McCullen Reaches Milestone: 300 wins
March 7, 2012
Bill McCullen truly earned his 300th coaching victory — the program’s first-ever tournament win as a Class A school — in the first round of MHSAA District action by defeating No. 4-ranked St. Johns on Feb. 27.
After the Redwings hit two free throws, McCullen called a timeout with 9.9 seconds left, down one, and the length of the floor to go. He drew up a play that was introduced to his team only the day before — senior Kalya Hanses to inbound the ball to senior Erica Goodenough, who was to get the ball to sophomore Lexi Banaszak at the division line. Banaszak was instructed to get the ball to left-handed freshmen Claudia Reid on the left wing, giving her a 2-on-1 break with junior Kaylee Schmit.
McCullen finished drawing up the play in the team huddle by saying, “We are going to score, and this place is going to go crazy!”
The play worked as it was drawn up. Reid received the ball and saw an opening to the basket, hitting the layup with 3.3 seconds left. McCullen was exactly right; the score went in, DeWitt won 36-35, and the home crowd did go crazy.
McCullen just completed his 16th season coaching the Panthers, taking the helm of a girls basketball program in 1996 that had struggled with a 28-37 record (14-22 in league play) over its three previous seasons.
The 300-win milestone is an achievement in itself — but more amazing with a closer look.
Under McCullen’s leadership, the program has posted a 150-20 league record (.882 winning percentage) while winning 13 league championships (including seven straight through this season), seven District championships, three Regional championships, and three MHSAA Semifinals appearances.
In a sport with a 20-game regular season, he has averaged 18.75 wins per (to just 4.25 losses). McCullen reached his 100th win in just five seasons, averaging an incredible 20 wins over that span. DeWitt has posted six 20-win seasons in the program’s history; McCullen is responsible for five of them.
In the history of MHSAA girls basketball, McCullen is the 44th coach to reach the 300-win plateau and only the sixth from the Lansing area. His win total and .815 winning percentage places him eighth and second, respectively, among active coaches.
Expectations are just as high in the classroom. McCullen’s squads have averaged a team grade-point average of 3.59 (with a 3.84 team GPA this season), earning top honors in Class B twice during the 2000 and 2010-2011 seasons. Nine players have earned academic all-state honors.
Above all the wins, McCullen is an exemplary role model for coaches, players, and parents. His behavior on the sidelines and how he talks to officials and players exemplifies what is expected of coaches. He has taken teaching and coaching beyond the classroom and hardwood and has created a “basketball family” within his program, building an uncanny rapport with what he calls “my girls.”
McCullen would likely recognize his wife (Denise) and two sons (Carter and Jerod) for their support and countless sacrifices, and he would also quickly shift credit for his success to the many assistant coaches throughout his tenure. His mentor, Jim Lutzke (who coached at DeWitt for six seasons before succumbing to cancer in 1999), had a lasting and profound impact on McCullen; Luztke undoubtedly would be proud.
Click to see the MHSAA record book listing for girls basketball coaches, and e-mail updates to [email protected].
McCullen, by the numbers
(League record in parentheses)
1996: 14-7 (7-5)
1997: 22-3 (10-2)
1998: 17-4 (11-1)
1999: 25-1 (12-0)
2000: 22-5 (11-1)
2001: 20-3 (10-0)
2002: 19-5 (10-0)
2003: 17-7 (7-3)
2004: 13-8 (7-3)
2005: 18-3 (9-1)
2006: 19-3 (10-0)
2007-08: 16-5 (8-2)
2008-09: 25-2 (10-0)
2009-10: 17-4 (9-1)
2010-11: 19-3 (10-0)
2011-12: 17-5 (9-1)
Totals 300-68 (150-20)
Goodrich Wins Matchup of Undefeated Contenders to Earn Chance to Finish Unbeaten
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
EAST LANSING – Goodrich hopes to become the next Division 2 champion Saturday at Breslin Center.
But in the meantime, the Martians can lay claim to being the state’s last unbeaten team heading into the final day of the season.
In a matchup of 27-0 teams, Goodrich earned the right to play for its first championship since winning the second of back-to-back crowns in 2013, claiming a 47-41 win over Grand Rapids South Christian in a Friday Semifinal.
Goodrich (28-0) will try to dethrone 2025 champion Tecumseh, which eliminated Goodrich in last year’s tournament, at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
The Martians made it to Breslin Center undefeated largely because of its stout defense all season, and that was on display against South Christian.
“We were able to do what we’re looking to do every game,” Goodrich head coach Jason Gray said. “And our defense really showed up tonight. They hit a couple of big 3s late against us, but in general, that’s about as good of a job as you can do defending that team.”
The Martians limited South Christian to 16 of 42 shooting from the field, but seven of those field goals came during the first quarter.
Over the last three, Goodrich held the Sailors to 9 of 29 shooting. For the game, South Christian was 3 of 18 from 3-point range.
“Pressure defense pushed us out a little bit,” Sailors head coach Erika Brown said. “We couldn’t get into our normal dribble-drive where we could turn the corner and get into the paint tonight. We weren’t seeing the post as well as we probably could have.”
Goodrich dominated the second quarter and built a big lead during the fourth before holding off a late South Christian comeback.
Leading 36-28 going into the fourth quarter, Goodrich stretched the margin to 14 at 43-29 with 4:59 remaining on a 3-pointer by senior Kayla Hairston.
The Sailors had an answer though, reeling off nine straight points to cut its deficit to 43-37 with 3:13 remaining. The last six points of that run came courtesy of senior Lizzie Woithuis, who drained back-to-back 3-pointers.
“We just knew what we had to do,” Hairston said. “They went on a little run, but that didn’t change our mindset. They didn’t make us rattled. They didn’t stress us out. We just had to play our style no matter what.”
Hairston delivered maybe the biggest rebound of the game after missing two free throws with 58.3 seconds left and Goodrich up 44-39.
After the second miss, she tracked down the rebound near the baseline and got the ball out to junior teammate Baylor Lauinger, who was fouled and hit two free throws with 48.4 seconds remaining to make the lead seven.
Goodrich held firm defensively and hit one more free throw to hold off South Christian.
Hairston scored 17 points, and Lauinger added 11 points for Goodrich.
Goodrich held a 28-19 lead at halftime after a 10-2 run. It was a different story to start the third quarter, as South Christian went on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 31-28.
But the Martians scored the last five points of the third quarter and had too much of a cushion for South Christian to overcome.
Sophia Prins, a four-year varsity standout, scored 13 points to lead the Sailors and finish off a tremendous high school career.
“Overall, we can’t let this one game define us,” Prins said. “We have to look back at how good we performed every single game up to this point of the whole season.”
PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston splits a pair of South Christian defenders driving to the hoop Friday. (Middle) The Martians’ Sydney Place (11) and Sailors’ Sophia Prins watch Place’s shot fall as the official signals a 3-pointer. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)