Pittsford Sets Pace to Reach 1st Final
March 19, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Pittsford coach Chris Hodos said he’s never lied to his team about its chances in a game, and sophomore Jaycie Burger backs up that claim.
This season, he’s told his Wildcats they should win every one. And so far, he’s been right – with the most important result left to predict.
Hodos said win big Thursday, and undefeated Pittsford responded, advancing to its first MHSAA championship game with a 57-26 Semifinal win over Waterford Our Lady in a Class D Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The Wildcats – who had never advanced past Regionals before this season – will face St. Ignace in Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game.
“I think for me, it’s going to feel like, I don’t want to say the same as every game. It’s going to be more intense, more straightforward,” Burger said. “(But) we all need to play the same way we’ve been playing all year.”
And that’s been at a record-setting pace.
Pittsford (26-0) has been the only undefeated team left in Class D since midseason, and Thursday it became easy rather quickly to see why. The Wildcats led by 11 at the end of the first quarter – and by the end of the fourth added a 19th game in 26 in which they’d held the opponent to fewer than 30 points.
Sophomore Maddie Clark also announced herself loudly on the statewide stage. The nearly 5-foot-10 forward dominated, with 26 points – including 18 of her team’s first 24 – and 15 rebounds.
“She’s strong. Nothing bothers her,” Hodos said. “She takes all the contact, and she works hard in the weight room for me, just like every other girl on my team.”
Pittsford had an edge statistically in a variety of areas, but did outrebound Our Lady 59-35. Senior 5-5 guard Emily Poling grabbed eight rebounds, and Burger added seven to go with 10 points.
The Lakers as a program have much more experience at this stage of the tournament, with three championships and a runner-up finish from 2010-13. But this team also was gaining Finals weekend experience with a number of younger players, and was far less expected to reach Breslin – Our Lady finished 12-13 this winter and didn’t have a senior starter.
“The experience was still great. It’s always exciting any time you get the chance to get here,” Our Lady coach Steve Robak said. “I’m very proud of everything we did to get here this year. Most schools would never get an opportunity to get this.
“We were hoping to keep our little run going, one more game at least, but the experience was wonderful. I know they’re going to have great memories about getting to this point.”
Freshman guard Tiffany Senerius had 10 points and three steals for the Lakers, and junior guard Alex Troy added six points and 10 rebounds.
Seven of eight players who saw the floor most Thursday should return next season. And the Lakers finished 2014-15 on a 9-4 run.
“We’re returning all five starters, and I think we can do really good things next year,” Troy said, “now that we’ve gotten into our groove at the end of the season.”
Click for the full box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford’s Morgan Dominique wins a loose ball during Thursday’s first Class D Semifinal. (Middle) Maddie Clark (10) and Our Lady’s Alex Troy contend for possession below the Wildcats’ basket.
Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview
March 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament field was reduced from more than 700 to 128 last week with a number of the expected contenders moving on – and few of the unexpected joining the group as well.
See below for four teams from each class that jumped out as we watched Districts finish up and anticipated the start of Regionals tonight. Click for brackets for all 32 and stay with Score Center tonight for scores and updated matchups.
Class A
Dearborn (16-7) – The Pioneers saw a two-season league title streak end, but have improved four wins from a year ago and won their District with a 56-51 victory over Allen Park – which finished 18-4. Dearborn has won 12 of its last 14 games.
East Lansing (17-6) – The Trojans emerged from a District that featured the reigning runners-up in Class A (DeWitt) and B (Haslett), downing Haslett 60-42 in an opener, then rival Grand Ledge 52-36 before beating surprise Lansing Waverly in the Final; 57-41. The Trojans have won 10 straight.
Saginaw Heritage (21-1) – The Hawks’ season looked like it might get away when they fell to Midland Dow 48-40 on Feb. 12 after the team lost standout Jaela Richardson to injury for the rest of the season. But Heritage has rebounded to win six straight and beat Dow 42-32 in the District Final.
Southfield Lathrup (20-3) – The win in the District Final, 56-28 over Southfield, was significant in that the two schools will merge into one after this school year and Southfield was a league champion this winter. But on the way, the Chargers also beat two more league champs in Berkley and Detroit Renaissance.
Class B
Alma (11-10) – The Panthers entered the postseason with a sub-.500 record, but opened last week with an overtime upset of Belding (which beat Alma in the District last season) and then won the title with a 15-point clincher over Shepherd.
Freeland (20-3) – The Tri-Valley Conference Central champion won its ninth straight game in a nail-biter, beating league rival Saginaw Swan Valley 56-53 in double overtime for the District title. The Falcons had beaten the Vikings by only six and five points during the regular season.
Reed City (11-11) – The record may not jump out, but the Coyotes are leaps and bounds better than 2014-15, when they finished 0-21. Reed City tied for fourth in the Central State Activities Association Gold this winter, but beat co-champion Big Rapids in the opener before edging Clare 48-47 in the Final.
Stevensville Lakeshore (19-2) – The Lancers won their first District title since 2013 with a 57-35 win over Benton Harbor, holding Tigers star Kysre Gondrezick to a still-impressive 24 points after she had scored an MHSAA-record 72 in a double-overtime District-opening win a few days earlier.
Class C
Gobles (22-0) – The Tigers nearly saw their perfect run end against a familiar foe, surviving a 65-62 triple-overtime thriller against Hartford in the District Final. Gobles had beaten Hartford, which finished 15-8, 61-18 and 62-28 during the regular season.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (16-5) – Last week ended much differently than District week in 2015. Covenant Christian opened with a 45-19 win over Grandville Calvin Christian, a league champion and the team that eliminated the Chargers last year. They then won 54-18 over a Saugatuck team that finished 18-5.
Iron Mountain (14-8) – The Mountaineers repeated as District champs in something of an unexpected scenario. Iron Mountain met up with Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference foe Norway for the third time, and this time won 51-40 after falling 63-37 and 79-45 in the regular-season meetings.
Traverse City St. Francis (22-1) – The Lake Michigan Conference champion hadn’t crossed paths this season with Northwest Conference champion Maple City Glen Lake, but ended the Lakers’ season at 20-3 with a 62-55 win in the District championship game after beating 15-win Elk Rapids in the Semifinal.
Class D
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (18-3) – The annual Mid-South Conference power took another step this season, winning its league again and then its District with a 42-35 victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian; the Storm fell in its first District game in 2015.
Athens (16-7) – After closing the regular season with three losses in its final four games, Athens is back in familiar territory thanks to a 51-49 overtime District Final win over Mendon – which finished 17-4. Athens also beat Mendon for a District title last season.
Bellevue (17-6) – The Broncos continue to improve under former Eaton Rapids standout Kayla Whitmyer and are four wins better than a season ago. Bellevue beat Battle Creek St. Philip 36-30 in the District Final a week after falling 40-36 to the Tigers amid a three-losses-in-four-game skid.
Fruitport Calvary Christian (19-3) – One more win will give Calvary Christian 20 for the third straight season, but would mean much more than that; also for the third straight season, the Eagles meet Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in a Regional Semifinal and have lost the last two meetings.
PHOTO: Reed City and Clare players scramble for a loose ball during Reed City’s one-point District Final win last week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)