Rockford Turns Breslin Orange On Way to Earning Championship Day Debut
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Even on St. Patrick’s Day, seemingly the entire town of Rockford managed to turn the normally green Breslin Center into a sea of orange for Friday’s second Division 1 Semifinal at Breslin Center.
Both coaches admitted that the raucous Rockford crowd – almost all wearing orange T-shirts with a Rams logo on the front and filling about half of the lower bowl – had a huge impact on the game, particularly the start, as the Rams bolted to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter.
“How about those Rockford fans?” said sixth-year Rams coach Brad Wilson, before he even introduced his players at the postgame press conference. “When you look out there and see a sea of orange, it’s unbelievable.”
Buoyed by that crowd and equally unbelievable shooting, Rockford blitzed Detroit Renaissance, 65-42, to advance to the Division 1 championship game for the first time in school history.
Rockford, 27-1 and winners of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, will face reigning champion West Bloomfield in Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. title game.
The game will be a rematch of last year’s epic Semifinal, where West Bloomfield prevailed, 66-63, before knocking off Hartland the next day for the title.
The Rams would love to get off to the type of start they had on Friday.
Rockford made 11-of-13 field goals (84.6 percent) in the first quarter, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, getting the huge crowd involved early.
“We didn’t come out scared at all,” said Rockford junior sharpshooter Grace Lyons, noting it was helpful that her team played at the Breslin last year. “We came out ready to play from the get-go, and now we want to finish this thing.”
Lyons led all scorers with 23 points, making 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while senior Michigan Tech commit Alyssa Wypych scored 13 points with a game-high seven rebounds and her sophomore sister, Anna Wypych, added 12 points.
The Rams cooled off slightly in the second quarter, but still finished the half 15-of-21 from the floor (71.4 percent), and led 39-26.
Renaissance (23-2), which was seeking its first title since capturing the Class B championship in 2005, came out of halftime fired up and used an 8-0 run to trim the lead to just five points.
“We went back to our identity in the third quarter,” said Renaissance junior guard Christian Sanders, who led her team with 17 points. “Had we done that sooner, it may have been a different story.”
The key point of the game occurred right after the Phoenix made their run, and Wilson called a timeout to calm his team down.
Rockford responded with a 9-0 run of its own – using a pair of two-point baskets by Lyons, a bucket by Anna Wypych and a key 3-pointer off the bench from senior Madee Whitford – to push the lead back to 14 points.
The Phoenix, a young team with only three seniors, were never able to threaten the rest of the game.
“You have to give Rockford credit,” said first-year Renaissance coach Dashaun Wood. “They had a big fan base, and I think they fed off of that. We finally got back to who we normally are there in the third quarter, but sometimes when you dig a hole that deep, you burn all your energy just coming back.”
Amyah Espanol, one of two senior starters for the Phoenix, scored 13 points and junior Makayla Johnson added nine.
Rockford finished the game with 54 percent shooting (compared to 29.5 percent for Renaissance) and held a decisive 33-20 rebounding edge.
The Rams will make the one-hour drive home, which is just north of Grand Rapids, and Wilson said he and his assistant coaches will likely stay up all night preparing for West Bloomfield.
“No sleep ’til Breslin, that’s a real thing,” Wilson said with a grin. “We just need to stick to our brand of basketball. West Bloomfield is very good, but we’re really good, too, and I think we’re going to come out and show that we belong to be there.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford’s Sienna Wolfe (33) brings the ball upcourt during Friday’s Semifinal win over Renaissance. (Middle) Anna Wypych (2) makes a move toward the basket around a pick from teammate Grace Lyons.
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 13, 2025
January signals the start of a two-month trek for basketball teams as they push through the heart of winter toward March, the playoffs, and hopefully a trip to East Lansing to finish the season.
It’s also when we start pointing toward our Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) and the data we’re calculating on every MHSAA team in the state to seed our District brackets, which will begin play March 3.
This season, for the first time, those brackets will be seeded in their entirety (not just the top two teams) – making every result that much more important. We detail several of last week’s below, and more matchups coming up as girls hoops teams approach the season’s midpoint.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grass Lake 53, Detroit Renaissance 49 (OT) Earlier games against tough larger opponents no doubt prepped Division 3 Grass Lake (5-3) to hand the Division 1 Phoenix (10-1) their first defeat, as part of the Rocket Hoop Classic at Westland John Glenn.
2. Rockford 51, Tecumseh 45 The Division 1 Rams’ impressive weekend run of Saturdays continued as they improved to 10-1 by downing a previously-undefeated Division 2 contender in Tecumseh (7-1) at The Platform in Grand Rapids.
3. Tecumseh 53, Chelsea 41 Although it did lose its first game to finish the week, Tecumseh (7-1) earlier earned a significant win to open Southeastern Conference White play by handing Chelsea (6-1) its lone loss.
4. Paw Paw 71, Kalamazoo Christian 61 Paw Paw (7-1) is a one-point defeat from a perfect start and ended the same for Kalamazoo Christian (7-1).
5. Ewen-Trout Creek 56, Lake Linden-Hubbell 41 This could end up a decider in the Copper Mountain Conference as E-TC (9-1) took an important step by handing the Lakes (7-2) their first league loss.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Dexter (6-4) The Dreadnaughts’ four defeats came to teams that are a combined 34-3, and that may have made their record a bit deceptive before handing Saline its first loss of the season last week 55-30. Doing so kept Dexter in a first-place tie with Temperance Bedford in the SEC Red heading into Tuesday’s first of two meetings this season with the Kicking Mules. Dexter also handed Mio its lone defeat, 56-48 on Dec. 28, as it builds off last season’s 17-8 run that included a District title.
Grand Haven (7-1) Coming off a four-place league finish but 18-6 overall record last season, Grand Haven could be poised to make a move in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red. A 60-48 loss to league-leader Rockford on Jan. 3 is a good barometer early, and the Buccaneers bounced right back by downing Hudsonville 57-36 last week. They also handed Midland what remains its only defeat, 50-35 on Dec. 14, and earned a notable 55-22 victory over Ludington – a Division 2 Regional finalist last year.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Country Day (10-0) Country Day just missed eliminating Division 2 champion Detroit Edison in a Regional Semifinal last season, falling 59-57, and the Yellowjackets have stormed through the first half of this winter with wins over Grass Lake, Dexter (both noted above) and last week previously-undefeated Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 49-39 and reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield 66-59. Country Day travels to Frankenmuth tonight for what should be a telling matchup, and a Feb. 21 meeting with Renaissance should provide another solid test with the postseason approaching.
Grand Rapids West Catholic (8-1) The Falcons enjoyed a big weekend, first downing O-K Gold rival Grand Rapids South Christian 62-49 on Friday and then 2024 Division 1 quarterfinalist Holt 56-46 on Saturday at The Platform. Expectations were high again this season after West Catholic missed making the Division 2 Final last year with a two-point Semifinal loss. The Falcons’ lone defeat this winter was to Parma Western during the first week, and no other opponent has come within single digits.
DIVISION 3
Lawton (6-1) The Blue Devils have climbed from three to nine to 13 to 16 wins over the last four seasons, respectively, and might be lining up to take another step with their only loss so far to Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep. Lawton bounced back last week to hand Saugatuck its only defeat, 50-43, and will have a chance to move into the lead in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley on Friday when it sees leader Kalamazoo Christian for the first of two meetings.
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (9-0) The Kestrels have a one-game league in the Huron League as they seek to repeat as champions. An early 64-40 win over Riverview was key to that start, and they’ll see one-loss New Boston Huron tonight for the first of two meetings this season. Only Flat Rock, falling 38-30, has come within single digits of catching SMCC, which finished 19-5 overall a year ago. One of those losses came in a split with Carleton Airport, and St. Mary already has defeated the Jets 65-48.
DIVISION 4
Fowler (7-1) The Eagles are a 46-43 loss to undefeated Pewamo-Westphalia from being unbeaten instead, and they’re surely looking forward to that rematch Feb. 5. In the meantime, they’ve kept in contention in the always-tough Central Michigan Athletic Conference with wins over Laingsburg and Portland St. Patrick, and defeats of Alma and last week Lansing Christian also were notable. Circle a Jan. 21 matchup with Division 1 Holt as another that could be telling as Fowler attempts to return to Breslin for the sixth-straight season (not counting 2020, which ended prematurely due to COVID-19).
St. Ignace (8-1) The Saints already have rebounded from their lone loss this season, defeating Sault St. Marie 57-46 on Friday after losing the first meeting 50-49 on Dec. 3 – with Friday’s victory also ending a five-game losing streak against the rival Blue Devils. St. Ignace – 18-8 last season – also owns a solid 56-40 win over Harbor Springs and is tied for first in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference with Brimley with their first of two meetings scheduled for Jan. 23.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Detroit Renaissance (10-1) at Detroit Cass Tech (8-2) – Renaissance leads the Detroit Public School League Blue and Cass Tech is second and a game back after the Phoenix won the first meeting 57-48 on Dec. 9.
Tuesday – DeWitt (8-1) at Haslett (7-1) – Picking which game this week was bigger for the Vikings was tough, as they will come off this matchup with their longtime rival to take on St. Johns (8-1) in a key Capital Area Activities Conference Red clash Friday.
Friday – Berrien Springs (7-0) at Niles Brandywine (9-0) – These two are tied for first in the Lakeland Conference as the first round of league games comes to close, and they’ll meet in the league finale next month as well.
Friday – Temperance Bedford (6-1) at Saline (8-1) – The Hornets may be coming off their first loss, but they will have plenty of opportunities to make noise in the SEC Red starting with this matchup against the league’s co-leader.
Saturday – Mio (5-1) vs. TBD at St. Ignace – The Thunderbolts remains one of the most intriguing teams in the state regardless of division, and a matchup with the host Saints (8-1) at the B.C. Pizza Classic no doubt would draw a few eyes.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTOS (Top) East Lansing’s Sydney Black (11) winds up to send a pass to teammate Navaeh Vasquez while Holt’s Breanna Cornelius attempts to deflect it during the Rams 65-52 win Friday. (Middle) Birmingham Seaholm’s Addy Flynn (24) works to get past Davison’s Gracie Wright during the Maples’ 36-34 overtime victory Thursday. (Holt/East Lansing photo by John Johnson. Seaholm/Davison photo by Terry Lyons.)