#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.”
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.)