Powered Up for Another Title Run
March 15, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – There was a time, not long ago, when Flint Powers Catholic was expected to show up at the MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals just about every season.
And there’s been an expectation these last few years that the Chargers would soon return.
They needed overtime, but made good on that Friday by defeating Midland Bullock Creek 48-45 to advance to their first Class B championship game since 2001.
And it’s a run made all the more incredible given Powers’ 3-5 start this season, their Regional Semifinal upset of No. 1 Freeland – and that they came into this winter after posting an 8-13 record a year ago.
“We sort of had a weak start from the Ladywood game (on opening night), and from there we just started picking it up and playing as a team,” Powers senior Darbie Barkman said. “’We believe’ is a huge saying for us, and we just keep going and playing strong. No matter how many points we’re down; in the Freeland game we were down 16 points and came back from that. We just had to keep believing and keep going, and we just always have to push through as a team.”
Powers (21-6) will face either reigning champion Goodrich or Grand Rapids South Christian at 6 p.m. Saturday. Powers and Goodrich played in the same District last season, but found themselves on the opposite side of the bracket when lines were drawn for this season.
The Chargers are owners of four MHSAA girls basketball titles. And along with those banners, a message is posted in Powers’ gym, “We believe,” which became a necessary motto during the rough start against a tough slate including Class A Semifinalist Westland John Glenn.
Powers coach Thom Staudacher said the schedule was built so his team would know what it needed to improve on for the rest of the season. The Chargers now have won 12 straight.
But like in other wins during this run, it took a lot of small contributions from a number of players – and some big and small both from junior forward Michela Coury.
She scored, was fouled, and made the free throw to open overtime and give Powers a lead it would never relinquish. Coury finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds – including six on the offensive end.
But she also forced a travel during the final minute of the fourth quarter that helped preserve the regulation tie, and grabbed one of those offensive rebounds to ice the game after Powers missed two free throws with five seconds to go on overtime.
“We just knew it was going to come down to the last minute as far as who was going to make that last shot,” Staudacher said. “We’d been trying to feed (Coury) down low all game, but it was difficult to get her down there.
“To start that overtime, that three-point play was huge. That wasn’t the intention. We do a dribble drive, and we were working it right there. She was open, and we’ve got to feed her the ball."
Junior guard Sara Ruhstorfer led the Chargers with 16 points and junior guard Ally Haran added 12 with five assists and five steals.
Sophomore Halee Nieman led Bullock Creek with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, while freshman forward Alyssa Mudd had 12 points and sophomore guard Hannah Heldt had nine, five assists and six steals. But the Lancers (23-4) fired only four shots during the overtime, and made only one.
Still, as coach Justin Freeland said after, most of the time when a team is outrebounded 47-28 it should mean a double-digit loss. Instead, Bullock Creek hung on through 11 lead changes and despite 17 Powers second-chance points.
“One thing we learned as a team is to not give up,” Heldt said. “In the Clare game (Quarterfinal), we were down 15, and probably a lot of people lost hope in us. But we just kept going.”
Bullock Creek has had other strong teams under Freeland, including a 23-1 finisher in 2006 and a 24-1 squad in 2007-08. But neither of those advanced out of the Regional.
This team entered the tournament unranked, but beat No. 2 Ludington at the Regional and fell just shy of its first championship game berth. Only three seniors graduate, and four starters should return.
“There are a lot of athletes, from the pros to college to high school, who thought, ‘We’re young. We’ll be back next year,’” Freeland said. “I don’t want to come back one year older. We need to come back one year better. Our mentality this offseason is not going to be happy. We’re going to be hungry. And I know everyone’s going to be on board with that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers Catholic guard Ally Haran pushes the ball upcourt during Friday's Semifinal against Bullock Creek. (Middle) Bullock Creek's Ellie Juengel (24) looks for a teammate while defended by Powers' Sara Ruhstorfer. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photo.)
Lumen Christi Rises to Historic Occasion, Marks it with Milestone Victory
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2026
EAST LANSING – Jackson Lumen Christi girls basketball coach Scott Stine thought the moment got to his team early Saturday during the Division 3 Final at Breslin Center.
But he knew eventually the Titans would rise to meet it, and as the moment became even bigger, they did just that.
Lumen Christi pulled away from Pewamo-Westphalia in the fourth quarter, winning 52-36 in a game that was tied after the third.
“We went in at halftime, regrouped, and did what we needed to do,” Stine said. “They’ve been challenged all year, so being tied up going into the fourth quarter, it wasn’t anything new for us. As I told them coming into the game, when we get into that moment I have complete confidence in them, because they’ve been there and done that.”
While the Titans have been there and done that this season, they had never been here or done what they did Saturday, as the title was the first in program history. Prior to this season, Lumen Christi had never been to Breslin, or anywhere else, for a Semifinal.
“I think it means a lot to all of us. We’ve dreamed of this ever since we were freshmen,” Titans senior forward Paige Lefere said. “We haven’t had the best teams our freshman and sophomore year. Last year, we got pretty close (Quarterfinals), so being able to do it this year means a lot to us. We knew if we worked together, we could get here.”
While the final weekend of the season was new for the Titans, it wasn’t new for Stine, who coached Ypsilanti Arbor Prep to three Division 3 titles over the past four years.
When he arrived at Lumen, he said the team did not shy away from big goals, as making history as the first girls basketball team to win a title was the aim.
“I think from the beginning we knew this was going to be special,” Lumen Christi senior wing Lily Ganton said. “That’s credit to Coach Stine, Coach Jibri (Taylor), Coach (Don) Ward, Coach (Andy) Hawley, Coach Brenna (Wrozek). They’re special. They’re a special group of coaches, and they really push us to be our best. You don’t get that from a lot of teams. As a senior and a three-sport athlete, I’ve been on a lot of teams and this is something special. They really came in and it was all gas, no brakes.”
Sophomores Kenna Hunt and Lucy Wrozek led the way for Lumen Christi on Saturday, playing all but the final seconds when all five starters were pulled for a curtain call. Hunt had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Wrozek had 14 points.
They combined for 12 of the Titans’ 16 points during the fourth quarter, starting with a Hunt 3-pointer 18 seconds in that gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I thought it was pretty big, it really was just a momentum shift,” Hunt said. “We got momentum right off the start of the fourth quarter, which was awesome. I gotta give credit to my teammates (for) making me available for that type of shot.”
Pewamo-Westphalia coach Steve Eklund said he knew Hunt would find her points Saturday, but his Pirates were focused on not letting someone else join her. Unfortunately for them, Wrozek did.
“We knew one player wasn’t going to beat us,” Eklund said. “At halftime we went in incredibly happy; I think Wrozek had two or three points. None of their other players had really gotten involved offensively. I thought we were getting a little shaky offensively turning the ball over, but I thought, ‘We’re in a good spot.’ So, fourth quarter, Wrozek got it going a little bit. She’s a real nice complementary player to Hunt.”
The fourth quarter explosion went well beyond the sophomores for the Titans (25-3), who didn’t miss a shot (4-of-4) from the field in the final frame, and were 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, while the Pirates were 0-of-9 from the field.
Lumen Christi also had three steals and forced five Pirates turnovers.
“I think they stopped thinking so much and started playing like pitbulls,” Stine said. “The effort on the glass in the second half was much better. We just settled down a little bit. It’s hard to stop these two guards (Hunt and Wrozek) in man-to-man, so we were able to create some matchups even in the third quarter. We just stuck with it, and the kids made great plays.”
Senior Elly Bengel scored 12 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia (26-3), which was trying to pull off the same double it did in 2019, when both the boys and girls won Finals titles in the sport. The PW boys won the Division 3 title a week ago.
“It’s been so amazing,” Bengel said. “This team is so special to me, and I’ll never take this for granted.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lumen Christi players meet on the floor in celebration of their Division 3 championship Saturday. (Middle) The Titans’ Lucy Wrozek (14) makes a move around a P-W defender. (Photos by Keionna Banks and Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)