'Underdog' Sailors Sink Reigning Champ
March 18, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Grand Rapids South Christian rarely plays a girls basketball game it’s not expected to win.
So labeling the Sailors "underdogs" probably was an exaggerated assessment heading into Friday’s Class B Semifinal again reigning champion Detroit Country Day.
True, the Yellowjackets were ranked No. 1 heading into the postseason and had lost only once this winter. But South Christian was No. 3, had lost only twice, and brought back three seniors who had come 17 minutes from an MHSAA championship only two seasons ago.
And now they’ll have the chance to bring back the Sailors’ first title since 1988. South Christian dominated nearly from start to finish to down Country Day 57-46.
“Being the underdog, it was kinda fun, because no one really expected us to come out how we did, especially in the first half when I think we were up by 10 at halftime,” South Christian senior guard Jenn DeBoer said. “But we knew they were going to keep pushing and keep coming back, and we had to keep our poise and keep our control. But being the underdog and getting this win, it’s such an amazing feeling because no one really knew that we had it in us.”
The Sailors (25-2) will face Marshall at 6 p.m. in Saturday’s final championship game.
DeBoer, forward Markayla Vander and guard Sydney DeYoung were sophomores two seasons ago when South Christian reached the Final but fell 51-38 to Eaton Rapids. Coach Kim Legge – in her first season as head coach – was on the bench and has been part of the program for two decades.
All of that experience no doubt has led to people outside the program to notice and tell Legge how even-keel her team seems to play – a trait that pays off at this time of year when one swing can end a season.
“People have said, ‘Wow, you look so poised all the time,’” Legge said. “Even when teams make runs at us, we stay even-keeled and keep our heads above water and keep pushing. And that’s just how we’ve operated all season long.”
South Christian led by as many as 16 during the second quarter and 10 at halftime, but did have to hold strong after Destiny Pitts’ 3-pointer with 4:42 left pulled Country Day within 41-37. The Sailors came back with a 16-9 run to finish, with DeBoer scoring six of her game-high 18 points down the stretch.
“They played very good defense; give them credit for that. We, just for some unknown reason, we were hurrying,” Country Day coach Frank Orlando said. “We shot 17 percent from the field in the first half, and that wasn’t us all year. I kept telling the girls that in these kind of games you have to be better, have to be much better, and you have to understand you can’t take away what you’ve done all year.
“We’ve come back against the best teams in the state. … (We) played hard. (We) almost came back. It was that breaking line we just couldn’t get across.”
Staying with the unexpected, South Christian maintained its lead without making a 3-pointer. The Sailors averaged nearly six per game entering the week, but missed all 10 of their attempts Friday.
But in addition to DeBoer’s 18 points, Vander had 14 on nearly 50 percent shooting from the floor, and DeYoung had six but 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Mariel Bruxvoort came off the bench to score 10 points while making half her shots and all four of her free-throw attempts.
Pitts – one of the state’s top juniors – had 14 points, only two below her average but while putting up with tight defense by Vander and getting only four shots off from 3-point range (and making one). Sophomore forward Maxine Moore had 13 points and guard Kaela Webb added 11 points and six rebounds for the Yellowjackets (24-2).
“I never second-guessed our team’s ability. I knew that coming into it, if we played our game, we could do it,” DeBoer said. “We could shut them down defensively, and if we worked the ball on offense we could get open looks because that’s what we’ve been doing against good defensive teams all season.
So I never really second-guessed them during the game and thought they’re not as good. I just knew we had to keep pushing and we had to stay in control, because we definitely had control most of the game.”
The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids South Christian players celebrate Friday’s Class B Semifinal win. (Middle) Country Day’s Kaela Webb drives to the hoop.
Pittsford Caps Finals Return as Champ
March 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Laura Smith's emotions whirled like a tornado Saturday afternoon.
After her team came so close a year ago to winning its first MHSAA championship, the Pittsford senior was ecstatic.
But realizing immediately that her four-year varsity career was done after an incredible 91-8 run, she was sad as well.
What a way to finish. The Wildcats, who ended their first MHSAA Finals trip with an overtime loss a year ago, all but wrapped up their first championship during the third quarter of a 48-30 Class D victory over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart at the Breslin Center.
“Just coming here last year, I was so nervous. Then we lost, and it was devastating,” Smith said. “This year, when we won, I didn’t know how to feel. I was so happy, and then I started crying because it was my last game. I don’t want to leave these girls; they’re my best friends, and we play so well together on the court. But I’ll come back next year and watch them win again.”
Pittsford closed this winter 27-0, to go with finishes of 16-6, 22-1 and 26-1, respectively, over the last three seasons.
And “tornado” was the operative word of the day, the result of the Wildcats’ most meaningful lesson learned during last season’s championship game loss to St. Ignace.
Pittsford led that game 34-21 at halftime and by eight with a quarter to play before the Saints came back to tie it by the end of regulation and win 64-60 with the extra period.
Hence “tornado,” Pittsford’s appropriately named halfcourt pressure defense that led to many of Sacred Heart’s 29 turnovers – off which the Wildcats scored 37 of their 48 points.
“We kept our intensity up the entire game, pressuring the entire game,” Pittsford junior guard Jaycie Burger said. “Last year … we came out and our defense just fell apart. The whole game (today), at halftime, we told each other we have to play defense, we’re still playing defense, and that’s what helped us out.
“We really wanted to win this game a lot, and every time we scored a basket, got a turnover, we were just that much closer to winning the game.”
That began to become apparent during Pittsford’s 9-0 run to end the first half that included six Sacred Heart turnovers and put the Wildcats up 22-13.
The run continued with the first seven points of the third quarter, coming off three more turnovers.
“Their pressure really caused us to move a little faster than we wanted to,” Sacred Heart coach Damon Brown said. “They made it difficult for us to get into our offense, and when you can’t get into your offense it’s difficult to be effective. I thought we did a good job in the first half of managing that, but then they had that run right there at halftime. I think that got us on our heels, and we were scrambling a bit to try to adjust from there.”
The Irish (24-2) had been held to 30 or fewer points three more times this season, but had won all three of those games.
“We can still work on it,” Pittsford coach Chris Hodos joked. “No, our defense is outstanding. You saw it in our Semifinal game. Our Quarterfinal game, I think we had 24 steals. I asked them to work harder (earlier this winter). We went to some different drills halfway through the season. They did what I asked them – a pretty easy team to coach.”
Like Waterford Our Lady on Thursday, Sacred Heart also couldn’t contain Pittsford junior forward Maddie Clark. She made 10 of 15 shots for 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with her 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Semifinal.
She and senior Madison Ayers also combined to stifle Irish senior center Averi Gamble, who got off only five shots and finished with eight points – half her average. Freshman guard Scout Nelson was the team’s leading scorer with nine.
Gamble and senior guard Megan English also started on the team that won the Class D championship in 2014. This season they were joined in the starting lineup by three underclassmen and mentored a team that should return the other five players who saw the floor Saturday.
“It doesn’t always have to be about winning. Just being with these girls is a blessing in itself,” Gamble said.
“The way these girls competed all 32 minutes, that was just amazing,” English added. “I wouldn’t want to play with any other team and finish with any other team.”
Ayers, who like Smith played on the varsity as a freshman and sophomore, took off last season but returned this winter after being persuaded by her past and now current teammates and also by how much desire they showed during last season’s run. Ayers finished with eight points and Burger had 11, three assists and four steals.
All but Smith and Ayers should be back next season, when the Wildcats will attempt to add to the current juniors’ career record of 75-2.
“From (when we were) little, we’ve always wanted to win,” Clark said. “Seventy-five and two, that’s pretty amazing. We want to keep it going; (we've) got one more year.
“When we were little we played junior pro together, and our junior pro record growing up was like 100-10, so we don’t really know how to lose,” Burger added. “I mean, we don’t like to lose. … It’s been a great, great opportunity that we’ve had. To go through three years with only two losses is a really special thing, and I’m just thankful we get to do it together.”
The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford players including Laura Smith (14) and Madison Ayers (15) celebrate their first MHSAA girls basketball championship. (Middle) Sacred Heart’s Sophie Ruggles works to get to the basket as Pittsford’s Maddie Clark defends.