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: 9/28/17

September 28, 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. Boys Soccer: Lincoln Alcona goalkeeper Conner McCoy broke the national record for career saves and did it with a shutout of Oscoda, 2-0 (check back Friday for a feature on Second Half) – Alpena News

2. Girls Tennis: The first MHSAA championships of 2017-18 were awarded Wednesday as Negaunee won its fourth straight Division 1 title and Ishpeming Westwood won its eighth in nine seasons in Division 2 – Second Half Division 1 | Division 2

3. Cross Country: Incredibly, three runners from the Battle Creek area are back on course this season after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition last year and undergoing surgery – Battle Creek Enquirer

4. Girls Golf: Three years after starting the program, Shepherd is celebrating its second straight league championship in the sport – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

5. Cross Country: The top-ranked Ann Arbor Pioneer boys and No. 10 girls edged Saline’s No. 2-ranked boys and No. 5 girls teams in the second Southeastern Conference jamboree and also matchup of contenders in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Cross Country: The Spring Lake boys, No. 9 in LPD2, and No. 10 Allendale girls won their Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue jamboree, Allendale over Spring Lake’s No. 9-ranked girls team – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 19 Buckley avenged an earlier loss to No. 3 Leland with a 3-0 shutout in the rematch – Cadillac News

8. Girls Golf: LPD2 No. 10 Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won its second straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city championship – Local Sports Journal

9. Boys Tennis: LPD4 No. 8 Ludington downed Whitehall 5-3 to clinch a share of the Coastal Conference championship – Ludington Daily News

10. Girls Golf: LPD1 No. 2 Brighton finished its home regular-season schedule with a 23-stroke win over Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus