Today in the MHSAA: 12/11/15

December 11, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A number of nail-biting girls basketball finishes topped Thursday’s statewide sports action, and we ran across some gymnastics, bowling and swimming and diving coverage as well.  

Girls Basketball

Cassopolis came back for a 37-29 win over New Buffalo with a big fourth quarter while playing with their thoughts on coach Nat Pittman, who reportedly suffered a heart attack Wednesday – Niles Daily Star

Shannon Bates nailed a 3-pointer with five seconds to play as Bay City All Saints edged Standish-Sterling 34-31 – Bay City Times

Sydney Stine’s free throw with 9.2 seconds to play gave Montague a 38-37 win over Hart – Muskegon Chronicle

Birch Run broke away from Millington 56-50 on 30 points and 13 rebounds by Savanah Gibson, who has averaged 25 points and 17 rebounds over her last two games – Saginaw News

Traverse City Central beat Traverse City West for the first time in nearly two calendar years, coming back from an early deficit with an 18-0 run en route to a 49-38 victory – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Niles Brandywine made 12 3-pointers to down rival Buchanan 67-47 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Boys Basketball

Dexter scored only one point during the first quarter and trailed South Lyon by 14, but came back for a 56-52 win – Ann Arbor News

Bellevue scored with 21 seconds left in regulation to send its game with North Adams-Jerome to overtime, then emerged as the winner after three extra periods – Hillsdale Daily News

Bowling

Statewide power Battle Creek Pennfield won all-city titles with boys and girls victories over the teams from Battle Creek Lakeview – Battle Creek Enquirer

Gymnastics

In the first gymnastics headline we’ve seen this season (many teams begin competition in January), Tecumseh earned a victory over Adrian with the top two all-around finishers – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Swimming & Diving

Spring Lake defeated neighbor Grand Haven for only the second time ever, 96-90, and also beat Muskegon Mona Shores 149-34 – Grand Haven Tribune

Today in the MHSAA: 11/13/15

November 13, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The volleyball field was whittled to 32 teams Thursday; here’s a look at two matches from each class that jumped out from the webpage, plus a couple interesting reads to check out this morning.

Volleyball

Class A No. 2 Mattawan needed all five sets and extra points in two of them to down No. 10 DeWitt for a Regional title – Kalamazoo Gazette

Reigning Class A champion and current No. 6 Romeo needed five sets to get past honorable mention Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily

Class B No. 7 Goodrich won its first Regional title with a sweep of honorable mention Marysville – Flint Journal

Annual contender Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the final week; the No. 3 Vikings swept No. 9 Grand Rapids South Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Class C No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian upset No. 3 Montague 3-1 for its first Regional title since 1999 – Grand Rapids Press

Class C top-ranked Bronson continued its impressive run with a four-set win over No. 9 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal

Class D No. 8 Mendon will return to the Quarterfinals after a sweep of honorable mention Climax-Scotts that included two two-point set wins – Sturgis Journal

Leland, No. 3 in Class D, won its fifth straight Regional title, this time with a sweep of Fife Lake Forest Area – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Good Reads

East Grand Rapids yearly has one of Michigan’s top girls swimming and diving programs – and this fall, it’s driven in part by seven sets of sisters – Grand Rapids Press

Football has served a few purposes for Dansville running back Ethan Korb, a 2,000-yard rusher this fall and the son of a cancer survivor – Lansing State Journal