Breslin Bound: Girls Districts in Review
March 4, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District tournaments give teams the best kind of opportunity to pay back their neighbors for a disappointing loss (or two) from earlier in the winter.
Win, and the avenging team not only gets that revenge – but ends the opponent’s season.
A number of MHSAA girls basketball teams took advantage of those opportunities last week. And some of the more fortunate fought off a rival or two for the third time – another difficult task unto itself.
Below are four teams from each class that made impressions during the District tournaments. Regionals tip off tonight.
Class A
Haslett (22-1) – The Vikings have rattled off 22 straight wins since falling to another eventual Class B District champ, Eaton Rapids, on opening night. Haslett’s District title run included wins over East Lansing and Okemos followed by a third this season over rival DeWitt – a team that was capable as Haslett of making a run deep into this month if it had advanced instead.
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (18-5) – The Cougars finished a game behind Clarkston in the Oakland Activities Association Red standings, losing to the Wolves by 10 and five points. But Stoney Creek won their third matchup, the District Final, 47-37. Not a bad way to step back up after finishing the regular-season on a 4-4 streak.
Waterford Kettering (20-3) – Friday provided some redemption for the Captains. They won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North title by a game over Waterford Mott (also 20-3), then lost to Mott during the league tournament before beating Mott in the District Final 55-52 in overtime. The District sweep also came after Kettering finished the regular season with two straight losses.
Wyoming (21-2) – The Wolves now have won 21 games in each of their first two seasons as a school (created by the merger of Rogers and Park). And this season, they haven’t lost since Dec. 16. Wyoming’s opponent that night was Holland West Ottawa – and it avenged that 55-35 defeat by downing West Ottawa 48-46 in the District Final after surviving Grandville 58-57 in the Semifinal.
Class B
Ionia (18-5) – The Bulldogs finished third in a Capital Area Activities Conference Red that featured Class A contenders Haslett and DeWitt, and that no doubt prepared them well for last week’s run that included beating CAAC White co-champ Portland in the District Final. Ionia also had beaten Portland by six during the last week of the regular season before winning Friday 57-32.
Menominee (14-7) – Winners of 10 games last season, the Maroons opened the District with a 55-45 win over league mate Gladstone, which it split with during the regular season. But the victory that resonated louder came in the Final, a 48-39 upset of 2013 MHSAA Semifinalist Houghton – which finished this season 19-3.
Parchment (21-2) – The Panthers have challenged to join the elite for a few seasons, but opened the 2013 District by falling by seven to Marshall – which went on to reach the Quarterfinals. But Parchment opened last week’s District with a seven-point win over Marshall and finished with a 35-29 edging of Battle Creek Harper Creek (15-7).
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (20-3) – The Gators moved from Class C to B this school year, and this team is already two wins better after falling to eventual C champion Manchester during their second game in last season’s tournament. Arbor Prep took on a strong variety of opponents this season with wins over Benton Harbor, Southfield-Lathrup and Detroit Country Day, plus Manchester early.
Class C
Adrian Madison (19-1) – Madison was another powerful team that fell to Manchester during the latter’s championship run, but the Trojans might be the one to contend with this time. They followed a 10-point win over Addison with a 45-34 victory over previously-undefeated Pittsford in the District Final.
East Jackson (18-4) – Last week’s District at East Jackson looked to be pretty competitive, and the host beat two strong contenders to emerge with the title. East Jackson came off its Cascades Conference championship by beating 16-win Michigan Center by 18 and then frequent Class C contender Concord 46-43 in the championship game.
Grandville Calvin Christian (18-5) – Calvin Christian edged Kent City by a win to claim the O-K Silver championship during the regular season, and then ended the winter for the 17-5 Eagles with a 44-33 win in the District Final. Calvin Christian earned that one after eliminating River Valley Conference champion Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 59-37 in the District Semifinal.
McBain (19-2) – The Ramblers finished a perfect run through the Highland Conference and then won all three District games by double figures. They eliminated 17-win Traverse City St. Francis 57-42 in the District Semifinal and 16-win Maple City Glen Lake 57-35 in the championship game.
Class D
Bellaire (20-3) – The Eagles finished one game back of champion Gaylord St. Mary in the Ski Valley Conference standings, despite handing the Snowbirds their only league loss this season. But Bellaire made it two straight over St. Mary with a 44-32 win in the District Final.
Fowler (16-6) – These Eagles have had some solid teams over the last decade plus – but have spent most of that time in the shadow of rival Portland St. Patrick, a regular at the MHSAA Finals. Fowler fell to St. Patrick by seven on Feb. 15 – but came back to edge the Shamrocks 62-60 in the District Final.
Frankfort (21-1) – The Northwest Conference champion kept rolling last week, defeating 14-win Onekama and then 18-win Bear Lake in the District Final. Bear Lake had beaten Frankfort 47-26 in last season’s District championship game.
Martin (16-4) – Martin won 10 games a year ago but did advance to the District Final before losing to Climax-Scotts – which went on to the Class D Semifinals and just missed knocking off eventual champion St. Ignace. Martin and Climax-Scotts met again in the District Final last week, and this time the Clippers moved on with a 41-37 victory.
PHOTO: Haslett (white jerseys) defeated rival DeWitt last week for the third time this season to claim a Class A District championship. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal).
St. George's Senior Season Filled with Historic Trip, Sizzling 3-Point Shooting
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 21, 2024
Delaney St. George helped Kingston reach its first MHSAA Girls Basketball Final this winter – and along the way finished her high school career among the most prolific 3-point shooters in state history.
The four-year varsity senior made 87 3-pointers this season for the Division 4 runner-up Cardinals, good to tie for 10th on the single-season list after she made 93 as a junior to rank fourth all-time.
She finished her Kingston career with 290 3-pointers in 793 attempts over 94 games – good for second on the career 3-pointers list.
See below for more recent additions to the MHSAA girls basketball record book, and click on the heading to see the record book in full.
Girls Basketball
Hemlock’s 18-6 run this season was fueled in part by more successful 3-point shooting. The Huskies made single-season lists with 170 3-pointers and 552 attempts, and also for making 14 3-pointers Jan. 5 against St. Louis.
Senior Mia McLaughlin made nine of 15 3-point shots for Frankenmuth in a Feb. 6 win over Birch Run as the Eagles made the team record book list with 15 3-pointers total. They also were added for 14 3-pointers in a Feb. 20 win over Bay City John Glenn. McLaughlin will continue her career at Ferris State.
McBain sophomore Peyton Grant scored all 27 of her points Jan. 17 against Houghton Lake on nine 3-pointers to make the single-game list in that category.
Seniors Autumn Tremblay and Ceara LeBlanc earned Brimley’s first girls basketball record book listings this season. Both made single-game lists in a Feb. 27 win over Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian – Tremblay scored 21 points during the first quarter and LeBlanc had 16 steals for the game – and LeBlanc also was added for 141 steals total over 25 games this past winter.
Reed City’s run at the Central State Activities Association title this winter was fueled in part by 3-point shooting. The Coyotes finished one game out of first, but made the records with 517 3-point attempts over 24 games – and just missed the made 3-pointers list connecting on 143.
Howell sophomore Gabrielle Piepho added her third record book listing over her first two seasons this winter making 89.2 percent of her free throw attempts to rank eighth on that single-season list. Howell as a team also made the 3-point attempts list with 536 over 25 games, and also just missed the 3-pointers made list with 146.
Saline finished the 2023-24 season among the all-time leading 3-point shooters again, this time with 192 – 14th-most for one season – in 587 attempts over 24 games. Sophomore Keira Roehm led the way with 78 3-pointers, tying for 21st on that list.
Junior Tamerah Peterson led Sterling Heights Parkway Christian to a District title this season, providing a record-setting defensive boost in addition to her offensive skills. She finished with 173 steals – eighth-most for one season – over 21 games.
Niles Brandywine reached Breslin Center this season with another stellar distance shooting display, making the record book with both 186 3-pointers and 610 attempts from beyond the arc in finishing Division 3 runner-up.
Alie Bisballe capped her career at Lake City this winter by helping her team reach the Division 3 Semifinal at Breslin Center – and by reaching the MHSAA girls basketball record book in two categories. The 6-foot-4 post player made the lists with 329 rebounds and 188 blocked shots, both in 28 games as Lake City finished 25-3. She will continue her career at Wisconsin.
Ironwood junior Hanna Vaughn will enter her final season next winter already on the career 3-pointers list. She’s made 155 3-pointers over her first three seasons and 70 games on varsity.
PHOTO Kingston’s Delaney St. George (10) pulls up for a shot during the Division 4 Final against Ishpeming.