Saints Hold On to Earn Chance at Perfection
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Dorene Ingalls has coached more great teams than most over 20 seasons leading the St. Ignace girls basketball program.
But it doesn’t take long to tell how much she’s enjoyed guiding this one.
There are plenty of reasons why – these Saints are selfless. They’re one of the hardest-working teams she’s coached. And they are just plain nice.
And like St. Ignace teams of the long and recent past, they know how to close out wins – and showed how again in holding on against senior-dominated Kingston 48-44 in Thursday’s first Division 4 Semifinal.
“We wanted it really bad,” Saints sophomore guard Hallie Marshall said. “We wanted it for our seniors, and our team – it’s a special group this year.”
It’s also the first with a chance to finish 28-0 – only 18 teams have achieved that record – and the Saints will get that chance against either Adrian Lenawee Christian or Fowler in Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game.
St. Ignace has won five Finals titles under Ingalls, including back-to-back to end her first two seasons running the show. The 2013 team finished 27-0 with only two District games on its tournament path.
It took a classic effort to earn this opportunity against a Kingston team also enjoying a historic run.
These Cardinals were the first in school hoops history, girls or boys, to reach the Semifinals. And led by an all-senior starting lineup, they didn’t show any intimidation taking on an annual state power with more history on the line.
The Saints got the lead up to seven multiple times during the first half, but Kingston got the margin back to four by the break. St. Ignace led by as many as 12, at 3:19 to play in the third quarter, but the Cardinals got within two twice during the final two minutes. Marshall had a three-point play – basket and free throw – the first time, and freshman guard Ally Schultz hit two free throws the second to establish the final margin.
Senior forward Carley Smith had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Cardinals, and senior guard Lily Lyons added 12 points.
“When you’ve got seniors playing basketball as long as they have, they trust in each other,” Kingston coach Jay Green said. “What makes this team special is their teamwork.
“These guys work well together and know how to accentuate each other’s positives and make up for if they are lacking stuff in their game. I’m not surprised at all they came out with the confidence they had. These girls are special and proved it today – and we’re almost there.”
Senior Emily Coveyou scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Saints. Marshall had 14 points as one of only two players to make more than 50 percent of her shots from the floor.
Coveyou is battling through exertional compartment syndrome, an exercise-induced muscle and nerve condition that causes pain, swelling and sometimes disability as described by the Mayo Clinic. But averaging a team-high 22.9 ppg entering the week, she has St. Ignace on the verge of what would be its fourth title this decade and first since 2015.
“We had six players make over 15,000 shots before the season started and Coveyou is probably closer to 20,000,” said Ingalls, at the postgame press conference with her leading scorer. “Coveyou is playing at sub-70 percent. She’s just a warrior. It’s progressively getting worse every week we go.
“But we have only one more game sweetheart. I’m proud of you – you’ve willed your way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Emily Coveyou makes a move toward the basket during Thursday’s Division 4 Semifinal. (Middle) Kingston’s Gerilyn Carpenter looks for a teammate while Ally Schultz defends.
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 1
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 9, 2024
It’s too early to tell us much. But the first week of this 2024-25 girls basketball season sure seemed to signal some potential movement at the top as we start a long road that will end in East Lansing in March.
Two of last season’s Finals champions fell in their first games of this winter – and that could mean big things for Saginaw Heritage and Gladstone, the winners of those games. A few others also jumped out immediately after just the first week of play, and as we’ll do all season, we’ve highlighted several below that made an impression.
“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. Saginaw Heritage 79, West Bloomfield 53 The Hawks (2-0) finished the first week at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep’s Ice Breaker Classic with a big win over the reigning Division 1 champion Lakers (0-1).
2. Gladstone 51, Ishpeming 47 – The Hematites (1-1) lost just once on the way to winning Division 3 last season, but Gladstone (2-0) handed them this defeat in their season opener.
3. Portland 57, Frankenmuth 56 The Raiders (2-0) opened this season with a slim but most impressive win over another regular Division 2 contender in the Eagles (1-1).
4. Onekama 61, Elk Rapids 54 (OT) The Portagers (3-0) defeated the host Elks (1-1) – returning Division 3 quarterfinalists – to open the Elk Rapids Invitational, then downed Maple City Glen Lake 57-42 for the championship.
5. Rockford 62, Wayne Memorial 45 The reigning Division 1 runner-up Rams (2-0) earned a second big win of the week over another team in Wayne (0-1) that’s always in the title conversation.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (2-0) The Big Reds nearly doubled their wins from 2022-23 to last season, from eight to 15. They are off to the right start again with a 62-46 win over Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse and 57-38 victory over Port Huron last week. Port Huron was a 16-game winner last season.
Dearborn Fordson (2-0) The Tractors have made an impressive climb over the last four seasons, from six wins in 2020-21 to 12 the following season, 16 and then 17 last winter. They opened with a one-point win over Allen Park but followed up by doubling up Dearborn Edsel Ford to finish the first week.
DIVISION 2
Gladstone (2-0) As noted above, the 51-47 win over reigning Class C champion Ishpeming was quite a start, and it was followed up by a 51-38 victory over Ishpeming Westwood – and those are even more telling with some context. Gladstone was a solid 14-9 last winter, up from eight wins the season before, and won the Great Northern Conference title – but also lost to Ishpeming twice and split with Westwood with all three losses by double digits.
Monroe Jefferson (2-0) The Bears opened with a 42-37 win over Southgate Anderson followed by a 46-43 victory over Erie Mason. It was a nice jump into the winter coming off last year’s 5-19 finish, which included a 14-point loss to Mason. Jefferson has won five games the last three seasons and could be on the way to taking another step.
DIVISION 3
Detroit Pershing (2-0) The Doughboys have posted two straight winning seasons – including an 11-5 finish a year ago – and they also are off to the right start. Pershing won big over Detroit Henry Ford in its season opener and followed that up with a 49-40 victory over Detroit Osborn. Pershing finished third in the Detroit Public School League Gold last winter.
Memphis (2-0) After much tougher days a decade ago, Memphis has hovered around 7-8 wins the last four, finishing 8-15 last season despite an 0-3 start. Last week should mean good things for this team’s fortunes, as the Yellowjackets defeated Chesterfield Austin Catholic 31-15 and Vassar 36-25, the latter avenging a 2023-24 defeat.
DIVISION 4
Petersburg Summerfield (3-0) The Bulldogs not only sprinted to start the season last week, but followed up a 53-41 win over Hudson with a 26-point victory over Division 2 Dundee and a nine-point win over Division 1 Ann Arbor Skyline. Add that to last season’s second-straight District title, a great finishing surge that came after a 2-4 season start and 1-3 end to the regular season.
Webberville (2-0) An 0-2 start last season turned into an eventual 7-14 finish, but the Spartans already have a nice jump with their season-opening 32-19 win over Morrice avenging a pair of those 2023-24 defeats. Webberville closed the week with a 54-45 win over Brighton Livingston Christian.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – West Bloomfield (0-1) at Belleville (1-0) – This week should tell us a ton about Belleville, as the Tigers first take on the reigning Division 1 champion and host Muskegon on Saturday at the Best of Michigan showcase.
Thursday – Fowler (1-0) at Portland St. Patrick (0-1) – This is always worthy of statewide attention; last season St. Patrick won the Central Michigan Athletic Conference and finished 21-3 overall, while Fowler was second, 24-4 and reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
Friday – Sault Ste. Marie (2-1) at St. Ignace (2-0) – This is the first of two meetings between these former Straits Area Conference rivals, and the Sault carries a four-game winning streak in the series.
Saturday – Rockford vs. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard at Belleville – The Best of Michigan event will tip off this matchup at 5:30 p.m. between last season’s Division 1 runner-up Rockford and Division 2 runner-up FGR.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (1-0) vs. Tecumseh (1-0) at Belleville – This Best of Michigan matchup will send reigning Division 2 champion Edison against a quarterfinalist from last season.
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PHOTO A Bath player looks to pass the ball into the post during the Bees’ 51-12 win over Fulton last week to open this season. (Photo by John Johnson.)