Northwest Draws Closer to Dream Finish
March 16, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Like kids in every community, future Jackson Northwest athletes grow up dreaming of winning championships.
But there’s something more to say about the opportunity earned by the Mounties with their 56-47 Class B Semifinal win Friday over Michigan Center.
A championship Saturday would be the first in program history. It would be the second in school history, in any sport – joining the Division 2 girls bowling title won in 2013.
“It would be good for our community, because everybody has brought so much support,” Northwest senior Sydney Shafer said. “And the fact that we’ve never done this makes it better because we’re making history.
“We’re hanging numbers – that was our thing, kind’ve – and it’s just surreal. Not many people get to experience what we’re going through right now.”
The Mounties already will hang a few “numbers” – maybe a few 18s on the banners in their gym for winning their first Regional and making their first girls basketball championship game this winter.
They’ll get a chance to add one more against Detroit Country Day in Saturday’s 6:15 p.m. Class B Final at Van Noord Arena.
Northwest (25-1) has put together a nice run in girls basketball with a combined 79-17 record and three District titles moving between Class B and Class A over the last four seasons.
The Mounties fell four points shy of claiming that first Regional title in Class A in 2016, losing to East Lansing by four points in the Regional Final.
“This has been our goal the last four years. This year, this team is special,” senior Ella Bontrager said. “We knew that from the beginning. We’ve taken one game at a time, worked hard on offensive and defensively, and this team play together more than any team too. We want it, every single game, and we don’t want to be done.”
Northwest came out Friday draining shots. Bontrager knocked down two 3-pointers during the game’s first two minutes, and sophomore sister Jozie Bontrager’s 3-pointer two minutes later made the score 13-4.
Jozie Bontrager connected on a pair of 2-pointers during the second quarter to keep Northwest’s lead at 31-22 by halftime.
But Michigan Center, a Class C runner-up twice last decade, had some shooting bottled up for the second half. Despite trailing by 17 during the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals cut that deficit to seven over the next two minutes in part on 3-pointers by senior Brianna Wolvin, sophomore Morgan Morris and senior Masyn Shannon.
The comeback wasn’t unexpected, as the two schools are 14 miles apart and a number of players know each other from the offseason circuit.
“Every game we’ve played, we seem to allow those runs,” Northwest coach Ryan Carroll said. “I know that’s not a strong trait, but we also then respond.
“These guys are fearless. It’s just another game for them, just another run. We knew Michigan Center was very capable of knocking down shots.”
In the end, Northwest knocked down a few more, especially at the line. The Mounties connected on 13 of 23 free-throw attempts, but Michigan Center was only 7 of 18.
Schafer finished with 21 points, along with 13 rebounds and six steals. Jozie Bontrager had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Ella Bontrager added 11 points. Senior Masyn Shannon had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Michigan Center (23-3) and was the only senior to see the floor for her team.
The Cardinals finished a combined 43-7 over the last two seasons after going 6-15 in 2015-16. They’ve most recently been in Class C, but moved into Class B this school year.
“It was such a journey for us,” Shannon said. “We were excited every single game. Every game we won in this tournament, we bawled our eyes out because we were so happy. It’s something to be excited about, something to be nervous about – a lifetime experience and something me and the rest of the team will never forget.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Jackson Northwest players celebrate Friday’s Semifinal win over Michigan Center. (Middle) Michigan Center’s Morgan Morris works for position in the post with Jozie Bontrager guarding her.
West Catholic Comes Back from Double-Digit Deficit to Get Past Reigning Champ
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids West Catholic hadn’t faced adversity like that all season.
The Falcons trailed by double digits at halftime of Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal, but forged a furious second-half comeback to upset 2024 champion Detroit Edison 54-48 at the Breslin Center.
“I don’t think we’ve had situations where we were down that much at halftime or in the third quarter, but it just speaks to the resiliency that our kids have,” first-year West Catholic coach Derek Paiz said. “We’re just going to keep fighting.”
West Catholic (24-3) will face Tecumseh (26-1) at 6:15 Saturday in the Division 2 Final.
The Falcons trailed 26-14 at the half and 30-15 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter before making their charge.
Senior Anna Ignatoski was the catalyst and led West Catholic with 29 points, including four 3-pointers. She also added six rebounds.
“This means the world and I give all of it to God, and I’m just so thankful to be back playing and playing with these girls,” said Ignatoski, who missed the past two seasons due to multiple ACL injuries.
“I knew coming into this game that we were the underdogs and we had nothing to lose. I wanted to help my team prove everyone wrong, and we did that tonight.”
West Catholic lost in the Semifinals a year ago to Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard at the buzzer.
“This is my first year, but these girls have done it three years in a row; this is their second home,” Paiz said. “With those girls we had on the floor, I knew we were going to be all right. We’ve been preparing this season for exact moments like this.
“We set a goal at the beginning of the season, my first day in, to go win a state championship, and every day these girls have been working toward that. We never lost faith.”
The Falcons outscored Edison 40-22, including 23-12 during the fourth quarter. Ignatoski had 24 points in the second half and made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal it.
“She’s a shot maker,” Paiz said. “She had that look in her eye. She wanted the ball in her hands at the end of the game. She wanted to put the game away.”
Senior Alisha Dykstra added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“This is so surreal, and I’m so blessed,” Dykstra said. “With the love we have for one another, we can do anything if we put our mind to it. We knew they were going to be a good team, but we knew we were built for this because we work hard and we put the time in.”
Nicole James led Edison (19-7) with 23 points, while Isis Johnson-Musah had 12.
“I knew they were going to be hungry to win, and I told my team at halftime that they were going to make a run and we just had to weather the storm,” Pioneers coach Monique Brown said. “Mentally we lost it when they started catching up, and I haven’t seen that in my teams in previous years.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids West Catholic celebrates its comeback win Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Falcons' Anna Ignatoski (3) and Detroit Edison's Caitlyn Green rush upcourt during their Semifinal. (Photos by Keionna Banks/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)