#TBT: Redettes Bring Home Class A Title
March 31, 2016
The following tells the story of the 1976 Marquette girls basketball team, still the only Upper Peninsula team to win an MHSAA Class A girls basketball championship. This piece, by MHSAA historian Ron Pesch, served as the story behind the ceremony from a “Legends of the Games” program celebrating the Redettes.
If you never have dreams, they can never come true.
For coach Barb Crill and the girls basketball team from Marquette, the dream was to win an MHSAA basketball crown.
“Barb said to us as incoming freshmen that we would win the state,” said Karen Levandoski Helmila, recalling her days as a Redette.
The girls had come close early in Crill’s tenure. In three years, Crill's squads had compiled a 52-4 record, including a 16-2 mark in 1973, a 19-1 record in 1974 and 17 straight victories the following year.
In 1974, Grand Rapids Christian eliminated the Redettes in the Regional Final. In 1975, the team averaged 68 points a game to 25.9 for the opponents. In the MHSAA District Final, Marquette downed Sault Ste. Marie, 109-16, then brushed aside Portage Central, 72-18, in the Class A Quarterfinals. However, the voyage ended abruptly in the Semifinals with a loss to Farmington Our Lady of Mercy, 62-57.
The nucleus was in place for another run at the title in the fall of 1976. The team had lost all-U.P. players Jean Moratti and Laurie Niles, but had strong replacements. The Levandoski twins, Karen and Kay, Cheryl Aho, Janet Hopkins, Sue Belanger and Caron Krueger were all seniors, and Katie Miller, a senior transfer from Eau Claire, Wis., had joined the team. Forward Shelly Chapman, a junior, also had won all-U.P. honors. Sophomores Cynde Cory and Chris Moran were expected to be the first off the bench. Sue Micklow, Kate Jennings, Lisa Coombs, Mary Erspamer, Cathy Niles and Sue Lakanen rounded out the squad. Karen Meyers, the leading scorer on Northern Michigan University's basketball team and former Redette, was returning for her fifth year as Crill's assistant.
But time was running out for the squad to achieve their coach's prophecy.
“Over the years we had played every good team in the U.P.,” said Crill. “The girls needed more.”
So on Labor Day weekend, 1976, the Redettes prepared for a trip to Detroit – their coach's old stomping grounds. Crill had arranged scrimmages against some old friends in the Motor City; among them Detroit Dominican, coached by Sue Kruszewski and winner of the Class A title in 1973 and 1974, and Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher, which had made it to the Quarterfinals in 1973.
The Marquette squad responded to the challenge, playing well in the workouts.
“The girls came back in shape from summer vacation,” Crill told the media after the trip. “Most had done a lot of work on their own, while others stayed active playing other sports.”
A native of Allen Park, Crill had started coaching and teaching in Ann Arbor Public Schools in 1959. She instituted Marquette's girls program during the 1969-70 season. “We started here before there was any MHSAA (sanctioned) ball,” said Crill. “The girls provided their own uniforms. The principal, Paul Kotila, provided a bus and driver. We played everyone with a team. It promoted a lot of the interest.”
Back in the U.P., it was business as usual. In the home opener, Marquette trounced Gladstone, 71-19, as 14 girls saw time on the court. Next, they downed Negaunee, 87-21.
Through 17 additional regular-season games, the result was the same. Omitting a 2-0 forfeit by Harbor Springs, the Redettes improved their average from 1975 to 80.8 points per contest, while decreasing their opponents’ average to 25.2 per game.
The squad dumped Escanaba, 71-29, before a crowd of about 100 for the District title at Escanaba. Shelly Chapman led the team with a season-high 33 points. In Grand Rapids for the Regionals, the Big Red Machine defeat Benton Harbor, 64-55. Leading at the half by 25 points, Crill went to the bench. Again, Chapman led all scorers with 21 points, while Krueger added 16 and Hopkins added 13.
In the Regional Final, the Redettes faced a taller Grand Rapids Union squad. Despite the partisan Union crowd and a slim three-point lead at the end of the third quarter, Marquette pulled away for a 48-34 win.
With another victory in the bag, the Redettes congratulated one another in a familiar postgame scene during the 1976 championship run. True to her words, Crill and her Marquette cagers would have a season to remember and scrapbooks to compile following their impressive run to the MHSAA title. In the Quarterfinals, the team defeated Lansing Eastern, 67-37, then disposed of Flushing, 62-46, in the Semifinals. All that remained was a rematch with Farmington Our Lady of Mercy.
This time Marquette would not be denied, downing the reigning champs, 68-41. Chapman finished with 23, Hopkins poured in 19, and Krueger hit for 14 as Crill's starting five went the entire game without a substitution.
“I was impressed with the ladies’ positive attitude as we prepared for the championship game,” said Crill, reflecting on the matchup. “They seemed quiet, very determined, very patient with one another and quite business like. I had coached many games by the fall of 1976, but I never remember another game where we planned together what to do to win, and they followed our plan perfectly.”
The team was the first Class A school from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to win an MHSAA basketball championship, a feat that has not been repeated since.
“The strength that our team held through the entire game was so strong,” said Aho Reynolds. “That's the way I felt. The more baskets we made the more we wanted. The offense and defense combined everything that night.”
“The crowd was so large for the Final game,” recalled Levandoski Helmila. “There were thousands of people watching and it seemed like only 50 cheering for us. We were glad to face the team that knocked us out of the tournament the year before. We worked together for so long to reach our goal.”
“We wanted that victory not only for the members of the team, but for our coaches, parents and community,” echoed Levandoski Angeli. “We were not only a team, but a family. Our coaches made it clear and instilled in us that no individual was a star alone.”
“Wow! It was fun,” said Hopkins, “a great ending to four years of high school basketball. We dominated the game. We were the underdog, yet we were confident and played to our strengths. Each year I played, the team improved its skill level. In my senior year everything came together and we were unstoppable! Each team member contributed to the outcome, whether it was during practice, or a game. We were focused and determined to succeed.”
“Cheryl Aho's incredible defense stands out in my mind,” remembered Coombs Gerou. “She stopped one of the leading scorers in the state. Our team defense really stood out. “Everyone played, and on any given night someone off the bench would score as much as someone who started. We all treated each other with respect and worked together as a team. Coach Crill taught me that anything was possible if you worked and prepared for it.
“Another memory was our singing on the bus, even those of us who couldn't carry a tune.”
It was one of the longer bus rides that set the foundation for that championship year.
“I think that trip (to Detroit) was the biggest difference,” said Crill. “It gave them more experience playing the type of teams they would meet in the tournament. They could see they were talented enough. They had already played the best there was. They realized they could beat them again.”
Glen Lake Hoops Ready to Make Impression
December 1, 2017
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
MAPLE CITY – When the Glen Lake boys basketball team went on a team-building retreat, coach Rich Ruelas asked his players to pick a word that would be their mantra for the season.
Cade Peterson chose “footprint.”
“Coming into my senior year, it hit me,” the three-sport standout said. “This is my last go-around for every sport. I thought, what kind of legacy do I want to leave, that our team wants to leave? It’s like footprints in the sand. How do you want to be remembered? This is a journey. Depending on how we play, how we act, we can be remembered here for years and years and years. That’s a big thing to grasp.”
The Lakers return nine players, including four starters, off an 18-5 squad that reached the Class C Regionals.
They are not the only Glen Lake basketball team that wants to leave a footprint.
The girls return five of their top seven players off a team that went 23-4 and played in the MHSAA Semifinals.
Optimism is high.
“We have experience, and a deep bench,” senior Savannah Peplinski said, reflecting on the team’s strengths. “We’ve all improved our skills. We’re tougher, mentally and physically. We’re focusing on individual things that combined will make us more complex as a team.”
It promises to be an exciting winter on the hardcourt at this Leelanau County school, where basketball tradition runs deep.
Glen Lake won boys Class D state crowns in 1959 and 1977 and was runner-up in 1996. The 1977 team, which upset Detroit East Catholic in the Final, celebrated its 40th anniversary of that championship this summer. The reunion was organized by Hall of Fame coach Don Miller, who has returned to the sidelines as the JV coach.
The Lakers claimed a girls state championship in 1978 and lost a heartbreaker in the 1979 Finals. Glen Lake has produced two of the best players to ever come out of northern Michigan – Laura Wiesen and Liz (Shimek) Moeggenberg, now the JV coach. Wiesen, a math teacher at the high school, is among the all-time assist leaders at Northwestern University while Shimek is Michigan State’s third all-time leading scorer (1,780 points) and the leading all-time rebounder (1,130).
The girls team returned to the spotlight with last season’s tournament run, which ended with a loss to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Semifinals.
Coach Jason Bradford said that run made believers out of his players.
“I told the girls they had the capability to go that far,” Bradford, now in his 10th season, said. “But I don’t think they believed it until they actually did it. It was a confidence builder, making it down (to the Semifinals).”
Peplinski agreed.
“Last year really opened our eyes as to how much talent we do have and how much harder we have to push ourselves to reach our potential,” the 17-year-old said.
A District win over nemesis Traverse City St. Francis, which had played in the Class C Final the previous year, catapulted the Lakers.
“You still have people who think it was luck we made it down there (to the Breslin Center),” Bradford said. “It’s like, you always have to prove yourself. (Because) we made it down there, and return a lot, there’s pressure to repeat, but that’s what the girls want.”
Glen Lake, which tips off its season tonight at Elk Rapids, has a solid nucleus with returnees Peplinski, Jennifer LaCross, Kaitlyn Schaub, Allie Bonzelet and Lily Ewing. LaCross averaged 10.8 points per game a year ago while Peplinski was at 10.1. Schaub, a 6-foot junior, led the team with seven rebounds a game.
“Jennifer is a forward-center, but she can play any position,” Bradford said. “She handles the ball well. She’s hard to guard. Kaitlyn’s our post player. She’s an inside-outside (threat). She has a soft touch around the hoop, and she can step out for a shot. Savannah is going to have the ball in her hands, dictating. She’s a great passer. We’re going to be pushing the ball.”
LaCross, Peplinski, Bonzelet and Schaub all saw time on the varsity as freshmen, Bradford said.
“They’ve played a lot of minutes together,” he said. “It’s a fun group, very unselfish and very supportive of each other. They accept their roles. They want to be part of this team and that’s half of it, if not most of it.”
Bonzelet is one of the top defenders on a team that prides itself on defense.
The Lakers will need to replace leading scorer Kelly Bunek and center Sarah Carney.
“It’s going to be tough to fill those holes,” Peplinski said. “But we’re working at it and building our confidence back up. I think it will be a good season.”
Sophomore Karrigan LaCross and freshman Hailey Helling are stepping in to provide the Lakers with added depth.
Glen Lake, which has won 32 consecutive Northwest Conference games, will be challenged by Kingsley and Benzie Central, which both opened the season with double-digit wins over teams from the larger Big North Conference. Frankfort is traditionally strong, too.
“It’s going to come down to the end,” Bradford said. “We have Frankfort, Benzie and Kingsley to finish the season. That’s a nice way to end it.”
As for the boys, Ruelas challenged his team over the summer. The Lakers competed in tournaments at Benzie Central. Traverse City West, Ferris State and Grand Valley State.
“We wanted a challenge so we got put in the top brackets at Ferris and Grand Valley,” Ruelas said.
Glen Lake won its bracket at Grand Valley and was runner-up at Ferris State.
The Lakers return four starters in seniors Peterson and Nick Apsey, junior Xander Okerlund and sophomore Reece Hazelton. Okerlund averaged 17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds a year ago, while Peterson was at 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest.
“We have balance, inside and out, length and leadership,” Ruelas said.
Peterson, who has committed to play football at Grand Valley, is 6-5, as is Hazelton. Okerlund measures 6-4.
The Lakers also welcome back 5-7 senior point guard Peyton McDonough, who missed most of last season with a torn meniscus.
“We’re very athletic,” McDonough said. “We can run the floor. We have good shooters - we can drive and kick. We’re a well-rounded team.”
Glen Lake did not win the Northwest Conference last season. That honor went to Buckley, which ran the table. The Bears, who reached the Class D Final, return all five starters. Frankfort also has its top talent back.
“(Our players) know we have great teams in our conference,” Ruelas said. “We don’t throw that in their face. It’s motivation for us to work hard, do the right things and take it step by step.
“If we work together, work hard, have fun and are connected as a team, that’s my goal. I want us to get better every day.”
Connected was the word Ruelas chose at the retreat.
“It’s a we – not a me – mentality,” he said. “We’re trying to live that day in and day out. It’s easy to say, but if we can live it they know the sky’s the limit.”
Peterson said chemistry is one of the Lakers’ strengths.
“We’re more unselfish, more together,” he said.
“Everyone’s really positive and excited for the challenge,” Okerlund added.
McDonough. Peterson and Okerlund are the captains, and all bring something different to the table.
“Peyton’s the vocal leader,” Ruelas said. “He’s challenging everybody to get better every day, even if it’s one percent. Cade brings that competitiveness to the team. He wants his senior class to go out the right way, not have any regrets. Xander leads by example. He works his tail off.”
Glen Lake opens its season Tuesday against St. Francis – the start of a near four-month journey.
“We’re not going to lose sight of the important things,” Ruelas said. “Of course, we want to win the conference, the District, and so on. Every good team wants that.
“But basketball is like every other sport. On any given night, maybe the ball doesn’t fall, things don’t go your way. (Our season) could end in the state championship game or in a District Final. Whenever it ends, we want to look back and say we worked hard, had fun, respected each other and enjoyed the journey. If we walk away knowing that, I can’t think of a reason we would have any regrets. That’s what matters.”
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Savannah Peplinski (left) and Peyton McDonough are among those expected to contribute to strong Glen Lake basketball teams this winter. (Middle) Jennifer LaCross defends against Frankfort last season. (Below) Max Lerchen goes to the basket last winter against Leland. (Girls photos courtesy of Robert Ewing; boys photos courtesy of Don Miller.)