Today in the MHSAA: 11/30/16

November 30, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Although a handful of teams kicked off girls basketball season Monday, the majority took the court for the first time Tuesday – and wasted little time delivering dramatic finishes and a look at some of what we can expect this winter.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Girls Basketball

Otsego, which won 20 games last season, opened with a nail-biting 33-31 victory over Portage Northern – Kalamazoo Gazette

Jordan Walker scored 33 points as Muskegon Mona Shores downed Grand Rapids Catholic Central 59-52 in a matchup of expected state contenders – Grand Rapids Press

Beecher came back in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but Flint Southwestern emerged with a 42-41 victory – Flint Journal

Reigning Class B runner-up Grand Rapids South Christian also started with a close win, 38-35 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press

In another low-scoring opener, Bay City Central just edged Traverse City West 32-31 – Bay City Times

Frankenmuth came back from an 11-point deficit to edge Bullock Creek 40-38 – Saginaw News

Lansing Catholic trailed Perry by six points at halftime but came on to win by 28, 56-28 – Lansing State Journal

Charlevoix freshman Elise Stuck had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead her team to a 43-39 win over Petoskey – Petoskey News Review

Belding’s Hallee Breimayer put up 32 points in her team’s 57-52 win over reigning Greater Lansing Activities Conference champion Lake Odessa Lakewood – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Edwardsburg, coming off a District title last season, survived a 37-32 opener against Niles – South Bend Tribune

Southfield Arts & Technology won its first game since the merger of Southfield and Southfield-Lathrup this fall, 64-43 over Birmingham Groves – Oakland Press

Ice Hockey

Hancock continued another strong start with a 5-0 defeat of rival Houghton – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Softball

Gladstone coach Ashley Hughes, who led the Braves to the Division 3 championship in her first season in 2014 and the Semifinals this spring, has resigned amid sad circumstances – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 12/18/17

December 18, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10 

1. Hockey: Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central came out on top in a matchup of arguably the best teams in Michigan, downing top-ranked Brighton 3-0 in the MIHL-KLAA Challenge – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 7 Houghton added a big win over a larger downstate opponent, 4-1 over Division 1 No. 7 Utica Eisenhower – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

3. Hockey: Division 2 No. 5 Birmingham Brother Rice continued its hot streak against Hartland, downing the No. 2-ranked Eagles 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Boys Basketball: Clutch 3-point shooting by a pair of sophomores helped Saginaw get past rival Arthur Hill 69-61 – Saginaw News

5. Cheer: Hudson rose to the top of a strong field of Division 4 teams at the Onsted Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 5 Westland John Glenn won the Wayne County Championships by 24.5 points ahead of runner-up Brownstown Woodhaven – Southgate News Herald

7. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 7 Oxford claimed a second straight Oakland County championship, ahead of runner-up Clarkston – Oakland Press

8. Wrestling: Niles made a major statement at the Henry Wilk Classic at Mishawaka Penn in Indiana, defeating the host for what was believed to be the first time in half a century – South Bend Tribune

9. Wrestling: Division 2 top-ranked Lowell nearly doubled up the field at the Kent County Championships, with Byron Center second – Grand Rapids Press

10. Wrestling: Essexville Garber won its second straight Bay County championship by downing Pinconning in the final match – Bay City Times

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Detroit Henry Ford Academy’s Trevion Williams put up an incredible stat line Friday, with 22 points, 36 rebounds, six assists and six steals in a win over Detroit University Prep Science & Math – Detroit Free Press

Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Midland Dow (No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2) won its Dan Pangborn Invitational ahead of No. 4 Grosse Pointe South and top-ranked Dexter in a meet using a format that emphasized depth – Midland Daily News