Mooney Girls Re-Ignite Proud Program
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2018
The Cardinal Mooney girls basketball season ended last week in the Regional Final with a loss to Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes.
On the surface, for a program with Mooney’s rich history in the past decade-plus, it was disappointing – especially against a longtime rival that went on Tuesday to clinch a Semifinal berth.
But considering the Cardinals didn’t make it to Game 1 of the regular season two years ago, any disappointment was overshadowed by the massive steps forward the program has taken.
“This is about perspective,” Mooney coach Mike Lombard said. “Two years ago, we didn’t even have a varsity program. This year, we went to Allen Park Inter-City Baptist for a Regional Semifinal, were down 12 late and went on an 18-1 run to end the game. Everyone was upset (after the Regional Final loss), but there’s got to be perspective to say that the girls have come a long way.”
Mooney, which played in the Class D Final in 2009 and advanced to the Semifinals in 2008 and 2014, didn’t field a varsity team for the 2015-16 season because of a lack of players. With just seven, the vast majority underclassmen, the Cardinals opted to simply play a JV schedule.
“It was kind of crazy going from being coached by coach (Susan) Everhart, which was a really intense experience, to going backward,” said Lilly Wolf, who played varsity as a sophomore in 2014-15. “I think I kind of knew that eventually in my senior year there would be a varsity team, and it would be better for the program and myself to stick with it.”
It was a tough decision for a proud program, but it appears to have worked out. The Cardinals won the Detroit Catholic League Intersectional title in their first year back, and advanced to the District championship game before losing to Sterling Heights Parkway Christian.
Lombard gave a lot of the credit for that quick rebound to Wolf, who is now a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University.
“We were incredibly lucky that Lilly Wolf stayed with the program,” he said. “We played 22 games last year, and of those 22 games, Lilly would have been the best player on the floor in 17 of them. She bailed us out. We were able to have a little success because of Lilly Wolf, and to a lesser extent Lauren Luzynski and Molly Lombard. Those three girls really saved our bacon. They made basketball look attractive again.”
Mooney’s remaining players took advantage by getting to work in the offseason – not only on the court, but off it, recruiting their classmates to come out for the team.
“We tried to recruit those girls that we knew had played basketball in the past or that were just athletic,” Luzynski, a junior, said. “We just wanted to get people to come out for the team. We wanted to make Mooney great again.”
Building up numbers at a small Class D school was a major step for the program, and this season Mooney finished with 11 on the varsity team and eight on the JV, more than double the number of players in the program two years ago.
“We really had to say to ourselves that we have to start somewhere,” Molly Lombard, a senior, said. “With all of us working hard, we had to say that we have to start somewhere and build something up. I think people want to be part of something like that, and leave a mark on their school.”
Mooney won another Catholic League Intersectional title this season, won a District title and finished 18-6. It was the type of season nobody saw coming two years ago.
“Yeah, it was definitely unexpected,” Luzynski said. “When I came in my freshman year, we barely even had a JV team. We barely had enough girls to have a basketball team. Making such a strong comeback in these last two years was very unexpected.”
There is certainly room still to grow, and the loss to Lakes showed that. It was also a call back to the past, when Mooney and Lakes would battle seemingly every postseason.
“There was some symbolism there, but also I think a dash of realism for the girls who are going to stay in the program,” Mike Lombard said. “That Lakes team puts in a lot of work as Lakes teams always do. Mooney teams have to do the same thing. So I think it was a look to the past, but also a look to the future to see where they want to be and where to get back to.”
Putting in the work should be nothing new for this group of Cardinals, and those who enter the program will have a good example to look to thanks to the teams from the past few years.
“I watched the girls play at Mooney when I was in eighth grade -- I was at their camp in seventh and eighth grade,” Molly Lombard said. “I knew how good they were, and I was hoping to bring that back to Mooney. I feel like we did bring that back to Mooney. We have a JV team now; we have a varsity. We have a new legacy going on at Mooney, and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marine City Cardinal Mooney players stand with their Class D District trophy won two weeks ago. (Middle) Junior Casey Rice puts up a shot this season. (Photos courtesy of the Cardinal Mooney girls basketball program).
Busy Spring Next for Three Rivers 4-Sporter
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2018
By Wes Morgan
Special for Second Half
For anyone complaining about not having enough hours in the day, meet Three Rivers sophomore Hadley Miller, whose productivity within a 24-hour span is nothing short of stunning.
She’s one of those rare student-athletes who, as if there aren’t enough games to play, seemingly makes it a competition with herself to see how much she can pack into a given day.
After completing varsity seasons with the Three Rivers volleyball and basketball teams, Miller will now start a spring regimen that begins at 4:30 a.m. each day and includes a taxing weight-room workout, a full day of school, track practice, soccer practice, homework, sustenance crammed in between, and then a few hours of sleep to recharge the battery.
Miller is coming off an all-Wolverine Conference first-team performance in basketball after guiding the Wildcats to a 19-4 record this season, which ended in a Class B District Final loss to Edwardsburg last week.
Miller averaged 18.6 points, 3.0 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game, leading the team in scoring for a second straight year. The Wildcats were 17-3 during the regular season and finished second to Edwardsburg in the Wolverine Conference South.
She’s one of the latest in a line of underclassmen at Three Rivers to emerge as a big-time playmaker, particularly at the guard/point guard positions. Teammate Kali Heivilin, a freshman, earned an all-conference second-team nod.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” Three Rivers girls basketball coach Jason Bingaman said. “Some is the system we play and our focus at the defensive end that can make the transition easier (for younger players). Specifically, from the individual though, (Miller’s) skill set, basketball IQ, and then how hard a player works has a lot to do with their performance, and I have been very fortunate to coach some players that are individually dedicated to basketball and have families that have invested time in their daughters’ development.”
Both Bingaman and Miller landed on team chemistry as the most important variable when it comes to youngsters integrating well at the varsity level.
“If upperclassmen understand how the younger player can help us be successful and are great teammates, it makes it an easier transition,” Bingaman explained. “Every player isn’t going to progress at the same rate, and each player is not brought up for the same reason as the next, but if the aforementioned things are in place, it makes it more likely for a player to be successful.”
Miller’s humility and dedication to all four of her teams at Three Rivers is unquestioned, which makes the process of gaining respect from the upperclassmen that much easier. In terms of hoops, she said the team’s success really was a matter of player rapport after losing five seniors from 2016-17.
“We all clicked well,” Miller said. “Since we played a year together and know how we like to play, going into next year we are going to be even more confident.”
Bingaman said confidence is where Miller made a big leap from her freshman year to her sophomore campaign.
“The big thing in general is her confidence level and mental approach,” he said. “I believe she felt she could have an impact last year, but there was an adjustment period, and as she became more comfortable last season, we became better as a team. She has found out how to deal with teams being physical with her and being patient.
“This year I have thrown a lot at her in terms of what she is responsible for. I moved her from the wing to running our offense as the point guard over Christmas break due to injuries and she has run with it, all while increasing her minutes on the floor.”
Miller has proven she can do plenty in a matter of minutes with a mastery of time management. This month she transitions to soccer as a defender for the Wildcats, and to the track & field team, where she hopes to make a return trip to the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals. Miller was part of the 1,600-meter relay team with Stephanie McLochlin, Shelby Krawczak and Arionne Fowlkes that placed 17th overall in 2017.
Throw in club basketball in April and Miller will be constantly on the move well into the summer.
“I like to keep in shape and keep busy,” she said. “I really like to do sports. So why not? It all fits in there somewhere.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Three Rivers' Hadley Miller, right, hands off the baton during a track relay last season. (Middle) Miller, far left, readies for a pass during a volleyball match at Vicksburg in the fall. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)