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Breslin Bound: Girls Quarterfinal Preview
March 11, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We've reached the final week of another MHSAA girls basketball season. And we're guaranteed to name at least three new champions when this week is done.
Only St. Ignace, last season's Class D winner, is still alive heading into tonight's Quarterfinals. And the Saints are playing in Class C this winter.
See below for brief previews of all 16 Quarterfinal games, and click for brackets and more to be updated as scores are reported tonight.
(NOTE: ppg=point per game, rpg=rebounds per game, apg=assists per game, spg=steals per game, bpg=blocks per game.)
Class A
Canton (20-4) vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth (17-7) at Fenton
Canton is looking to return to Breslin for the first time since back-to-back trips in 2010 and 2011. The Chiefs can rely on a strong frontcourt including 5-10 senior forward Paige Aresco (14.7 ppg) and 6-1 senior Taylor Hunley (10 ppg). Carman-Ainsworth advanced with an overtime upset of Midland in the Regional Final and is having its best season under sixth-year coach Johnese Vaughn. Junior guard Sydnee McDonald leads three scorers averaging double figures with 18.5 points per game.
Grand Ledge (23-2) vs. Grand Rapids Christian (20-5) at DeWitt
The Comets are in the Quarterfinals for the second straight season and seeking their first trip to Finals weekend. Their losses came to DeWitt and Detroit Martin Luther King, both in December. Senior sisters Hannah and Lindsay Orwat lead the way scoring 15 and 13.4 points per game, respectively, and 6-3 junior center Cori Crocker averages 10.7 and has committed to play volleyball at the University of Michigan. Grand Rapids Christian has been a power for much longer, but is in its first Quarterfinal since 2003. Junior guard Kortney Deurloo is the leading scorer at 12.9 ppg and makes half of her shots from the floor.
Romulus (21-4) vs. Farmington Hills Mercy (24-1) at Ferndale
Mercy might look like a certain favorite in this game after eliminating previous favorite Detroit King by 12 in the Regional Final. But Romulus has only two losses in-state this winter, and both came to teams playing tonight as well (Detroit Country Day and Frankfort). Senior forward Cierra Bond averages 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game to lead the team. Mercy’s only loss came in overtime to Bloomfield Hills Marian, a possible Breslin opponent. Junior guard Taylor Jones tops a balanced lineup at 12.5 ppg.
Port Huron Northern (19-6) vs. Bloomfield Hills Marian (22-2) at St. Clair Shores Lake Shore
Like with Mercy losing only to Marian, Marian’s only losses were both to Mercy – and the Mustangs surely are prepared for a rematch that could mean their first championship game berth since winning the title in 1998. Juniors Kara Holinski and Brittany Gray average 10 points per game to top a rotation with six players averaging at least 6.1 ppg. Northern has built every year under coach Mark Dickinson, increasing its win total each of the last six seasons. Similar to Marian, six average at least 5.1 ppg, led by juniors Becca Richards (10.4) and Riley Fealko (10.8).
Class B
Parchment (23-2) vs. Grand Rapids South Christian (24-0) at Wayland
A trio of senior starters have helped Parchment top 20 wins for the second time in three seasons, with two losses to Olivet by a combined three points all that has kept the team from perfection. Seniors Kendyl Hinton (12.9 ppg) and Meredith Stutz (12.7) are the leading scorers and rebounders and also top the team in assists and blocked shots. South Christian, with five senior starters, is back in the Quarterfinals for the second straight season with a balanced effort including seven who average at least four points per game but none more than 9.4.
Midland Bullock Creek (23-1) vs. Sparta (14-10) at Bay City Western
Three starters are back from Bullock Creek’s Semifinal run last season, including leading scorer and junior Halee Nieman (12.9 ppg). Two more juniors, Ellie Juengel (12.5) and Hannah Heldt (10.9), give the team multiple scoring threats. Sparta definitely is more of a surprise this week after beating Menominee in overtime in the Regional Final and handing Manistee its only loss, by four, in the Regional opener. But the Spartans have won three straight District titles. They are keyed by junior center Franchesca Buchanan (11.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg).
Detroit Country Day (22-1) vs. Flint Powers Catholic (22-2) at Imlay City
This is a rematch of last season’s Quarterfinal, a 20-point Powers win. A young Chargers team then has taken a few more steps, with its only losses to Farmington Hills Mercy and Saginaw Nouvel, Quarterfinalists in Class A and C, respectively. Three starters are back from last season’s championship game. Country Day’s only loss came in early February to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, another Class B Quarterfinalist, and the Yellowjackets have won all of their games since by at least 18 points.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (22-3) vs. Eaton Rapids (20-5) at Brighton
Arbor Prep has grown to Class B this season after falling to eventual champion Manchester in Class C last season. The Gators haven’t lost this calendar year, with defeats to Class A Detroit Martin Luther King and Bloomfield Hills and reigning Class B champion Goodrich all coming before the new year. Eaton Rapids often has been overshadowed in a strong Lansing area, but has won 20 games for the second time in three seasons and its first Regional title under 15-year coach Willis Whitmyer. Senior 6-1 center Allie Dittmer leads an athletic and experienced lineup with 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Class C
Saginaw Nouvel (19-4) vs. St. Louis (20-4) at Reese
Nouvel is seeking its second straight championship game appearance after falling to Manchester by five in last season’s Class C Final. Senior forward Rachel McInerney (11.7 ppg) was a standout on that team and leads this one as well along with sophomore guard Laurel Jacqmain (12.4 ppg). St. Louis has made steady progress under coach Walter Berry, posting four straight winning seasons and its first championships of his 12-season tenure. Senior center Bri Alspaugh (10.7 ppg) leads seven players averaging at least five points per game.
Gobles (25-0) vs. Mendon (20-2) at Watervliet
Gobles has won 20 games for the second straight season and is on its best run during coach John Curtis’ 12 seasons – and beat Mendon by four only three weeks ago. Senior forward Michaela DeKilder leads the way with 15.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Mendon won its fifth District title in six seasons last month, and senior guard Brooke Howard (18.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg) leads a group of eight seniors trying to finish with a few more wins this week.
Blissfield (21-0) vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (19-3) at Whitmore Lake
The Royals dispatched of reigning champion Manchester in the Regional opener after winning their second straight District title. Senior forward Claire Denecker is menacing in the post averaging 16.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 blocked shots per game. University Liggett can make it to Breslin for the second time in three seasons, now guided by former Detroit Consortium and Cass Tech coach Omar Ahart. Three of this season's starters played in the team’s Class C Final in 2012, including leading scorer and junior Jessica Rotzoll (13.5 ppg).
McBain (21-1) vs. St. Ignace (22-2) at Gaylord
Last season’s Class D champion, St. Ignace is back in Class C and lost only to strong Reese and Class A Marquette, both in December. Senior guard Kelley Wright has been a top player the last few seasons and averages 16.2 points, 4.2 assists and 6.7 steals per game. McBain is back for its fourth Quarterfinal in six seasons and beat an impressive group of teams the last two weeks to get here. Junior guard Meredith Hamlet makes nearly half of her shots and more than 40 percent from 3-point range in averaging 21.3 points per game, in addition to 8.1 rpg and 6.7 apg.
Class D
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (19-5) vs. Frankfort (23-1) at Cadillac
A 13-point defeat to one-loss Class B Manistee is all that’s kept Frankfort from perfection this winter, with sophomore guard Mackenna Kelly (13.8 ppg) the high scorer on a team with only one senior. Coincidentally, Sacred Heart has only one senior as well – point guard Sara Hansen, who paces the Irish with 19 points, 3.1 assists and 5.4 steals per game. Only one of Sacred Heart’s losses came to a Class D team.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (18-6) vs. Marine City Cardinal Mooney (19-4) at Waterford Mott
This is the fourth time these two will play this season; Cardinal Mooney won the first two games by nine and three points (in double overtime), respectively, before Everest won by two in the Detroit Catholic League Tournament. Senior 6-0 forward Lucia Westrick leads the Mountaineers at 14 points per game, while senior guard Katie Theut leads three Cardinal Mooney players who average double digits scoring with 20.1 points and 4.3 assists per game.
Posen (25-0) vs. Crystal Falls Forest Park (24-0) at Sault Ste. Marie
Forest Park is making its last run with senior guard Lexi Gussert (29.4 ppg, 7.7 apg, 11.9 rpg) and hasn’t played anything resembling a close game aside from maybe the 17-point Regional Final win over Eben Junction Superior Central. She will play at Michigan State next season. Posen finally broke through to the final week after five straight District titles and four straight 20-plus win seasons, and has a big-time scorer as well. Senior 6-1 center Korynn Hincka averages 27.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
Lansing Christian (11-11) vs. Athens (21-3) at Battle Creek Harper Creek
Athens is in its fourth straight Quarterfinal and made the Semifinals last season, and boasts a solid inside-out combination of junior guard Allison Fuller (13.5 ppg, 3.5 spg) and senior center Audrey Oswalt (12.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg). Lansing Christian’s record shouldn’t be taken at face value – the Pilgrims played a number of Class B and C teams this season and two teams still playing tonight. Six-foot senior Mikayla Terry (15.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg) will give Oswalt plenty of work in the paint.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Mercy's Sam Bauer (3) pushes the ball upcourt during her team's Regional Final win over Detroit Martin Luther King. (Photo courtesy of Detroit Public School League.)
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All-time Hoops Winner Leads Another
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2018
HARTLAND — When asked how many seasons he’s coached basketball, Don Palmer always is up front.
The reactions are variations of shock and awe.
“How many seasons? 104?” a reporter asked after his most recent victory March 8.
“Seventy,” Palmer said.
“Seventy?” said the reporter, not suspecting a number that high.
Told the same number, Hartland senior Graysen Cockerham could only giggle in disbelief.
“That’s crazy,” sophomore Whitney Sollom said, joining in the laughter.
Seventy is quite a number at first blush, considering Palmer is only 67 years old.
But he coached boys and girls at Milford for 29 years and has been a head coach for 41 overall, the last nine at Hartland.
He has won 935 games, 588 with the girls, which has enabled him to become the winningest overall basketball coach in state history. The old record, 922, is believed to have been held by Ed Mehlberg of Auburn Hills Oakland Christian. As it turns out, both Palmer and Mehlberg were inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame last September.
Palmer has coached countless players and their children as well as against coaches and their sons. On this year’s team he coached Sollom, whose mother, Dianne Hall, played against Milford while at Walled Lake Western; and Kamryn Gerecke, whose mother, Lori Montante, is Milford’s second-leading scorer all-time.
He’s won with and without talent on offense. And on defense, opposing coaches have learned to prepare in advance.
“I learned to do some prep work for those games,” former Brighton coach Jason Piepho said. “We would mix in different defenses in practice throughout the year. You couldn’t prepare for him for just two games a year, because you didn’t know what he would throw at you.”
Piepho learned that first-hand while playing for Howell a quarter-century ago.
“I remember the first time I played against him,” he said, laughing. “I was Howell’s point guard, and they threw a box-and-one against me. It was frustrating. It was the first time I’d seen that defense.”
Coach to the core
His Hartland girls finished 20-6 this winter, advancing to last week’s Class A Quarterfinals before falling to Wayne Memorial.
Palmer started coaching at Milford in 1974, the year he graduated from Michigan State University.
“I coached football a couple of years, freshman football,” he said. “I liked it, but I always wanted to be a head coach, so when the (girls basketball) job became open at Milford, I applied and got it. About a year later, the boys job came open and I applied and got it.”
For the next 29 years, until girls basketball moved to the winter beginning with the 2007-08 season, Palmer coached both sports.
“It became a lifestyle,” he said. “We had girls in the fall and boys in the winter. We would do our boys (offseason) stuff in June and the girls stuff in July, and it just kept going.
“When they switched the seasons, I had to make a choice,” he said. “I chose girls because that’s where I started. It gave me a chance to be a coach at a young age. So that’s where my allegiance was. As I grow older, I could never do two seasons back-to-back.”
Palmer’s Milford teams of both genders were known for defense and an offense that could be described as patient or painfully slow, depending on one’s perspective.
“When we started out with the boys, it was a program that struggled mightily,” he recalled. “We would do whatever we had to do to stay in games, whether that be ball control or setting the tempo.”
“I think the biggest thing that Don has done is that he adapts how he plays the game to his talent,” said Lee Piepho, who coached girls basketball at Howell. “Sometimes you don’t like what he does in terms of his strategy, but his idea is, ‘I’m going to play whatever strategy on the court to help my team win the game. If that’s standing out there and holding the ball, putting my arm under it and go into the quarter tied at zero or leading 2-0, I’m going to do that.’”
Last season, Palmer adjusted to a team than loved to run up and down the floor and was good at it.
“I don’t mind the running game,” he said. “You weren’t holding (that team) back. You were doing a disservice if you did.”
Both Piepho and Palmer are fiery competitors, but Palmer once made Piepho laugh during a game.
“One night we were playing Milford with Sara (Piepho’s daughter, a point guard at Howell),” Lee recalled. “I got a little upset with Sara and I pulled her out of the game and was talking to her and Don hollered over, ‘If you don’t want her, I’ll take her.’
“We had her graduation party and invited Don over, and he brings Sara a pair of Milford practice shorts.”
Palmer, at 6-foot with a shaved head and glasses, is an intimidating presence on the sideline during games. HIs players soon learn to look beyond that persona.
“I think most people, from a distance, see him and think he’s crazy,” Cockerham said. “But as players, we know he cares and wants us to be the best we can be. We appreciate it, because we need a coach to push us, and that’s exactly what he does. He expects nothing but the best for us, and that’s the way he gets it out of us.”
Mike McKay coached under Palmer at Milford for many years. He now is the varsity coach at Grand Blanc.
“He can be intense,” he said. “But off the court he does things he doesn’t want recognition for but does them for the betterment of his players. He takes care of the whole program.”
New challenge, no let up
After 32 seasons coaching at the only place he’d ever worked, Palmer’s contract was not renewed at Milford after the 2008-09 season.
He wasn’t out of coaching for long.
“When I left Milford, the Hartland coach, Brian Ives, had to leave because of work obligations,” Palmer said.
After years of struggling, the Hartland program was on the rise.
“We could beat them at the varsity level, but just barely,” Palmer said of coaching against the Eagles near the end of his Milford tenure. “The lower levels were just getting murdered. So we could see it coming.
“I told my coaches, ‘There’s going to be no excuse for not winning. None,’” Palmer recalled.
The Eagles have thrived under Palmer. In his nine seasons, his teams have won 20 or more games three times and got to the Quarterfinals twice over the last four seasons. He won 62 percent of his games at Milford. In nine seasons at Hartland, the Eagles have won 78 percent of their games.
“There just doesn’t seem to be any let up for a while,” he said, referring to the talent stream at Hartland. Indeed, five sophomores and two freshmen saw extensive time during the postseason for the Eagles this year.
But, he jokes, some old habits die hard.
“Even now, frequently, I’ll still write ‘Milford’ in a scorebook or something like that,” Palmer said. “I’m much, much better now. I’m a Hartland guy and a Livingston County guy, but it took a while. I coached 61 seasons over there. That’ll always be my school, but I do think that getting hired at Hartland was the best thing that happened to me under those circumstances. It’s been fabulous.”
Palmer’s coaching tree is expansive, and his list of admirers much more so.
“When we were winning and making runs in the state tournament, he went to all of our games,” Jason Piepho said. “He was always a coach you could call and talk to about things in your program. He’s an open book, willing to help and mentor. He’s what you want in a high school coach.”
“There are a lot of challenges that come with coaching,” McKay said. “A lot of people don’t like hearing the truth, and it’s hard to tell them. But he’s always honest and up front with his players and staff. He’s a first-class person and coach, and I admire him and try to emulate what he does.”
McKay just finished his second season with the Bobcats, and they beat Hartland in December in a key victory.
“I didn’t like losing, but losing to him took the sting away a little bit because he was so happy and it was a big win for his program,” Palmer said. “So that helped. I’m proud of him, and he’s turning it around and he’ll be fine.”
Told this, McKay replied, “That tells you all you need to know about Don. He’s a class act. It was a great win for our program, but bittersweet for me. I look on him as a second father, and you always want to please your father. I know how badly he wanted to win and compete and how much I do, too.”
Howell girls coach Tim Olszewski had previously coached the Howell boys against Palmer’s Milford teams. In his last regular-season game as Howell coach, Olszewski’s Highlanders beat Milford 97-86.
“He was so mad at me,” Olszewski said, laughing. “He and his players were all red-faced, for different reasons.
“He’s a great coach and I love listening to him talk and pick his brain for things. He’s very well deserving of the record. Hopefully he’ll be around a lot longer.”
March continues
A lot has changed since Palmer’s first season as a varsity coach with the Milford girls back in 1977.
“As we kind of march on in time, you’ve got people playing 60 games in the summer,” Palmer said. “I think if we get in 30 games, that’s plenty. I do think this: More than ever, you’ve got to let kids be kids a little bit. We’re going to that specialization stuff, and I don’t think that’s great.
“People love to go to the next level, but it becomes a job,” he continued. “So this is the time to be a kid. This is the time to enjoy sports. Basketball is always my love, but I enjoyed football. I enjoyed track, and I think kids, well, it’s just how it is. There are outside forces. Everyone says they have a college athlete, and the percentages say they don’t.”
Specialization, he adds, not only cuts into individual opportunities to learn, but also hurts teams that could use those athletes.
“Unless you have a gigantic high school, all of your athletes have got to play a couple of sports, or you don’t survive,” he said.
As he gets older, Palmer sees the end of his career approaching, although he’s not there yet.
“I just go year-by-year,” he said. “Part of the compromise my wife and I made for me to continue (coaching) is that we’re going to travel a little bit more. She likes that, and so we’ve got some plans. After the season is over, we’re going to take a trip to Dallas. I’m a Kennedy assassination buff, and she just wants to see Dallas.”
Asked if he will be back next year, he nods his head.
“Right now, that’s the feeling, I guess,” he said. “If everything works out, I would like to at least finish with Whitney. That’s a gift, to coach a kid like that. But eventually you have to make a decision. Right now, my energy is up, but when the season is over, I go into a meltdown for a month where I don’t do much. Just don’t have the energy. It takes more and more out of you every day.
“But it’s still fun when you’re in the heat of battle. It’s still fun.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hartland girls basketball coach Don Palmer stands for the national anthem before a game at Howell last month. (Middle) Palmer, also during the game against the Highlanders. (Below) Palmer talks with his team during a timeout. (Photos by Tim Robinson.)