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: 3/1/16
March 1, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Four more MHSAA championships were awarded Monday, while the Girls Basketball District Tournament tipped off with a new scoring record.
Girls Basketball
Benton Harbor’s Kysre Gondrezick scored an MHSAA-record 72 points to lead her team past Buchanan 80-78 in double overtime of a Class B District opener – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian opened District play with a 44-38 win over Bloomfield Hills, the 600th win of coach Mary Cicerone’s career – Detroit News
Maple City Glen Lake moved to 19-2 with a Class C win over Johannesburg-Lewiston, which finished 18-2 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Spring Lake edged Fruitport 47-42, ending the latter’s season after it won its first league title – Muskegon Chronicle
Warren Mott earned its first District win since 2001, downing Troy Athens in Class A 50-49 – Macomb Daily
East Lansing eliminated reigning Class B runner-up Haslett – now in Class A – in a District opener, 60-42 – Lansing State Journal
Reigning Class C champion Calumet opened with a 41-34 win over Hancock, one of the most successful teams on the Copper Kings’ immediate path toward returning to East Lansing – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Ice Hockey
Division 1 No. 15 Rochester downed Lake Orion 5-2 in a Division 1 Pre-Regional after being eliminated by the Dragons the last two seasons – Oakland Press
Division 3 No. 1 Saginaw Heritage downed No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic 3-2 in a Pre-Regional rematch – Saginaw News
Skiing
The Marquette girls won their first championship in six seasons, finishing first in Division 1 – Second Half
The Marquette boys scored a mere 22 points to hold on to the Division 1 title – Second Half
The Petoskey boys won their sixth straight MHSAA championship, dominating Division 2 – Second Half
The Elk Rapids/Traverse St. Francis girls won by the slimmest of margins to claim a Division 2 title – Second Half
Boys Swimming & Diving
In a meet that finished up Monday, Midland Dow won its 14th straight Saginaw Valley League title – Midland Daily News