1977
Defeated in the MHSAA finals in each of the three previous years, Farmington Hills Our Lady of Mercy finally emerged victorious. The Marlins rallied from 12 points back to defeat Detroit Mumford, 63-52, in the Class A finale at MSU’s Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing. Mercy had defeated Mumford in the city championship contest earlier in the year. Trailing 27-15 with just over five minutes to play in the second quarter, the Marlins switched to the press, and cut the lead to three points, 34-31, at the half. All five of Mercy’s players contributed points in the third quarter as the team grabbed a 47-42 lead entering the final frame. Katie McNamara ended the day with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead all scorers. Mumford’s Debra Walker totaled 18 points, while teammate Michelle Grier added 17 points.
Sophomore Terri Soullier scored 26 points, including
six straight buckets in the second quarter to lead Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher
to a 50-31 victory over Okemos in Class B. Soullier finished with 12 rebounds
and five steals on the evening. Dree Look, the only other player in double
figures, led the Chiefs with 12 points.
Plagued early by fouls, Saginaw Carrollton bowed
to DeWitt, 51-36, in the Class C contest. DeWitt hit six free throws and
jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the first quarter of play as a pair of Cavalier
starters were forced to the bench with foul trouble. The Panthers never
looked back. Sophomore Kelly Robinson led the winners with 21 points and
15 rebounds, including nine-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line. Freshman
Laura Collison scored 11 for the Cavaliers.
Lynnette Royer scored 24 points, including eight-of-12
shooting from the field in the first half, to lead Rock-Mid Peninsula to
the Class D crown over previously unbeaten North Adams, 56-40. A 5-3 guard,
Royer had played at Perkins High School before a merger with Rock created
Mid Peninsula at the beginning of the school year. The senior finished her
varsity career with 1,469 points, ranking third on the MHSAA all-time scoring
list at the time. Kay Drake led North Adams with 19 points while Becky Hu
ll added 10.
1982
Farmington Hills Our Lady of Mercy ended Flint Northern’s four-year championship reign with a 61-58 win, capped by a stunning fourth-quarter rally at University of Detroit’s Calihan Hall. Trailing by 19 at the end of three, Mercy used a full-court trap ping press to get back in the game. It worked, as the Marlins cut the margin to four points with three minutes left. A Vickie Prince free throw put Northern ahead by five, 58-53, but the Vikings turned the ball over on their next four possessions. Amy DeMattia scored six of her 13 points on three buckets to put Mercy ahead for the first time in the contest, 59-58. Free throws by Annette Ruggiero and Mary Rosowski iced the game for the Marlins. Sarah Basford scored 20 to lead the victors. Evette Ot t topped Northern with 18 points.
Heather Hogan scored a season-high 23 points
as Manistee defeated Fenton, 43-29 for the Class B title. The victory was
bittersweet for Manistee coach Mike Munro. A Fenton graduate, Munro learned
much of the game as a gym rat watching the style of Fento n’s coach,
LeRoy Decker. Defensively, Manistee’s Louise Stapleton held Fenton
all-stater Maria Reynolds to a total of eight points in the contest.
Carrollton captured its second straight Class
C crown, and its third title in four years with a 60-32 defeat of White
Cloud. Vonnie Thompson led the winners with 22 points and six assists, while
Sue Mayes added 18 points. Teresa Harvatich paced the Indians with 18 points.
Leland defeated Portland St. Patrick, 54-41,
in Class D. Shawne Brow scored 16 points, Stephanie Chambers 13 and Brenda
Kelly added 11 for the Lady Comets. St. Patrick pulled to within five points
early in the fourth before succumbing. Karen Kramer ta llied 18 and Laurie
Leik added 13 for St. Patrick. It was the third consecutive Class D crown
for Leland and Coach Larry Glass, a former men’s basketball head coach
at Northwestern University.
1987
Trailing by 20 with two minutes to play in the third quarter, Detroit Cass Tech, led by LaTonya Tate and Sheronda Mayo, rallied to defeat Saginaw, 52-51, in the Class A game at Grand Valley State in Allendale. The Technicians held the defending champion s scoreless over the final 4:16, then scored the game’s final nine points to grab the title. Tate finished with 20 points, including the game-winning three-point field goal with 1:43 remaining. Mayo added 14 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. Sentaria Johnson finished with a career-high 20 points for the Trojans.
Flint Beecher defeated Frankenmuth, 49-34, for
the Class B crown. Senior Marie Williams scored 17 points, including six
in the third quarter to bust open the game for the Lady Bucs. Poor shooting
took its toll on the Eagles, who had knocked off Grand Ra pids Christian
in a semifinal thriller. Frankenmuth hit only 29 percent of its shots in
the first half, and 33 percent in the entire game. Lynn Pavlicek notched
nine points for the Eagles.
Detroit St. Martin dePorres, led by the outstanding
defense of guards Natasha Porter and Tuonisia Turner, grabbed its first-ever
MHSAA girls basketball title with a 73-50 thrashing of top-ranked St. Joseph
Lake Michigan Catholic in Class C. Dana Joubert (first cousin to prep
legend Antoine) led the Eagles with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Maureen
Nelligan paced the Lakers with 19 points.
Angela Frick and the Walkerville Wildcats posted
a 65-59 upset victory over top-ranked Martin in Class D. The Wildcats took
advantage of the recently allowed three point shot to overcome Martin’s
height advantage. Frick scored 33 points, including a trey that put the
Wildcats ahead to stay 50-47. Teammate Angie Bond hit three-of-six from
beyond the three-point arc. Julie Davis tallied 31 for the Clippers.
1992
Leading 20-10 in the second quarter, Birmingham Marian went 22 consecutive possessions without scoring, but still came away with a 39-27 vcitory over Flint Northwestern in the Class A Final. Northwestern’s Larecha Jones scored 10 of her 16 points to tie the game at 20-20 in the third quarter before reserve guard Colleen Conway broke the Marian drought with a pair of free throws with 1:32 remaining in the period. Jones, however, responded with a bucket, and Kamena Robinson opened the fourth quarter wit h a layup to give the Vikings their first lead, 24-22. It was short-lived as Conway, who had been avaraging just 2.1 points per contest, scored on another layup and was fouled. Her free throw gave Marian a 25-24 lead it never relinquished. The combined total of 66-points set an MHSAA finals record for fewest points by two teams.
Upended in the semifinals in 1989 by eventual
champ Dearborn Divine Child and in 1990 by Grand Rapids West Catholic, long-time
Frankenmuth coach Art Pelzer finally emerged with his first MHSAA title
as his Eagles downed St. Joseph, 67-54, in an exciting Class B game. With
the win, the Eagles ended the year 27-0. The opening two quarters featured
outstanding play, with nine lead changes and four ties. Frankenmuth emerged
with a 32-23 advantage at the half by scoring the final 11 points. Sophomore
Ann Lemire posted a triple double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists,
while senior Jaami McClellan scored 25 points. Kim Knuth led the Lady Bears
with 27 points, including seven-for-seven shooting from the free-throw line.
Once-beaten Carrollton used quickness and seven
three-pointers enroute to a 63-41 victory over Elk Rapids. Four Cavaliers
scored in double figures, led by Gina Humpert with 16 points. Carrollton’s
single loss was against Class B champ Frankenmuth.
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian grabbed a slim
22-21 lead at the half, then pressured its way to a 53-36 win over Grand
Rapids Covenant Christian for the Class D crown. Despite a distinct height
disadvantage, the Lancers forced 29 turnovers by Covenant Christian. Laurie
Ales led the winners with 24 points and nine rebounds. Jamie Englesma scored
12 for the Chargers.
—Ron Pesch