Young Yellowjackets Advance in Class B
March 20, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Frank Orlando considered the question for a few seconds Friday and mentioned his 2003 Detroit Country Day team – and the three players next to him, who were toddlers then, all started to giggle.
“They say I’m old as dirt,” Orlando said, and then referred to sophomore Destiny Pitts. “And she’s right, too.”
The question: Is this the youngest team Orlando has coached in 34 seasons? With five freshmen, three sophomores and only two seniors, the answer is yes, younger than the junior-dominated squad that won Class B in 2003.
But on Saturday, it also can join his best.
A near-perfect shooting performance in the first half of Friday’s Class B Semifinal helped Country Day break away and earn a championship opportunity with a 69-39 win over No. 2 Goodrich, the highest-ranked team left in the field.
“We came here as a team together, for one mission only, to win today,” Country Day freshman Kaela Webb said. “Besides the bright lights and the stage that we were playing on, we had to stick together. And we were stressing that in the locker room when we first got here too.”
Country Day (21-4) will play in its 15th MHSAA Final, seeking its 11th title but first since 2009, when it faces Haslett in the day’s last game at 6 p.m.
The Yellowjackets played like a veteran team against Goodrich (25-2), the back-to-back champion in 2012 and 2013.
Yes, Orlando said this is his youngest team. But he said it's also one of the best defensively that he’s coached.
The Yellowjackets were giving up 34 points per game heading into Friday. They allowed junior guard Alexis Sevillian 18 points and senior guard and Miss Basketball Award winner Tania Davis 12. But they held the Martians to 30 percent shooting total and outrebounded them 40-25.
“The maturity I’ve seen in this team is one of the best improvements I’ve seen in my tenure at Country Day,” Orlando said. “They’ve come from 14-year-olds who haven’t played to playing at a level of expertise. I’m so proud of them and their maturity that’s now taken place. I guess you would say it’s a nice time for it.”
Orlando went on to explain that even when teams aren’t scoring, they can compete with good defense. But the Yellowjackets didn’t face that scenario Friday.
They made 50 percent of their shots during the first half, including all six 3-point tries, and finished shooting 44 percent for the game and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Country Day used a 13-3 run to start the second quarter and build a 15-point lead, and an 11-4 run over the final three minutes of the third quarter to regain a comfortable advantage after Goodrich had pulled within six points at 35-29.
“We joked at halftime that if they don’t miss any tonight, there’s nothing we can do. … For me, it was comforting knowing they could not play this well again in the second half,” Goodrich coach Jason Gray said. “(But) we got tired. They’ve got a lot of athletes, and we just couldn’t put together that run we needed in the second half. “
Pitts finished with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Senior Jordan Wright added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Webb had 10 points, three assists and three steals.
Davis finished as a four-year starter for Goodrich and was the team’s leading scorer in its 2013 Class B Final win. She’ll continue her career next season at the University of Iowa.
“Coming into freshman year, I never thought I’d be here at Breslin three times, never thought I’d win Class B Player of the Year (from The Associated Press) two years in a row, never though I’d be Miss Basketball,” Davis said. “It’s been unbelievable. It’s been unthinkable. It’s been my dream, coming up, pretty much.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jordan Wright (11) and Arika Tolbert (10) block the shot of Goodrich’s Alexis Sevillian during Friday’s Semifinal. (Middle) Country Day’s Destiny Pitts works to drive around Goodrich’s Ciya Hawkins.
Performance: Pittsford's Record Winners
March 23, 2017
Jaycie Burger & Maddie Clark
Pittsford seniors – Basketball
Burger and Clark capped an incredible run Saturday leading Pittsford to a 71-31 win over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary that capped a second straight perfect season, second straight Class D championship run, and gave them an MHSAA record 103 career wins in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week."
The Performance of the Week has recognized one athlete every week since it’s start during the 2015-16 school year, but splitting up Burger and Clark is impossible. They’ve led the Wildcats to a 103-2 record, and in addition to the two titles also a championship game appearance (and runner-up finish in Class D) in 2015 after they lost only one game as freshmen in a Class C District Final. Both scored 1,000 points during their careers, and Clark also grabbed 1,000 rebounds. This season, Burger, the point guard, averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 assists per game, with 73 3-pointers. Clark, the forward, averaged 16.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. Clark was named Class D "Player of the Year" by The Associated Press, and Burger also made the all-state first team. Both are 5-foot-9, and both will continue at Hillsdale College – Burger playing basketball but Clark playing volleyball.
They’ve been best friends and teammates since elementary school, and their successes extend past the basketball court. Clark made the Class D all-state first team in volleyball and Burger earned an honorable mention, and Clark won the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals discus championship as a sophomore and finished runner-up last season while Burger ran track her first two years of high school and made the Finals as part of relays to end both. Burger carries a 4.0 grade-point average and will be one of four valedictorians this spring, while Clark ranks fifth in her class at 3.98. Burger will major in biology with aspirations of becoming a physician assistant, and Clark will major in business at Hillsdale.
Coach Chris Hodos said: “I’d like to have them for four more years. They’ve done a great job for me, obviously. As freshmen, they were Class C, we lost to a really good team, or else we could’ve gone a little ways there. They’re just great kids. I remember watching them when they were in second grade; they were making left-handed layups in second grade, and you don’t see that, so you knew it was going to be a special group. They want to do everything the right way. … It’s really nice that they’re going (to Hillsdale) because it’s 10 miles from my house, so I can go watch them play at home games. I’m glad they’re both going to a great college, getting a great education, because they’re so smart.”
Performance Point: “I was just so happy to come off the court one last time, and to come off the court and know that we couldn't have done anything more,” Burger said. “There wasn't another game to be played. We came off, we were undefeated, we won the state championship, and there was nothing more we could've done. To know that we left it all on the court and gave every oomph we've got, it’s a great feeling.”
Perfect ending: “It’s been phenomenal. It’s surreal,” Clark said. “Could you ask for anything more? It was perfect. These last two seasons, we have been perfect. And that's doesn't happy very often, and I'm really thankful for my team and everyone; they make me a better player, and I'm going to miss them a lot.”
One more time: “Maddie’s my best friend in the whole world,” Burger said. “I’m just glad that our last game together, we could both just come out and perform as best as we could. It's really special that we could do that together in our last time ever playing any sport together.”
Record setters: “I didn't know that we could even be in (the record book) until the tournament started and I was like, 'Whoa, this could be real. We could get that.' It's awesome for us. Our goal wasn't records, but we just want to win.” Added Burger: “We played together for a long time. In junior pro, we won a lot too. We played AAU together all through middle school. We played together ever since the second grade. Accomplishing this record was never something we had in our radar. We never thought, 'Oh, I want to go undefeated all my high school career,' but we did want to win. We're competitors, and that was very important to us. We just practiced hard, and as it became closer, it became a goal. But all in all, we just wanted to win.”
To become champions: “I would say practice. Get in the gym, definitely, do your skills,” Burger said. “Every day we have a 20-minute skill period in practice … so I just think if you’re a little kid, you need to work on your ball handling, layups and try to get your shot so it’s one-handed.” Clark: “And you need to work hard, and believe in yourself.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford's Maddie Clark works for an opening near the basket during Saturday's Class D Final against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary. (Middle) Teammate Jaycie Burger makes a move toward the basket.