Zion Christian Earns 1st District Title, Celebrates Much More During History-Making Run
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
BYRON CENTER – An elusive District title was always the main goal for the Zion Christian girls basketball team.
The Mountaineers accomplished that first-time feat this season, and didn’t stop there.
They made even more school history by following with a Regional title and advancing to Tuesday’s Division 4 Quarterfinals for the first time before closing their season at 20-7.
“We had it as a goal to win Districts the last several years, so it was hard to look at the beginning of the season beyond all that,” Zion Christian coach Derek Foltice said. “But I think we knew with this group of girls and the potential we had that we could have a pretty special season if they committed to playing defense and all those little things they progressively have done.”
This postseason provided plenty of firsts for Zion Christian, a tiny school located in Byron Center which plays in the Alliance League.
The Mountaineers knocked off Wyoming Tri-unity Christian to claim the District crown, and then routed St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 63-40, for their first Regional win.
“This has been insane,” Zion Christian senior Sam Deutschmann said last week. “If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that I would be in this moment right now with my team, I wouldn't believe it.
“This has been such a roller coaster year and all of our hard work is just paying off right now.”
In the Regional Final against Climax-Scotts – which finished 19-6 – the Mountaineers’ magical run continued when junior Jayda Steenbergen dropped in a game-tying 3-pointer during the final seconds to send the game to overtime. She then drained another 3-pointer to propel her team to a 38-37 victory.
“Nothing was planned on that play and Audra (Kaptein) made a great pass, and I was wide open,” Steenbergen said. “The thrill of that was great.”
Added Foltice: “We didn’t have any timeouts, and the girls just made a play. Jada made a huge shot, and then in overtime we had to get some big stops on defense. It was hanging on for dear life after that.”
Foltice enjoyed watching the girls celebrate with family and friends after another historic win.
“This is new for us, and the girls are just going out and not overthinking and enjoying the moment,” Foltice said. “It was fun to see the reaction from the girls and the rest of the students.”
After dealing with a bout of sickness in February, the Mountaineers regrouped and entered the MHSAA Tournament on a six-game winning streak.
They opened with Muskegon Catholic Central, which had defeated them earlier in the season, and avenged that loss to move on.
“You just have to take it one game at a time,” Foltice said. “It was such an accomplishment to win our District playing two good teams, and it’s been fun to continue to play.”
Steenbergen said the team was hopeful to finally make it out of Districts this season.
“We’ve always been in a District that we didn’t have a chance (of winning) so it was fun to get into a District that we knew we could win,” she said. “And then we won Regionals, and it provided us with so much confidence and brought our team closer.
“We are so blessed to be in the spot we’re in, and the wins have been so crazy and so close. It’s just been so much fun, and it’s brought our school and community together.”
Despite a 54-26 loss to Concord in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, the postseason journey allowed Foltice and his team extended time together.
“One of the most exciting things is just the fact that we get to keep on playing and keep on building on what we’ve been working toward,” Foltice said. “It’s been fun to see them click more and more as the season has gone on. I’m thankful that I get to coach them, and it’s a special group of unselfish and hard-working girls. To be able to spend a couple more weeks with them has been icing on the cake for the season.”
While the end was disappointing, the Mountaineers reflected on the success of the program’s first 20-win season.
“It’s been amazing and just a blessing to get as far as we did,” Deutschmann said. “I love these girls, and I love this team. I couldn’t think of a better year.”
Audra Kaptein, a junior guard and the team’s leading scorer, joined Steenbergen and Deutschmann on the all-conference first team. Sophomore Kenley Doezema was the team’s leading rebounder and an all-conference honorable mention pick, while junior Sadie Knott had a solid postseason.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Zion Christian celebrates winning its first District title earlier this month. (Middle) Jayda Steenbergen directs her team’s offense. (Below) The Mountaineers take a team photo after claiming the program’s first Regional title. (Photos courtesy of the Zion Christian girls basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 17, 2025
The final basketball bracket reveal of the MHSAA winter season is coming up Sunday, when Girls Basketball District pairings will be announced. For the first time, all teams in every District will be seeded based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR).
MPR is calculated using wins and losses for games played between teams entered into the MHSAA Tournament. Scores of games, margin of victory and location of games are not included in the MPR formula. The final MPR number is 25 percent of the team's winning percentage, plus 50 percent of its opponent's winning percentage, plus 25 percent of its opponent's opponent's winning percentage – the total rewarding both success and strength of schedule.
A number of league championship deciders will take place this week, as will a handful of nonleague matchups of potential MHSAA Finals contenders as they tune up for March.
“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. Belleville 62, Wayne Memorial 38 Two weeks after suffering its only loss this season, to Wayne (14-6), Belleville (18-1) stormed back to set up a possible shared title in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East with one league game to play for both.
2. Haslett 80, Detroit Country Day 52 The Vikings (15-2) avenged a 20-point loss from last season to the Yellowjackets (14-5) as both look forward to MHSAA Tournament aspirations in March.
3. Yale 36, Sandusky 19 Both of these teams are closing in on league titles, and maybe more as Yale (18-1) handed Sandusky (16-1) its only loss and they will go separate ways for the postseason.
4. East Jordan 54, Gaylord St. Mary 42 The Red Devils (15-4) shuffled the Ski Valley Conference standings a bit with St. Mary (15-2) and Indian River Inland Lakes now both with just one league loss and East Jordan with two and three league games to play.
5. Midland 62, Flint Powers Catholic 46 The Chemics (16-1) remain one game ahead of Saginaw Heritage in the Saginaw Valley League after Heritage also defeated Powers (12-5) on Friday.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Clarkston (13-6) The Wolves are one win away from clinching the Oakland Activities Association Red title, one spot ahead of reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield in the standings thanks in part to a 48-41 win over the Lakers on Jan. 31. Clarkston has won nine of its last 10 games, its only defeat during that time to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (14-3), and with a win over OAA Blue leader Auburn Hills Avondale (15-3) during the run. The Wolves will be ready for high-level competition next month with losses as well this season to Flint Powers (12-5), Hartland (15-4), Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (18-1), Country Day (14-5) and Detroit Edison (12-3).
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (14-3) The Eaglets claimed their second-straight league championship, sharing the title in the Catholic High School League Central West division after winning the AA a year ago. They split with co-champion Farmington Hills Mercy (13-4), winning the first meeting and losing the second, and their other defeats were similarly strong against FGR and Country Day. Wins over Livonia Stevenson (15-5) and Clarkston (see above) also pop off the page, and OLSM can carry some significant momentum into the postseason with a good result Feb. 27 at Frankenmuth (16-3).
DIVISION 2
Haslett (15-2) The Vikings opened this season with a loss to Division 1 contender Rockford (19-1), but have fallen only one more time since, to Division 1 DeWitt (17-1). Add those to last week’s win over Country Day and a perfect run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Red so far, and the Vikings have steadily raised their profile again after finishing second in the league but then winning a District title a year ago. The most impressive CAAC Red win was 67-56 over second-place St. Johns (15-3), with the rematch coming up Friday. Haslett also closes the regular season with possible Regional Semifinal opponent Parma Western (17-1), although to see Western a second time Haslett must first navigate a District that includes Wixom St. Catherine (15-3).
Vicksburg (16-2) Back-to-back losses to Paw Paw (14-3) and Niles Brandywine (17-0) as January turned to February have been just a momentary detour as Vicksburg has clinched at least a share of the Wolverine Conference title, the Bulldogs’ third straight. They reached the Division 1 Quarterfinals a year ago and have continued to impress again, winning the first meeting with Paw Paw and earning other notable victories over Stevensville Lakeshore (12-3) and Coldwater (12-6) among others. Vicksburg can clinch the league title outright against Edwardsburg on Friday and should be the favorite in its District that also includes Marshall (13-5) but three sub-.500 teams.
DIVISION 3
Bronson (15-2) A 51-32 win over Concord on Feb. 4 has Bronson in position to share the Big 8 Conference title with the Yellow Jackets (16-4), who won the first meting 49-46 on Jan. 3. That would be a jump from finishing third in the league and 16-7 overall a season ago, and the only other loss this time was to undefeated Brandywine. Games against Division 1 Sturgis (11-7) and Division 2 Buchanan (10-8) should provide some additional prep as Bronson prepares to host a District that will include Southwest 10 Conference leader Centreville (12-4) and Quincy (10-7), which Bronson has defeated twice.
Grass Lake (15-3) Grass Lake has clinched a share of the Cascades Conference East title, its seventh-straight league championship, and jumped from No. 15 to 12 to No. 6 in statewide Division 3 MPR over the last three weeks. The Warriors are on a 12-game winning streak that’s included pairs of victories over Michigan Center (15-2) and Leslie (13-5) and handing Division 1 Detroit Renaissance (18-1) its only loss. The run kicked off after a 3-3 start that included losses to Chelsea (14-2), Country Day and Jackson Lumen Christi (12-5) – and Grass Lake could see Lumen again in the District the Warriors will be hosting.
DIVISION 4
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (13-2) After finishing as a league runner-up the last two seasons, Everest has won its first championship since 2012-13 with a perfect run through the CHSL Intersectional 1. The only losses this season were to Division 2 Warren Regina and Wixom St. Catherine, and all of the Mountaineers’ wins have come by at least 15 points. Everest will face two of its toughest opponents to close the regular season, Division 3 Rochester Hills Northwest (13-4) and Division 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (12-5), both next week.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (13-0) A 40-37 win over St. Charles last week kept Sacred Heart undefeated and atop the Mid-State Activities Conference alone after finishing a regular-season sweep of the second-place Bulldogs. A league title would be Sacred Heart’s first since 2019-20 and follow last year’s run to the Quarterfinals. The Irish will fit six league games into the next two weeks, including matchups with third-place Fulton (11-6), fourth-place Merrill (10-6) and fifth-place Breckenridge (9-6). Sacred Heart also had a notable two-point opening win this season over Beaverton (12-5).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Rockford (19-1) at Frankenmuth (16-3) – These Divisions 1 and 2 powers, respectively, meet again with Rockford having taken last year’s matchup 67-44.
Thursday – Detroit Renaissance (18-1) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (18-1) – The annual Operation Friendship game between Detroit Public School League and Catholic High School League tournament champions also matches up contenders statewide in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively.
Thursday – Yale (18-1) at Armada (15-1) – At least a share of the Blue Water Area Conference title could be decided with Yale a game ahead in the standings after downing Armada 69-62 on Jan. 28.
Friday – Detroit Edison (12-3) at Belleville (18-1) – Two more potential favorites in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively, will meet again after Edison won last year’s matchup 57-46.
Friday – Utica Eisenhower (18-1) at Utica Ford (17-1) – Eisenhower has a one-game lead going into this Macomb Area Conference Red finale after handing Ford its lone defeat, 64-49 on Jan. 28.
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PHOTOS (Top) Oscoda’s Kingsley Backstrom (22) drives to the basket during her team’s 59-26 win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran on Feb. 11. (Middle) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Alonna Thelen (40) puts up a jumper during her team’s 59-53 victory over Fowler on Feb. 5. (Oscoda/Valley Lutheran photo by Kolleth Photo. P-W/Fowler photo by Team Arreguin Photos.)