Performance: Cousino's Kierra Fletcher
March 24, 2016
Kierra Fletcher
Warren Cousino junior – Girls Basketball
It’s fair to say that few outside of Macomb County and perhaps the Greater Detroit area knew much about Warren Cousino girls basketball and Kierra Fletcher in particular before last weekend. But in scoring a combined 64 points over two games and leading the unranked Patriots to their first MHSAA championship, Fletcher became a possible Miss Basketball Award contender for 2017 and earned the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
The 5-foot-9 guard made 14 of 20 shots for 37 points and added nine rebounds and five assists in Cousino’s Class A 60-45 Semifinal win over Hudsonville, then made 9 of 13 shots for 27 points with eight rebounds and five more assists in the 67-65 upset of Detroit Martin Luther King in the championship game. Fletcher managed her high scoring totals by attacking the basket; in fact, she didn’t take a 3-pointer over eight postseason games. She finished with season averages of 22.3 points and five assists per game and made more than 50 percent of her shots from the floor. Cousino finished 23-4 and also shared the Macomb Area Conference Red title.
Fletcher is a strong student, carrying a 3.97 grade-point average, and a thoughtful teammate as well. She dedicated this season to her best friend Erin McArthur, who previously has shared the backcourt with her but tore a knee ligament during the team’s second practice and was forced to miss the season.
Coach Mike Lee said: “We have had great basketball players, DI players, and leaders, but Kierra has taken it to the next level and as a result of that has taken the team to the next level. On May 21, 2015, she texted me after a rough AAU practice and said, ‘Coach, for whatever reason something clicked tonight and all the things you preach hit home a lot harder, and I am making you a promise that next season is Breslin or bust.’ And after we won on Saturday, she sent me a pic of the text from that day and said, ‘I told you so.’ She is such an amazing kid with a burning passion for the game. You guys only see the basketball player side, but she is a tremendous role model, 3.9 GPA, great friend, watches my own kids. She is what is right, true and pure about high school sports – a homegrown kid that just wants her school and team to be proud.”
Performance Point: “I think I showed people I can play basketball. People don’t really know who I am, which is fine. I guess since I just played on statewide television that people (might say), ‘Oh, that’s Kierra Fletcher.’ It’s going to be humbling (next year). The rankings to us don’t really matter. Just as long as we know who we are, inside the program, that’s all that matters.”
My game: “I don’t shoot 3s. I’m more of a mid-range, pull-up type person. Three-point shots to me, they’re not very high percentage, so I just try to go in closer, because the closer you are to the basket, the more likely you are to go in. … Defense, I just love it. The length of my body and getting steals and breakaway layups is just fun. I like defense more than offense.”
Sharing the rock: “I just want to have a high basketball IQ. It doesn’t really matter how much I score. If I score, I score. If I don’t, I can get my ball to my teammates. I just do whatever I have to do to get the win. … I’m just not a selfish player at all. Sometimes (Coach) Lee tells me I need to be more selfish, but that’s just not who I am. I get hyped when another person on my team makes a play, because it gets me going. Because if I’m getting the layup, it’s just a layup. But if I’m getting someone else the opportunity to score, that’s what matters most to me.”
Investigating her future: If pro basketball doesn’t work out, then I want to major in sociology and narrow it down to criminology and become an FBI agent. I just like to help people. The FBI, it’s different from a police standpoint; it’s more investigative work, being with people and talking with people. I think I’m a people person. That’s something that I like to do.”
Macomb County power: “I think it’s great for Cousino … because everyone knows who Cousino is now. It says a lot because we do have great players in Macomb County. Now, since a team in Macomb County just won a state championship, it gives a whole little watch list for the Macomb County teams. It’s great, because now we’re the poster children of Macomb County.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 16: Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South swimming & diving - Read
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Kierra Fletcher (3) makes a move to the basket during Saturday’s Class A Final against Detroit Martin Luther King. (Middle) Fletcher defends during the Semifinal win against Hudsonville.
For Salenbiens, 'Silly Game' = Family Fun
March 9, 2018
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
When the Adrian Lenawee Christian girls basketball team beat Portland St. Patrick to win a Class D Regional Semifinal this week, first-year Cougars head coach Jamie Salenbien didn’t need to look far to find someone to hug.
His wife, Debbie, was sitting a few feet away at the scorer’s table.
Next on the to-do list was find and hug his daughter, Dani, an LCS sophomore who dribbled away the final seconds for the Cougars after scoring a game-high 21 points. Last, but not least, there was another daughter, freshman phenom Bree, who had just scored 19 points and had several key baskets during Lenawee Christian’s second-half rally. His sons, Tyler and Jaxon, were nearby, too, and ready for a quick high-five.
For the Salenbien family, basketball is a passion. Whether it’s in the family’s backyard in Lenawee County or on a basketball court somewhere in southeast Michigan, the “silly game” as Coach Salenbien calls it not only has meant a lot to his family, but to the Lenawee Christian family, too.
“Our community is very much behind us,” Jamie Salenbien said. “It’s a great wave of support. We’re enjoying every minute of it.”
The Cougars won the school’s first Regional title since 2010 on Thursday, beating Plymouth Christian, and will play Athens (21-4) on Tuesday in the Quarterfinal at Richland Gull Lake. LCS is 23-1 and on a 16-game win streak. It’s only loss this season was to Class A Monroe. That loss was by one point, 41-40.
Jamie Salenbien is a Hudson native who played college basketball at Siena Heights University in Adrian. He once scored 50 points in a game in high school but doesn’t like to talk about any individual honors or accolades he has received. He and Debbie have been married 18 years. They met at a friend’s wedding – and that friend was at the Regional game this week in Morrice. Debbie played basketball at Allen Park Inter-City Baptist and in college, too.
The family always has loved a little competition.
“When our kids were little, we played a lot of games,” Coach Salenbien said. “Of course, we played a lot of basketball, too. And, I coached them when they were young. And, when I coached at Onsted, they were always around. The girls spent a lot of time around the game, and they fell in love with it. I love it, Debbie loves it, so it’s just a good match.”
Dani said the family talks basketball quite a bit – even at dinner. But, she said, she’s fine with it.
“It’s a part of our family,” Dani said. “It always has been. It’s interesting some of the time. But, its part of who we are.”
Dani, 16, burst onto the prep basketball scene in Lenawee County last season, showing remarkable poise for her age and quickly becoming the team’s go-to player even though they had an all-stater in Kiera Nieto. Bree, 14, joined the varsity this season and finished the regular season as Lenawee County’s top scorer. At 6-foot-2, she runs the floor like a point guard and posts up like a center. She’s the point person on the LCS full-court press, making it difficult for anyone to throw it over her head.
Entering the Regional, Bree Salenbien had averages of 21.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 steals, 3.2 blocks and 3.0 assists per game.
“She can score inside and out,” her father said. “She’s a tough matchup for anyone. We try and utilize her best we can in that fashion.”
Dani’s numbers are just as impressive. She averages 13.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.0 steals a game.
Both girls take after their parents – humble, full of smiles and deflecting of the attention.
“I love my teammates to death, and we do it all together,” Dani said. “That makes it all better. We have a term called ‘84-50’ (which are the dimensions, in feet, of a basketball court). We keep everything on the floor. We don’t think of anything outside of the gym or the court. We’re all about each other. I can’t do anything without my teammates.”
Bree said she and her sister have a special relationship on the court.
“I usually know where she is,” she said. “We have a connection. She’s a great ball handler. I know I need to get the ball to her. She’s a great player. My dad is a great coach. My mom is amazing. My brothers are great fans. We just love it.”
Debbie Salenbien works at LCS and serves as the scorekeeper for the team. Just before the tipoff of Thursday’s Regional championship game, after the starting lineups were introduced, both girls walked over to their mom, gave her a fist bump and handed her their warm-up shirts.
“We talk a lot about basketball,” Debbie said. “Basketball is always on television. We go to some University of Michigan games. We just love basketball.”
When the season ends, Jamie said he will have time to reflect on just how special this season has been for not only the Lenawee Christian community but his own family.
And, it looks like there are plenty of more good times to come. The Cougars start a freshman, three sophomores and a junior.
“They put a tremendous amount of time into this silly game,” he said of his daughters and their teammates. “We preach fundamentals – how to pass, catch, dribble, shoot. The whole experience has been awesome. I have to let it soak in more, but I know it’s awesome.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lenawee Christian freshman Bree Salenbien brings the ball upcourt; she led Lenawee County in scoring average this season at 21 ppg. (Middle) Basketball is a passion for the Salenbien family, including head coach Jamie, his wife Debbie (at the scorers table) and sophomore Dani Salenbien, here during Thursday’s Regional Final win over Plymouth Christian. (Photos by Mike Dickie.)