EAST LANSING — Before Saturday’s Division 2 championship game against Grand Rapids West Catholic, the Tecumseh girls basketball team had two people for whom it was playing.

One was Bart Bartels, a beloved longtime coach in the community who died during the fall, weeks before practice started. Tecumseh has been honoring his memory all season.

The team also was playing for a fallen teammate. Junior Maddy VanBlack suffered a leg injury during Friday's Semifinal win over Frankenmuth and couldn’t play Saturday, which shortened the bench significantly. 

“It was super hard and super emotional,” Tecumseh head coach Kristy Zajac said. “They fought through, and they battled through with six players tonight.”

Indeed they did, as Tecumseh captured its first Finals championship since 1974 with a 54-44 win over West Catholic. 

Tecumseh finished the season 27-1, in the process making Bartels’ widow (who was in attendance), VanBlack and everyone else in the community it was playing for beyond proud.

“It’s going to be a day we will remember forever,” Zajac said. 

Tecumseh built an early 14-point lead, but ultimately had to hang on for dear life against a hard-charging West Catholic team. 

The Falcons whittled their deficit down all the way to 39-38 going into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump and take the lead or tie the game.

Leading 41-40, Tecumseh then took a 45-40 lead with 5:26 remaining after a layup by Addi Zajac. 

She hit another big layup with 1:54 left to make it 49-44, and then Tecumseh got a stop and a rebound. 

Following a couple of West Catholic fouls, senior Ashlyn Moorehead made a free throw to give Tecumseh a 50-44 lead with 1:10 remaining.

Tecumseh got another stop, and then junior Chloe Bullinger sank two free throws with just over 47 seconds remaining to give her team a 52-44 lead. 

After a missed 3-pointer, Alli Zajac hit two free throws with 19 seconds left to seal the win.

Alli Zajac scored 14 points, and senior Makayla Schlorf and Bullinger both had 11 for Tecumseh. Addi Zajac had nine points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

“It’s amazing that we got it done,” said Alli Zajac, who has signed to play for Eastern Michigan. “Ashlyn and I have been working towards this since we were little freshmen starting. It’s amazing at the end of my career I get to accomplish something like this.”

Senior Anna Ignatoski had 12 points, and senior Elisha Dykstra added 10 points and four assists to lead West Catholic (24-4), which was making its fourth-straight final-four appearance. Freshman Kenley Slanger added eight points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Alexis Asekomeh had nine points and three blocks.

The Falcons also were Division 2 runners-up in 2022. 

“They’ve been here four years in a row, and that’s unheard of,” first-year West Catholic head coach Derek Paiz said. “I know they don’t feel it right now. But their legacy is going to last forever here at West Catholic.”

Not helping West Catholic’s cause was that it couldn’t buy a basket from 3-point range, going 2 of 21 from beyond the arc. 

“They just hit a couple more shots,” Paiz said. “They shot 8 to 10 more free throws than us. They got to the rim a little more than us, and they won the rebound battle (38-33). Credit to them.”

This year’s Tecumseh’s team also will forever be etched in community lore, just like the 1974 championship squad.

“It was sad that this was our last game,” said Moorehead, who also had nine points and a team-high five assists. “But it’s nice to leave a legacy off with a state championship.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Tecumseh’s Makayla Schlorf (3) gets a quick five from teammate Ashlyn Moorehead during Saturday’s Division 2 championship game. (Middle) West Catholic’s Katelyn Adams (13) works to get to the basket with Schlorf and Alli Zajac (1) defending. (Below) The Falcons’ Anna Ignatoski (3) defends against Tecumseh’s Ashlyn Moorehead. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)