Derek Thomas, is a Marian varsity assistant coach, scored nine points in the third quarter on three three-point plays as the Mustangs turned a slim 22-16 halftime lead into a comfortable 35-21 leading entering the fourth quarter.
Canton, which is known for its defense and is not a come-from-behind, explosive kind of team, was never able to mount a rally during the final 8 minutes.
"The first 4 minutes of the third quarter were big," said ninth-year Canton coach Brian Samulski, who started three seniors. "Marian is so aggressive, they just pushed us away from the basket and we couldn't execute our offense."
The Chiefs, who finished their best-ever girls basketball season at 22-5 and with their first championship game appearance, had their best success in the second quarter. Senior guard Rachel Winters scored all six of her points in that quarter as she repeatedly got behind Marian's aggressive defense on give-and-go plays.
But those opportunities weren't there after halftime.
"We felt fine at halftime, because we were only down by six points," Winters said. "But Marian's pressure got to us. They kept changing their defense, and it was hard to adjust."
Paige Aresco, a 5-10 senior forward, led Canton with nine points and six rebounds, while 6-1 senior Taylor Hunley added four points and five rebounds.
"I'm proud of this team," Aresco said. "I don't think anyone expected us to be here. It was a great team to be a part of."
Canton was truly the Cinderella team of this year's Class A tournament, entering the dance unranked and barely even garnering honorable mention status in the final Associated Press poll, with just one vote.
Marian entered the postseason ranked No. 5 and will certainly be a threat to repeat next season, with 14 of the 15 players on Saturday's roster returning.
In addition to the Thomas sisters, the Mustangs also should return sharpshooting junior Kara Holinski, who scored nine points on Saturday after going off for 20 in Friday's convincing 67-55 victory over Farmington Mercy.
Another strong-shooting junior who will be back is Jaeda Robinson, who scored five points on Saturday.
"It was definitely a goal to win the state title," explained Robinson. "We were on a mission, and we finished it. We pride ourselves on defense, and today that was what got our offense rolling."
While much of the focus coming into Saturday's finale was Canton's lane-clogging, man-to-man defense, Marian held its seven postseason opponents to an average of 30 points, highlighted by a 43-17 win over Port Huron Northern in the Quarterfinal.
It was truly a full-circle season for the Mustangs, who began on opening night with a 49-38 win over Canton and then ended it Saturday with an 18-point victory. The only two losses came at the hands of Mercy, including a buzzer-beating, heartbreaking loss in the Detroit Catholic League championship game – a defeat Cicerone said burned inside the team and, ultimately, fueled its postseason run.
Cicerone, who publicly wondered in recent years whether she would still be coaching when Marian won its next MHSAA title, said this year's team may have been young, but they were a true team that supported each other and never complained.
"It's easy to come back and coach these kinds of kids," Cicerone said. "I'm the negative one that's nagging them all the time. They pick each other up. They work hard, they don't complain and it's fun."
Click for a full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills Marian player rush the floor to celebrate their Class A championship. (Middle) Marian's Bailey Thomas works to stay in front of Canton's Rachel Winters.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Paige Aresco of Canton grabs the Marian miss, gets the Chiefs in transition and takes the pass to basket to pull her team closer in the second quarter of the Class A finale. Marian scores after a miss. (2) Samantha Thomas takes a pass from Brittany Gray and scores in the third quarter of the Class A title game against Canton.
St. Patrick's Next Generation Inspired by Past in Securing Championship Chance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – It’s been nearly 25 years since Portland St. Patrick won its most recent of six MHSAA Finals championships in girls basketball.
The Shamrocks will have the opportunity to add to their rich tradition after knocking off Onekama 49-26 in Thursday night’s Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center.
St. Patrick (23-5) will meet Ishpeming on Saturday in the Division 4 Final. Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. The Shamrocks last won a Class D title in 2002, but hadn’t been to a Semifinal in 14 years before Thursday.
Freshman Macie Leonard and junior Gracelyn Rockey were key factors in the Shamrocks earning a return to championship Saturday. The pair combined for 35 points, with Leonard scoring 18 and Rockey adding 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Second-year St. Patrick coach Michelle Smith was a member of the 1999 and 2000 Class D championship teams.
“My mom and Coach and some of the other moms played together and won championships, so our goal was always to be as good as our moms,” Rockey said. “So that’s what we work towards.”
The Shamrocks never trailed Thursday after jumping out to an early 11-2 advantage. They outrebounded the Portagers 39-15.
“Really pleased with the way they played today,” Smith said. “We knew defensively they were a very good team and scrappy, and we prepared to handle their press. I asked them to play with poise, and I think that's what they did. I’m happy with the way they handled the pressure, and our ability to rebound really showed.”
Ava Mauntler knocked down a 3-pointer during the final minute of the second quarter to pull the Portagers within five at 21-16.
However, St. Patrick extended its lead to double digits by holding Onekama to only five points in the third quarter.
St. Patrick ended the quarter with a 9-2 spurt to pull ahead 36-21.
“What worked well for us was they tried to press us, but we looked ahead and really took our time,” Smith said. “We got in positions we needed to be in.”
Leonard was 7-of-11 from the field and drained two 3-pointers.
“As a freshman we put her in big moments at times, and I told her that she’s ready for this,” Smith said. “She was willing to shoot the ball and made some big shots. I thought her and Lily Sanborn’s defense at the top was fantastic.”
The Shamrocks surrendered only 10 points total during the second half and held Onekama to 25-percent shooting from the field.
It was the fifth time in the tournament that the Shamrocks held a team under 30 points.
“Throughout the season our goal is to keep the other team under 30 points,” Rockey said. “It shows that our defense works together well and we are good at communicating.”
It had been nearly 30 years since Onekama appeared in a Semifinal. The team broke through for the first time since 1997 with a Quarterfinal win over Frankfort, which had defeated the Portagers twice in Northwest Conference play.
Onekama, which finished fourth in the league, will graduate only three seniors after concluding the season at 19-8.
“An amazing run, that’s all I can tell you,” first-year coach Dan Mesyar said. “We made a commitment last summer that, #Breslin Bound, on the first day of practice that we wanted to get here. We wanted it. To call it out as a team, and work every day and gut through tough losses and get better. … I’m just so proud of these girls."
“We have now established a standard, and you are not going to see us every 29 years. They’ve set an unbelievable standard.”
Junior Addy Zeller led Onekama with six points.
PHOTOS (Top) Portland St. Patrick’s Gracelyn Rockey pushes the pace as Onekama’s Callie Sinke keeps stride during Thursday’s Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Shamrocks’ Lily Sandborn (4) makes her move into the lane with Addy Zeller defending. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)