Bowers' Balance Paying Big for Kent City
December 20, 2018
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
KENT CITY – Kenzie Bowers’ mother made sure her daughter wasn’t going to grow up to become just a scorer.
An extra incentive did just the trick.
“When I was younger my mom would record my games, and she would give me a dollar for every five or 10 points, but then she would also give me a dollar for every assist, too, because she didn’t want me to go out there and think that I was just going to score,” the Kent City standout sophomore said. “That was my way of thinking I was going to score, but I’m not going to be selfish with the ball because I wanted money both ways.”
Bowers, a 5-foot-10 guard, is still doing her share of scoring and distributing, and she’s picking up where she left off after a sensational freshman season.
In her debut campaign on the varsity, Bowers averaged 19.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while also leading her team in assists and steals en route to being named to the Class C all-state first team.
Bowers also helped spark Kent City’s historic postseason run to the Class C Quarterfinals.
“I’ve talked to Coach since seventh grade, and he told me if I kept working hard then he would have a spot for me on the varsity,” Bowers said. “He wanted me to be a leader, and I knew I was going to have to be a leader. I was ready for it, and I expected it.”
Kent City girls basketball coach Scott Carlson has known Bowers since first grade and helped coach her at every level leading up to high school.
He knew early on that she had a bright future ahead.
“By third grade you knew she was going to be a ball player because she was playing with our fifth and sixth-grade travel players at that point,” Carlson said. “She could handle the ball, and she loved the game. She was a baller from the word go.”
Bowers’ passion for the game developed from watching her two older brothers, and she started playing with older girls when she was in third grade.
“I was the only third-grader, and I think it was definitely good to have that experience going into my fourth and fifth grade years when I was playing against girls my own age,” Bowers said. “You could tell I had played recently, and I was the second or third tallest girl on my team, but I was very skinny.”
Bowers’ overall skill set quickly progressed. She attended multiple basketball camps and started playing AAU.
As middle school began, college coaches became aware of Bowers’ rare abilities.
“Seventh grade was the first time someone told me that college coaches were watching me and they thought I was pretty good,” Bowers said. “I was like, ‘College coaches are watching me?’ It was definitely surreal.”
A highlight of Bowers’ first high school season was a 37-point performance in a Regional Semifinal win over Beaverton.
Kent City went on to win its first Regional title in 29 years before losing to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Quarterfinals.
“She certainly surpassed what I expected of her as a freshman, but it didn’t surprise me in how hard she works,” Carlson said. “She’s very athletic, and she’s a quick study. If you show her something once she gets it quick, as quickly as anyone I’ve ever seen, and she’ll work on it until she perfects it.”
Bowers already has received several scholarship offers from Division I college programs, including Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Illinois State, Davidson and Oakland.
“It’s been really cool knowing I can go play college basketball at the next level,” Bowers said. “It makes me feel blessed and happy because I know I don’t have to spend all that money and I get to do something I love.”
Kent City is 4-1 this winter with its lone loss coming to Detroit Martin Luther King, 40-39.
Bowers is one of eight returning players from last season’s 22-4 squad.
“We didn’t lose anybody, so we know we are going to be a good team,” Bowers said. “We’re working to get better and make it further this season.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kent City’s Kenzie Bowers drives to the basket against White Cloud during a Dec. 7 win. (Middle) Bowers works to get past a Detroit Martin Luther King defender during their Dec. 8 game at Okemos. (Photos courtesy of the Bowers family.)
Bussell Bolstering All-Around Game to Go with Stellar Scoring Skills
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 27, 2022
Sophia Bussell doesn’t want to be known just as a shooter.
But it’s hard to ignore her shooting talents.
The Monroe High School sophomore recently set two single-game records for the Trojans – most 3-pointers made in a game with 10 and most points in a game with 36. She’s off to a great start in her career with a lot of games – and shots – to go.
“I personally just love to shoot,” Bussell said. “But I am glad that this season I get to show that I’m more than just a shooter.”
Bussell burst onto the Monroe County basketball scene last season when she joined her sister Olivia, a senior, on the Trojans varsity. Sophia started gaining local attention right from the opening tip. In January, she etched her name in the school record book when she scored 29 points and made a school-record eight 3-pointers at Ypsilanti Lincoln.
This season Lincoln was once again the opponent when Bussell went on her hot streak Dec. 13. Her 3-pointer with six seconds left gave Monroe a 58-56 lead – and a school-record 36 points as her team claimed the victory.
Bussell said Lincoln was in a zone defense, something she rarely sees.
“In the previous games, teams were face-guarding and double-teaming me,” she said. “This was the first team this season who played zone on us. As a shooter, when you see a zone defense, you get excited because it opens up a lot more shots and opportunities to score.”
Bussell didn’t waste any of them.
“My first couple shots went in, which helped build confidence to keep shooting from deep,” she said.
Her teammates kept feeding her the ball, and she kept shooting. She made 10 of 18 3-point attempts that night.
Bussell was aware of how many 3-pointers she had made because Monroe’s team manager, Emily Eshenroder, was tracking every shot.
“She let me know every timeout,” Bussell said.
It’s been an adjustment this season for Bussell. Last year as a ninth grader, she had her older sister with her every step of the way.
“Being able to play my first year of high school basketball with my sister meant the world,” she said. “It took a lot of pressure off me because the defense focused in on her.”
This year, she’s the leader of the team.
“At first it was kind of difficult not having my sister around, because the defense started focusing on me, but it’s only going to make me a better player over time,” she said.
Monroe head coach John Mason, who took over the team mid-season last winter, said Bussell continues to improve, both as a shooter and as an all-around player.
“It is definitely hard not having big sister around, but she is learning how to deal with it by just playing,” he said. “Our practice environment has a great group of kids that enjoy each other. It’s only a matter of time before this group takes off.”
Monroe is 2-6 and off until January when the Trojans resume play in the rugged Southeastern Conference Red.
Bussell is already a veteran on the court. She started playing basketball in the third grade, going to camps in the Monroe area.
“Whatever camps were doing something (I’d go),” she said.
By the fifth grade, Bussell was playing travel basketball. She joined the Michigan Mystics out of Clio when she was in the seventh grade and continues with them during the offseason.
Mason said Bussell is always in the gym and always shooting.
“Her and a few others stay late after practice and work on their game,” he said. “We work on getting extra shots up that resembles what she will have in games. And before she leaves practice, she hits about 20 makes from the volleyball line.”
Bussell, who also plays volleyball for Monroe, said basketball has always been a big part of her life. She has long dreamed of playing college basketball, something the 5-foot-7 guard seems to be well on the way toward achieving.
“I have many goals in basketball, including becoming a strong mental player and a good teammate,” she said.
For now, she’s not worried about setting more records or how many shots she faces. She also knows defenses will focus on her more and more as her numbers grow.
“I just need to keep working hard,” she added, “and everything will slowly fall in place for my next two seasons.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Monroe’s Sophia Bussell reaches for a loose ball last season against Temperance Bedford. (Middle) Bussell, with the ball, considers her next move. (Top photo by Dana Stiefel; middle photo by John Discher.)