Sacred Heart Shows in Class D Comeback
March 15, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – A high school senior known statewide finished an incredible career Saturday during the MHSAA Class D championship game at the Breslin Center.
But it was the lone senior on the other side of the floor who accepted the winner’s trophy as her classmates chanted “Thank you Sara” for another job well done.
Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Lexi Gussert will pick her career back up again on this same floor next season for Michigan State. But Saturday belonged to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart and its lone senior, Sara Hansen, as they finished up an incredible comeback with a 56-53 win and the Irish’s first MHSAA title.
Unranked Sacred Heart finished on a 14-3 run over the game’s final three minutes to edge past the top-ranked Trojans and Gussert, this season’s Miss Basketball Award winner.
“We were down by nine. We didn’t give up on anything,” Hansen said. “Once we got closer, it was really exciting. And once it ended, it hit me that it was my last game and we won a state championship.”
“Being the only senior, it’s fun in a way but also kinda tough because you’re the only one going through that. I was really glad we made it this far.”
This was only the second time Sacred Heart had reached an MHSAA Final, after also finishing Class D runner-up in 2008. The Irish made the Quarterfinals two of the last four seasons, including a year ago, but lost both of those games in overtime.
They broke through this week by upsetting No. 3 Frankfort on Tuesday. But there were more surprises in store; the Irish advanced to Saturday by downing No. 9 Marine City Cardinal Mooney in the Semifinal, and then handed Forest Park (26-1) its only loss.
“Wow. That’s all I can say,” Sacred Heart coach Damon Brown said. “It’s been an amazing journey. They found a way to get it done. This team has been in battles like this all season, and their faith in each other and faith in the program never cracked.”
Not even when Sacred Heart trailed 49-40 with 5:40 to play.
The Irish had done an incredible job containing Gussert – who averaged 29 points per game entering the week – to just three during Saturday’s first half. However, the 6-foot do-it-all guard scored eight during the third quarter and the jumper in the fourth to push the Trojans lead to nine.
At that point, Forest Park’s momentum appeared unbreakable – until Sacred Heart’s Riley Terwilliger began punching holes in the lead.
The Irish’s Semifinal star with 19 points, she didn’t score Saturday until dropping her first bucket at the third-quarter buzzer. She knocked down another to pull the Irish within 49-42 – and then finished the comeback with the two plays of the game.
Junior Lexie Methner scored with 1:16 to play to bring Sacred Heart within 50-47, and Terwilliger stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored to make it a one-point game.
Forest Park made it to the other end of the court after that basket, but instead of holding the ball with a one-point lead launched a shot with 39 seconds to play. It missed, Hansen grabbed the rebound, and at the other end of the floor Terwilliger launched a 3-pointer from the corner that fell with 29 seconds to play.
“We hang our hat on defense, and we’re not going to go down just missing shots,” Terwilliger said. “We wanted to stay up and get them. It just builds off each defensive stop we get, and it builds up the adrenaline, and we just keep going and going and going.”
Sacred Heart made four free throws down the stretch and Forest Park missed two, with only a 3-pointer by Gussert with 3.7 seconds left keeping the score to its final margin.
Disbelief showed on both ends of the court – Forest Park that its lead disappeared, and Sacred Heart that it suddenly stood as champion.
“It’s unlike our team, but I think we cracked a little bit at the end,” Trojans coach Jeff Syrjanen said. “These kids are a veteran team, and they played with pressure the last three years. Sometimes things don’t work the way you wanted them to.
“It’s a really tough loss for us. We thought we could finish the deal this year."
Lost a bit in the comeback was how 6-3 sophomore center Averi Gamble kept the Irish in the game through the first three quarters. Daughter of former Boston Celtics forward Kevin Gamble, Averi had 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Brown recalled how he told Gamble it was her time after all-state honorable mention Erica Hansen graduated last spring. Gamble took it to heart, and took some advice from her dad: “Just to be strong with the ball, jump, pump-fake a little, and just make my shots,” she said.
Senior center Kendra Campbell scored 16 points for forest Park, and Gussert finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. She’ll end up in the MHSAA record book as one of the top scorers in girls basketball history – but wished for just a few more.
“The third quarter we had a really good run, with a lot of nice passes and a lot of nice looks, but I feel like in the fourth quarter I tried to do too much,” Gussert said. “My team did everything it could possible. I feel bad. I didn’t finish, and that’s the truth.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart celebrates with its first MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Forest Park’s Lexi Gussert attempts to drive past Sacred Heart’s Megan English.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Off the steal, Crystal Falls’ Lexi Gussert passes downcourt to Sierra Robarge, who kicks out to Kendra Campbell for the 3-pointer and an early lead for the Trojans. (2) Coming out of a timeout, Sacred Heart's Riley Terwilliger hits a 3-pointer to give the Irish the lead for good in the Class D Final.
'If you want it, go get it.'
July 31, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
SOUTH LYON – "If you want it, go get it. It's out there."
Annette Babers has lived on both sides of that message, as both the pursuer and achiever. And she explained how today's high school players can do the same last week in speaking to more than 200 athletes, parents and coaches attending the MHSAA's Reaching Higher girls basketball clinic at South Lyon High School.
Reaching Higher, in its fourth year and in coordination with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, provides the state's elite basketball prospects with a day not just of basketball training, but also instruction in what it takes to succeed both academically and socially at the college level.
And becoming a well-rounded athlete – physically, mentally and spiritually – was a main point of emphasis for Babers, considered one of that nation's top high school players in 1988 while a senior at Saginaw High (she averaged 24.8 points, 21 rebounds and 15 blocks per game) before going on to start at Michigan State University and playing professionally in Turkey.
She's also the aunt and a major influence in the life of Draymond Green, who finished his career at MSU this spring and was drafted by the Golden State Warriors.
Mixing in the lessons she'd learned while telling the story of her basketball career, Babers provided these nuggets:
- "Listen (and) be obedient. If you're obedient, you're going to have that drive. You're going to have that determination – if you've got love for the game."
- "If you want that next level, it's right there. Go get it. ... It's out there. You don't realize how much you can do ..."
- "You know there's more to this than just playing. You've got to get your body physically fit. You've got to get your mind ready."
- "Whatever you do, please, (mind your) attitudes. You never know who's watching."
- "Your parents have given you the tools of life. You've got to use them."
- "You've got to find the circle you're going to be in. And make sure your parents are part of that circle."
Combined, 280 of the state's top boys and girls players were invited to Reaching Higher, as chosen by a selection committee made up of coaches from all over the state. The boys came to South Lyon on July 18, followed by the girls on July 26.
The six-hour sessions included skill training and three 36-minute games, plus a variety of speakers including current and former players Babers, University of Michigan standout Zach Novak and former Wake Forest and current German League standout Kyle Visser, who played his high school basketball at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central. Also providing valuable insights were coach Marc Comstock, Childress Sports Consulting, Dave Ginsberg of Management and Motivational Strategies and University of Michigan NCAA compliance officer Elizabeth Heinrich.
Total, 81 coaches from 55 college programs attended either the boys or girls sessions, representing all three NCAA levels and the NAIA. Games were reffed by MHSAA officials, who also participated in training sessions throughout both days.
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek Central senior Kayla Freeman (with ball) cuts through a haze of opponents on her way to the basket. (Middle right) Annette Babers speaks to the more than 200 players, parents and coaches at South Lyon High School. (Middle left) Salem senior Chris Dierker launches a shot during a drill at the boys clinic.
PHOTO: New Boston Huron sophomore Hailey Richardson (92) and Utica Ford senior Cris Harper (15) lead a group through an agility drill.
PHOTO: All three rounds of games during both Reaching Higher sessions were officiated by MHSAA referees, who also received instruction and evaluation. Left, Kendal Smith from the Metro Detroit Officials Association talks technique with a group during a break in their game.
PHOTO: Reaching Higher participants return to the South Lyon High School gym after receiving instruction in the school's cafeteria. Standing tall is Ann Arbor Skyline junior Tristan Wilson (37).
PHOTO:Richland Gull Lake sophomore Alexis Ahlert prepares to shoot a free throw during her team's game Thursday.