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: 10/24/17
October 24, 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. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 5 Farmington Hills Mercy returned to the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship match after finishing runner-up a year ago, and this time left victorious with a four-set win over No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian – Oakland Press
2. Volleyball: Class C honorable mention Wixom St. Catherine improved to 32-2-2 with a Detroit Catholic League C-D championship win over Allen Park Cabrini – Southgate News Herald
3. Officials: With their father Tony Joostberns, Stefanie (Joostberns) Jones and sister Amy Joostberns help make up a notable and inspiring football officiating crew in the Lansing area. They are two of 14 women registered to officiate that sport (out of more than 2,300 football officials total) this season – Lansing State Journal
4. Football: Flat Rock is in the playoffs for the first time since 1990 and without one of its best in Sameer Tayeb, a two-way starter on the field now contributing instead from the sidelines – Monroe Evening News
5. Volleyball: Class B No. 7 Kingsley went undefeated at a strong Traverse City Central ABCD quad with wins over the Trojans, Class C honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis and Class D No. 2 Leland – Traverse City Record-Eagle
6. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 14 Grand Haven and Division 4 No. 3 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian made it through tough Districts to earn Regional opportunities this week – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Volleyball: Class D No. 5 Onaway split against larger opponents Monday, falling to Sault Ste. Marie but winning close over Cheboygan – Alpena News
8. Volleyball: Berrien Springs improved to .500 on the season with first and second-set comebacks against St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
9. Volleyball: L’Anse came back from losing the first set to win the next three and down Baraga – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
10. Volleyball: Alpena ran off wins over the final two sets to win in four over Ogemaw Heights – Alpena News
Also of note …
Cross Country: From Saturday, Marshall’s boys and Parma Western’s girls won Interstate 8 Athletic Conference championships; Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly won his second straight individual title – Coldwater Daily Reporter