Breslin Bound: Girls District Preview
February 24, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special to Second Half
Nearly 700 girls basketball teams will begin a march this week they hope will end March 15 with an MHSAA championship trophy at Michigan State University's Breslin Center.
District tournaments tip-off all over the state tonight, giving every team an equal start – even though the last three months have given us a decent idea which we might be following to East Lansing next month.
Follow the brackets on MHSAA.com. Below are some of the teams we could see emerge when these three weeks are done.
Class A
Detroit Martin Luther King (17-1) – The Crusaders have been favorites since the fall, with some of their most impressive wins over Grand Ledge and rival Detroit Cass Tech. King won the Detroit Public School League tournament championship again this month, with its only loss to Ohio’s Kettering Fairmont in December. Miss Basketball candidate Marte Grays dominates the middle at 6-foot-2.
Farmington Hills Mercy (19-1) – Mercy gets the slight nod above Bloomfield Hills Marian out of the Detroit Catholic League after avenging an earlier overtime loss to Marian with a one-point win in the league tournament championship game. Mercy finished the regular season with a three-point victory over reigning Class B champion Goodrich, and also beat reigning B runner-up Flint Powers earlier this season.
Grand Ledge (18-2) – The Comets should be a slight favorite to emerge from an incredibly-strong mid-Michigan Class A group that includes contenders Haslett, DeWitt and Holt. The lone losses were to Detroit King and while missing one of their top players against DeWitt on opening night. However, Richland Gull Lake (18-1) will be a tough obstacle in the District.
Grosse Pointe South (18-1) – The Class A runner-up the last two seasons, South is undefeated in Michigan this winter; the Blue Devils' lone loss was by a bucket to Illinois’ Crete Monee in December. Only two teams – Canton and league opponent Utica Ford – have gotten within single digits since the calendar turned to 2014. The best win so far might’ve been against Farmington Hills Harrison, which finished 17-3.
Class B
Detroit Country Day (17-1) – Given their longtime record of success, it’s tough to believe the Yellowjackets haven’t played in an MHSAA championship game since 2010. This could be the season for a return – a 16-point loss to Ypsilanti Arbor two weeks ago hurt, but a number of solid wins seems to indicate Country Day could still be there at the end of March. Point guard Asia Doss is a Miss Basketball finalist.
Flint Powers Catholic (17-2) – Last season’s MHSAA runner-up showed signs it was on the way back up with a junior-loaded lineup that maybe wasn’t expected at that point to reach the final game of the season. The Chargers have met much higher expectations this winter, even despite a late loss last week to Class C Saginaw Nouvel. Powers won its mostly Class A league, a good prep for what should be a competitive District.
Goodrich (18-2) – The Class B champion the last two seasons, Goodrich might be the favorite again with its only losses to Class A powers Haslett and Farmington Hills Mercy (see above). Only two other teams have gotten within single digits – Freeland and Class A Detroit Cass Tech – and Goodrich owns another solid win over Class B contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Grand Rapids South Christian – An MHSAA Semifinalist a season ago, South Christian has looked even stronger this winter, with only a few schools including league rivals Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Wayland giving the Sailors much of a challenge. They shouldn’t have too much trouble this week, although the Regional could include GRCC and Holland Christian – the latter looking for a rematch after falling to South Christian by only three in early January.
Class C
Blissfield (17-0) – The Royals have upped their collective game after winning a District title in 2013 despite finishing third in the Lenawee County Athletic Association. This season, they’re league champs and in a District with three teams they beat by double digits during the regular season. They’ll be favored through the Regional as well, although they could run into reigning champ Manchester.
Flint Hamady (20-0) – Hamady is looking to get back to an MHSAA championship game for the first time since winning Class C back-to-back in 2009-10. So far, so good; only Class A Davison and Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Genesee Area Conference Blue rival New Lothrop got within single digits of the Hawks during the regular season. Four of six opponents in the District also are from the GAC Blue.
Saginaw Nouvel (15-5) – Don’t judge this one by record alone. Last season’s MHSAA runner-up played one of the toughest schedules among Class C contenders. Four losses were to Class A Haslett and Class B Midland Bullock Creek, Flint Powers Catholic and Detroit Country Day – all four of those could be in the conversation for MHSAA titles in their respective classes – and the fifth loss was to Indiana’s South Bend St. Joseph. Class C contender Reese and strong Class A Midland were among those Nouvel toppled this month.
St. Ignace (18-2) – A regular at Breslin Center, St. Ignace could be back despite moving back into Class C after winning the Class D championship in 2013. The Saints once again mixed in a good share of competition from downstate, falling to Reese but beating Detroit Renaissance, and Petoskey twice, among others. The Regional could provide some challenges, but St. Ignace should be up to them again as it pursues its fifth straight Semifinal trip.
Class D
Athens (17-3) – The Indians play in one of the state’s most competitive small-school leagues, the Big 8 Conference, and have made the Class D Quarterfinals the last three seasons and the Semifinals the last two while finishing MHSAA runner-up in 2011-12. All three of their losses were to Class C teams – Concord, Reading and Mendon – that could make noise in that class. Athens then won rematches against Concord and Reading.
Frankfort (19-1) – This could be Frankfort’s best since its back-to-back MHSAA championship teams of 2005-06. The Panthers have improved from 13-10 last season, with their only loss this winter to undefeated Class B contender Manistee. They’ve had a few more close games than other favorites, but that can be a good thing – Frankfort staved off Class C Traverse City St. Francis to win by four, Class B Kingsley to win by six and Class A Romulus also to win by four. The Panthers then beat Kingsley by 22 in their rematch.
Crystal Falls Forest Park (20-0) – The Trojans are attempting to finish an impressive three-season run that’s included two Regional titles and an MHSAA Semifinal appearance. No opponent has come within 20 points of Forest Park this season. Guard Lexi Gussert caught the state’s attention with 34 points in that Semifinal loss in 2012 and has scored more than 2,400 points during a career that’s made her a Miss Basketball finalist.
Posen (20-0) – The Vikings hope to ride their second straight perfect regular season past the Regional Final, where they fell last season to eventual MHSAA champion St. Ignace. Only Lincoln Alcona on opening night has come within single digits of Posen, and the Vikings bested Alcona by 13 in their rematch this month.
PHOTO: Detroit Martin Luther King's Marte Grays (35) pushes the ball upcourt during the Detroit Public School League tournament championship game win over Detroit Cass Tech. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Frankenmuth Drives League Streak to 97
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
December 13, 2016
Tom Keller is willing to talk about the streak if you ask him.
He’s starting to get used to it.
“It’s funny; it seems like a lot of people are bringing it up lately,” said the Frankenmuth girls basketball coach, who has led his team to 97 straight Tri-Valley Conference East wins. “We actually talked about it in practice the other day for one of the few times.
"(The streak) happens on a day-to-day basis. In our program, we don’t really set a lot of goals; we’re much more concerned about the process. If we do things the right way day after day, those wins and those streaks kind of take care of themselves.”
Frankenmuth hasn’t lost a conference game since Feb. 10, 2009 -- a 37-31 setback against Birch Run. Since then, eight senior classes have graduated, and dozens of players have gone through their entire varsity careers without a conference loss.
While it’s not something Frankenmuth players dwell on, it’s also not something they take for granted.
“You don’t just show up and put on your uniform and get the streak,” senior Hannah Karwat said. “We do have to work hard to get the winning streak we have. We work hard in practice.”
Karwat is one of very few Frankenmuth players on this year’s team with varsity experience. She’s a third-year player and first-year starter. Her classmate Lindsey Mertz started several games as a junior and is in her fourth year with the team, but Frankenmuth graduated five of its top six players from a year ago.
The Eagles have done well so far, starting the season 3-1, including earning a 36-34 win this past week against TVC East rival Essexville-Garber to stretch the streak to 97. Their next league games are Wednesday at Bridgeport and home Friday against Millington.
“It’s always an interesting way to start the season when you have kids who are brand new to varsity,” Keller said. “Also, we have those kids that are returning in completely different roles than what they played in the past. We have two seniors who have played, and they’re going from being role players to go-to girls on this year’s team.
“It’s fun. I think it makes for great competition. When you have so many openings for a new team, it’s fun and great competition because everybody is vying for those roles. It does seem to draw out the best competitors.”
Mertz has settled in as a forward, although she has experience as a post player and a guard from her first three seasons and can go back to either if the Eagles need it. Karwat’s role has expanded following the graduation of a pair of 6-foot-plus post players. She’s 5-4½, but appears unfazed by the height disadvantage she faces each night.
Mertz and Karwat are two of five seniors on the team. Among the others is Sara Aldrich, who spent her junior season toward the end of the bench but has worked her way into a starting role, something Keller said he loves to see. Kayla Kueffner and Emily Janson, the Eagles’ other two seniors, are injured and have yet to play this season.
What those seniors may lack in experience, they make up for with leadership.
“Something that our program has valued is leadership,” Mertz said. “We have been doing leadership lunches once a week where we meet and talk about leadership and how serving the other girls on the team and dedicating time would help everyone grow on the team.”
Frankenmuth is matching that leadership with an aggressive style of play, making up for a lack of size.
“We’re making efforts to really attack the paint,” Keller said. “We still get touches inside, but we do it through penetration. In years where we’ve had two 6 footers, we were a high-post, low-post kind of team and we took advantage of that. This year, we’re very guard-oriented.”
Changing his team’s style based on personnel has helped Keller find success in each of his previous 10 seasons as Frankenmuth’s girls coach. The Eagles have won a conference title in each of those seasons, and added five Class B District titles, including at the end of the last two seasons.
Keller said he was fortunate to inherit a great program, one that won the Class B title in 1992 and Class C in 1996 and also owns four MHSAA Finals runner-up finishes.
It’s a tradition, Mertz and Karwat said, that has girls in the community’s youth program pining to put on a Frankenmuth jersey one day. They also grow up knowing what it takes to get that honor.
“When I was younger, a lot of the girls in my grade loved basketball,” Mertz said. “But a lot of girls have quit because they know what’s expected and they know they can’t match that effort. Sometimes we’ll frighten some girls out of the program, but that makes the team we have one of the toughest group of girls because you have to be tough to be a part of it.
“Usually the girls that come out are the ones that are in it for the long haul, and willing to do the dirty work and put in the effort.”
Keller said he wasn’t quite sure what would equal a successful season for this year’s team. Getting better and more consistent each day is his main focus, and he’s optimistic that will happen.
As for the streak, Keller and the Eagles would love for it to survive. If it doesn’t, however, they’ll simply work to start the next one.
“It’s going to come to an end eventually, whether it’s this week or later this season or next season,” Keller said. “When it happens, we’ll just come back the next day and get ready for the next game.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Frankenmuth's Brooklin Karwat drives to the basket against Essexville-Garber last week. (Middle) Eagles coach Tom Keller speaks with Kaylee Kujat during the tightly-contested matchup. (Below) Frankenmuth players celebrate after defeating the Dukes 56-54. (Photos by Chip DeGrace/Eagle Eye Photography.)