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: 2/24/16

February 24, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A pair of Michigan’s top scorers earned milestone points Tuesday, while another girls basketball team earned a milestone win for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Girls Basketball

Muskegon Mona Shores junior Jordan Walker, a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, became the fastest player in school history to score 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone with 29 in a 79-54 win over Zeeland East – Muskegon Chronicle

Berkley clinched a share of its first league title since 1988 with a 44-32 win over Birmingham Groves in the Oakland Activities Association Gold – Oakland Press

Boys Basketball

Steven Lloyd became the first player in Clinton Township Chippewa Hills history to score 1,000 career points, adding 17 to his total in a 50-29 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North – MLive-Detroit

Lansing Catholic made two free throws with two seconds to play to win a crossover matchup of league co-leaders in the Capital Area Activities Conference, 69-67 over DeWitt – MLive-Lansing

McBain remained undefeated by handing only the second loss this season to Frankfort, 61-54 in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Holland West Ottawa, which won its first 15 games, lost its second straight, 55-53 to Hudsonville – Grand Rapids Press

Saugatuck’s Blake Dunn scored a school-record 51 points in a 79-52 win over Lawton; girls star Kiri Tiemeyer had a career-high 34 in her team’s 56-31 win over the Blue Devils – Holland Sentinel

Houghton edged Lake Linden-Hubbell 50-48 in a matchup of the two best teams in the northern Upper Peninsula, handing the Lakes their first loss – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Gymnastics

From Saturday, Grand Ledge won its ninth straight Capital Area Activities Conference championship despite trailing Haslett/Williamston/Bath heading into the final rotation – Lansing State Journal

Ice Hockey

Division 1 No. 2 Brighton outlasted No. 8 Utica Eisenhower 6-4 – Livingston Daily