MHSAA Library--Girls Basketball Flashbacks

Detroit Dominican grabbed its second consecutive Class A title with a thrilling 59-58 win over Farmington Our Lady of Mercy. Dominican came from five points down in the final two minutes to take a 57-56 lead with 39 seconds left. Freshman Betsie Essian netted a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory. The two schools had met on three occasions during the regular season, with Mercy holding a 2-1 edge.

Hamtramck St. Ladislaus extended its winning streak to 42 straight and earned its second consecutive MHSAA title with a 59-45 win over Ontonagon in Class C. Linda Balabuch led the winners with 28 points.

Flint Holy Rosary downed defending champion Ewen-Trout Creek for Class D honors, 62-35. Dominated by sophomores and juniors, the Wolverines hit 56 percent of their shots from the floor. Patricia Bentoski led the winners with 19 points, while junior Sally Lipp added 14, including 10 in the first half.

1979 The McGee twins of Flint Northern closed out their stellar high school cage careers with a victory as the Vikings downed Harper Woods Regina, 62-34, in the Class A Final at East Lansing's Jenison Field House. Paula scored 25 points, and had 24 rebounds, while Pam added 15 points and nine boards. The win marked the 38th consecutive victory for Northern coach Dorothy Kukulka and the second of four consecutive Class A titles for the Vikings.

Junior center Kathy Grzegor-ski scored 24 points to lead Grand Rapids West Catholic over Franken-muth, 53-38, in the Class B Final. Barb Ritter led the runners-up with 13 points. The loss was only the third of the year for Frankenmuth &SHY; all to MHSAA champions. During the regular season, the Eagles dropped a pair to conference rivals Saginaw Carrollton, the Class C titlist.

Carrollton exploded for 15 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 50-31 win over Royal Oak Shrine in Class C. Lori Gnatkowski dropped in six points during the run, and finished with 13. Sharon Sawyer led the winners with 15. Rachelle Bostic paced Shrine with 14 points.

Norway overcame a 14-point deficit to pull out a thrilling 62-61 win over Maple City Glen Lake for the Class D title. Trailing 22-16 after one quarter of play, and 58-46 at the end of three periods of play, Norway rallied for 10 straight in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Diana Milligan led the victors with 22 points. It was the second MHSAA title in less than a month for the little school from the Upper Peninsula, as Norway's football team grabbed the Class D gridiron crown at the Silverdome in November.

1984 Flint Northwestern grabbed its second consecutive Class A title with a 48-38 victory over Benton Harbor at Western Michigan University's Read Field House in Kalamazoo. Wildcat junior Tonya Edwards notched a game-high 17 points despite early foul trouble. Tiger guard Lisa Harvey, who entered the game averaging 23 points, was held to just three. Veronica Holton led the Benton Harbor attack with 14 points.

Inspired by the outstanding play of Franthea Price, River Rouge rallied from 10 points down to defeat Livonia Ladywood, 47-46, for the Class B championship. Price led Rouge with 19 points, including nine in the final frame. With 19 seconds remaining, the junior stole the ball and drilled a 13-foot jump shot from the baseline to give the Panthers the lead. Char Govan led Ladywood with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

In Class C, Pewamo-Westphalia's strong inside attack and superior size could not stop the team speed and outside shooting of the Newaygo Lions, none of whom was taller than 5-7. Dawn Bulk and Kari Thomas led the Lions with 20 and 15 points, respectively, as Newaygo upset the favored Pirates, 57-52. Lynda Rademacher led P-W with 22 points.

McBain held off a late rally by Ottawa Lake-Whiteford, to claim the Class D title, 48-43. Ottawa Lake cut the lead to one with 1:20 left in the game, as senior Sandy Long sank two of her game-high 15 points. Jane Keen led McBain with 12 points.

1989 The Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills junior duo of Rausheda Hickman and Evelyn Baskin led the Indians to a 61-32 win over West Bloomfield in the Class A Final at Grand Valley. Hickman scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked two shots, while Baskin had 13 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Dearborn Divine Child grabbed its second MHSAA crown in four years with a 44-36 win over the St. Joseph Bears in Class B. Trailing by 14 points late in the first quarter, Dearborn Divine Child cut the margin to four, 24-20 at the half. Three consecutive three-pointers by senior Shawn Bannon converted a 28-26 deficit to a 35-30 lead. Bannon ended her prep career with 18 points including four three-pointers. Tracey Bloodworth paced the Bears with 14 points.

Peggy Evans shattered the MHSAA Final Round (quarterfinal, semifinal or final) game record for scoring with a 47-point performance as Detroit Country Day grabbed the Class C crown with a 71-59 win over Saginaw Valley Lutheran. Evans also dominated the boards for the Yellowjackets, grabbing 17 of the team's 44 rebounds.

A 33-point performance by Potterville's Gina Harrington was not enough as Carney-Nadeau topped the Vikings, 73-59, for the Class D title. Trailing by as many as 27 points in the second quarter, Harrington's basket with 3:08 remaining pulled Potterville within seven, 64-57. Seconds later, however, Nadeau's Connie Berger hit her fourth three-pointer, then followed with a pass to Michelle Charlier for an easy basket, and a 69-57 lead. Berger finished with 22 to lead the Wolves.

1994 Flint Northern returned to the basketball spotlight with an impressive 46-32 defeat of 1993 runner-up Detroit Martin Luther King at Kellogg Arena in Class A. Led by 6-foot-4 freshman Tawanda McDonald, who finished with five points, seven assists, 13 rebounds and a Finals record 10 blocked shots (including seven in the first half), the Vikings sported an all-underclassmen lineup. LaShawn Grays and Ladel Lewis each finished with 12 points to lead the victors. Courtney Anthony led King with five points. With the win, Leteia Hughley became the second woman to win an MHSAA basketball title as a player, then return to coach her alma mater to a title. Northern won four consecutive championships, 1978-81, and Hughley played for three of those teams. In 1993, Tonya Edwards, coach of crosstown rival Flint Northwestern, became the first.

In Class B, defending champ Dearborn Divine Child exacted revenge for an early season loss to Flint Powers Catholic by downing the Chargers, 57-54. Tara Overaitis led the Falcons with 33 points and 14 caroms. Powers erased Divine Child's eight-point, third-quarter lead and tied the game at 53 with 3:07 to play, but free throws by Anne Yoches and Carrie Carpenter sealed the win for the Falcons. Katie Cushman and Elizabeth Hallman each scored 18 for Powers.

Redford Bishop Borgess won its second consecutive Class C crown, 58-39, over Grandville Calvin Christian. Borgess won despite a sub-par shooting performance from star Maxann Reese, as Aiysha Smith (17 points) and Adriane Bryant (14) picked up the slack.

Portland St Patrick rallied from 10 points down to defeat Upper Peninsula entry Painesdale-Jeffers, 43-30, in the Class D contest. Led by 6-0 senior Kelli Fedewa, the Shamrocks broke Jeffers tenacious full-court press and took advantage of their height to dominate the glass. Christie Smith and Sara Meyers finished with 11 and eight rebounds, respectively, while Fedewa ended the day with 26 points and nine boards. Amy Aittama led the Jets with nine points and teammate Janie Wesa pitched in with seven points.