Saints Survive to Earn Repeat Try
March 13, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – St. Ignace senior Kelley Wright set an MHSAA record by being part of her 102nd high school basketball victory Thursday at the Breslin Center.
This had to be one of the ugliest – but could end up one of the most meaningful as well.
Wright and the Saints earned an opportunity to play for a second-straight MHSAA championship and third in her four season with a 34-30 Semifinal win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
St. Ignace improved to 24-2 this winter after finishing 27-0, 25-1 and 26-1, the last three seasons, respectively. Redford Bishop Borgess’ Aiysha Smith formerly held the record with 101 wins from 1994-97.
“All I know is I’ve lost four times. I never really thought about all the times I’ve won,” Wright said. “I play for a really good team, and I can’t take credit for that just because I moved up freshman year. All of us deserve it, and fortunately we’re all getting the benefits from it.”
Wright said after she expects to “feel sick and little nervous” before her team takes on Saginaw Nouvel in Saturday’s 4 p.m. Final.
Saints coach Dorene Ingalls joked about firing husband Doug as the team’s shooting coach after a performance that left both teams at least in some disbelief, if not feeling a little ill as well.
St. Ignace made a meager 19 percent of its shots from the floor. Liggett connected on 25 percent. Still, the Saints led by seven heading into the fourth quarter – but Liggett tied the score at 30-30 with 2:36 to play.
The Knights (20-4) had an opportunity to go ahead before St. Ignace senior Emily Hinsman gave the Saints back the lead with a put back with 1:37 to play. The teams then traded misses and turnovers as Hinsman stepped in to intercept a pass into the paint with 39 seconds. Junior guard Margo Brown made two free throws seconds later to push the lead to its final margin of four.
“It was frustrating at first. They’d just trap you as soon as you got the ball in your hands,” said Liggett junior Lauren Ristovski, who led the team with nine points. “They’d just jump out and trap you, making you throw the ball away.”
It’s not the kind of game Wright has been part of winning too often during the last four seasons and especially during this current 18-win streak. But the Saints made it go in part with 59-36 rebounding advantage, which included grabbing 28 on the offensive side. The Saints also had only 12 turnovers to Liggett’s 18.
Wright led the Saints with eight points and nine rebounds, while Hinsman grabbed 13 rebounds and sophomore center Abbey Ostman had seven points and 12 rebounds.
“Once we got back in January, our practices when we came back were intense. Just a different level,” Dorene Ingalls said. “Our team took over a different identity at that moment. Kelley and I were on the side, and (I told her) this is going to be really good.
“I’m glad we got an opportunity to show on Saturday that we’re better than we showed tonight. But you’ve got to give Liggett a lot of credit for that.”
St. Ignace also got a helpful and inspiring bucket late from junior Autumn Orm; she had four points total, despite being restricted to only 30-second spurts of playing time because of a neurological disorder that won’t allow her to be active for longer, Ingalls said. “She was getting deflections, getting rebounds. That was our inspiration. That’s why we won,” Ingalls added.
The Knights nearly pulled off the comeback despite all five starters playing all 32 minutes. The team’s rotation got down to that minimum in part because Liggett lost junior forward Haley Neuenfeldt to a knee injury in the final regular-season game.
But three of this season’s starters also started on the 2012 team that finished Class C runner-up. And they helped the Knights improve on last season’s run, which ended during the Regional.
“I expected for us to play hard enough to get through the District and do better than last year. That’s what we preached,” Liggett coach Omar Ahart said. “Once we got to the Regional Final, and got through that one, (I thought) someone has to win state. Why not us?”
Click for a complete box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) St. Ignace’s Emily Hinsman (34) and Liggett’s Kendall McConico battle for a loose ball Thursday. (Middle) Saints junior Autumn Orm (10) drives against Knights senior Angelia Evangelista.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Autumn Orm takes a pass from Emily Hinsman and hits a jumper with 3:37 to play to give St. Ignace a 30-26 lead against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett. (2) Nia Ahart of Liggett ties the game at 30-30 with 2:36 to go on a nifty runner. St. Ignace won the game, 34-30.
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2026
The MHSAA girls basketball regular season has reached its halfway point, with six weeks done and six more until the start of District play March 2.
That makes it a good time for a quick review on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) – and how they’re used to seed that first round of the MHSAA playoffs.
MPR is determined by considering a team’s success (total wins) and strength of schedule based on games against opponents also playing in the MHSAA Tournament. You can follow how teams rank all season long on the MPR page, where you can search not only by Division and school, but District grouping as well.
“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. Belleville 77, Wayne Memorial 49 The Tigers (9-0) handed two Kensington Lakes Activities Association East rivals their first losses this season last week, first Livonia Stevenson and then the Zebras (8-1).
2. Grass Lake 61, Michigan 55 Grass Lake (9-1) moved into first place alone and Michigan Center (8-2) into second in the Cascades Conference East as the top two finishers from the last two seasons met for the first time this season.
3. Ewen-Trout Creek 40, Baraga 21 The Panthers (7-1) remain among the leaders in the overall Copper Mountain Conference standings after handing Baraga (9-1) its lone defeat.
4. DeWitt 50, Haslett 42 The Panthers (9-1) – No. 10 in Division 1 MPR – won one of the Lansing area’s best nonleague matchups of the regular season, as the Vikings (6-1) are No. 14 in Division 2.
5. Temperance Bedford 36, Saline 32 Reigning Southeastern Conference Red co-champ Bedford (6-3) is in first place alone after this win over the rival Hornets (8-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Renaissance (8-2) The Phoenix have put together another impressive first half, with their only losses to likewise Division 1 contenders Belleville and Wayne Memorial and both before the new year. Renaissance also edged Saginaw Heritage by a point in overtime and downed Flint Powers Catholic by 10 – the latter that teams’ only loss this winter. The Phoenix are perfect through the first half of the Detroit Public School League Blue schedule, winning those games all by at least 21 points.
Rockford (8-1) The reigning Division 1 runner-up graduated last season’s Miss Basketball but hasn’t lost a step, its only loss this season to one-loss Muskegon. The Rams also are the only team to defeat Howell and Grass Lake, and seven of nine opponents so far this winter currently have winning records. Haslett and Jackson Lumen Christi also are on the nonleague slate coming up, while Rockford will also navigate an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red that has all six teams .500 or better entering this week.
DIVISION 2
Goodrich (11-0) The Martians have won at least 23 games the last three seasons, and strong starts are nothing new. But Saturday’s 45-24 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s put an exclamation point on a first half that’s also included handing Rochester Hills Stoney Creek its only loss and Parma Western one of its two, with no game closer than 17 points. A major reason for that is Goodrich has held seven of its first 11 opponents under 20 points, and two more under 30.
Tecumseh (10-1) The reigning Division 2 champion is a combined 37-2 since the start of the 2024-25 season, its only loss this winter 54-52 to Grand Rapids West Catholic in a rematch of last year’s title game. Tecumseh jumped from No. 11 to No. 1 in statewide Division 2 MPR over the last week thanks to 30+ point wins over Chelsea and Pinckney and the continued success of several opponents from earlier this season. Home games against Saginaw Heritage on Feb. 3 and Dexter on Feb. 26 will be good tests heading into March.
DIVISION 3
McBain (8-0) Over the last two weeks, McBain has handed Roscommon and Evart their lone losses this season, allowing the Ramblers to take over first place alone in the Highland Conference as they seek a first league championship since 2021-22. A matchup this week with Traverse City St. Francis should tell us even more, and the first weeks of February will determine a lot as McBain faces undefeated Beaverton on Feb. 2, then Evart and Roscommon in back-to-back games Feb. 6 and 9, respectively.
Pewamo-Westphalia (8-1) The Pirates are one of four teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference with one loss this winter, but the only team undefeated in league play in part because they were the ones who downed Portland St. Patrick in mid-December and Bath 64-41 last week. P-W’s only loss last winter came in its Regional Final; its only loss so far this season came Jan. 5 to Flint Powers Catholic, and in addition to league play the Pirates have nice tests coming against Heritage and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
DIVISION 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-1) The Cougars are climbing again after going 10-14 two seasons ago and improving to 12-11 last winter. Three of last season’s losses came to Petersburg Summerfield, which Lenawee Christian defeated 55-40 last week, and LC will face undefeated Morenci on Friday for first place in the Tri-County Conference. The Cougars’ only loss this season came to Big 8 Conference leader Concord, 64-55 to start the new calendar year.
Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) The Bulldogs could take a big step on improving on last season’s 21-5 finish and run to the Regional Finals, as they face Gaylord St. Mary on Wednesday for the first time after finishing second to the Snowbirds in the Ski Valley Conference last season. Inland Lakes kept its perfect record intact with a 46-44 overtime win over Central Lake on Friday and also has a one-point overtime win over Elk Rapids and another one-pointer in regulation over Bellaire.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – St. Joseph (8-1) at Portage Central (7-1) – These are the only teams without a loss in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference, and Portage Central won their District Semifinal matchup last year after St. Joseph swept the regular-season series.
Wednesday – Gaylord St. Mary (8-1) at Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) – As noted above, St. Mary won both of last season’s matchups, by four in overtime and seven, to take back the SVC title after Inland Lakes won it in 2023-24.
Thursday – Deckerville (8-1) at Kingston (9-0) – These two are both undefeated in the Big Thumb Conference Blue after Kingston finished first and Deckerville second a year ago.
Friday – Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-1) at Morenci (8-0) – Morenci claimed last year’s meetings by 17 and then only two points in winning the TCC on the way to ending the season in the Division 4 Quarterfinals.
Saturday – Grand Rapids West Catholic (9-2) at Detroit Edison (4-3) – Edison has played its usual schedule featuring several of the state’s best, and this rematch of last season’s Division 2 Semifinal won by West Catholic will finish up a three-game week.
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PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Heritage passes the ball around the perimeter during its 67-43 win at Frankenmuth on Jan. 12. (Middle) Ishpeming Westwood's Addelyn Hallum drives the lane for a layup against Negaunee on Friday during the Miners’ 46-36 win. (Heritage/Frankenmuth photo by Terry Lyons. Negaunee/Westwood photo by Cara Kamps.)