Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview

March 7, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

It was not intentional that the five results from last week’s Districts highlighted in this week’s “Breslin Bound” report all came from Class A.

Rather, it’s an indication just how many contenders there appear to be in that tournament this season – and no doubt this week’s Regionals in the other three classes will provide similar excitement.

Below is a glance at those five District games that popped off the bracket most, plus a look at three Regionals of particular note in each class – all powered by MI Student Aid.

Week in Review

The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:

1. East Lansing 48, DeWitt 47 – The Trojans avenged a one-point loss to the Panthers from the second week of this season in a matchup of Capital Area Activities Conference champions.

2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 47, Bloomfield Hills 45 – Marian ran its Class A District streak to six straight in this Final, handing Bloomfield Hills only its second loss and first since the first weekend in December.

3. East Kentwood 51, Grand Rapids Christian 49 – The Falcons also haven’t lost since the season’s first week, but just got past the Eagles in another Class A Final, this one a matchup of Ottawa-Kent Conference champs.

4. Farmington Hills Mercy 32, North Farmington 30 – North Farmington had a great season with 16 wins, but this Class A Final still had to be a bit of a scare for the Detroit Catholic League A-B champion.

5. Midland Dow 37, Saginaw Heritage 30 – This was a Class A District Semifinal, but matched rivals that had split during the regular season; both had aspirations of winning the MHSAA championship, and Dow went on to win the District.

Regionals at a Glance

These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:

CLASS A

Dearborn Fordson
Dearborn (18-4), Detroit Martin Luther King (22-1), Livonia Churchill (9-14), Southfield Arts & Technology (18-4).

King has continued to turn away its share of tough opponents as it looks to return to the Class A championship game after finishing runner-up a year ago. The Crusaders could see two more this week; Dearborn also faced King in a Regional Semifinal last season and is two wins better than a year ago, and potential District Final opponent Southfield Arts & Technology has faced its share of contenders as well and has been considered one since the start of this winter. Churchill lost seven of its last eight to finish the regular season, but has gotten on the right track during the playoffs.

North Farmington
Farmington Hills Mercy (20-3), Hartland (22-1), Novi (17-6), Walled Lake Western (19-4).

With their only loss to King on Dec. 17, the Eagles are on a fantastic run and rightly should have dreams of their second Regional title in three seasons. They won a Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title with Novi and Walled Lake Western also part of the bracket, although Hartland didn’t see either. As noted above, Mercy is the Detroit Catholic League A-B champ but had a scare in the District Final. Those two face each other Tuesday, with Western a KLAA division champion and Novi a runner-up on the other side of the bracket.

Zeeland East
East Kentwood (22-1), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (16-7), Hudsonville (17-6), Muskegon Mona Shores (19-3).

East Kentwood and Mona Shores both had District scares as well, East Kentwood’s against Grand Rapids Christian mentioned above and Mona Shores a one-point Semifinal win over rival Muskegon. They face each other in one Semifinal this week, while on the other side Hudsonville is looking to repeat its 2016 trip to the Class A Semifinals and Forest Hills Northern is on a six-game winning streak that has included multiple wins over the champion of its O-K White, Lowell.

CLASS B

Detroit Mumford
Center Line (16-7), Detroit Collegiate Prep (16-5), Detroit Mumford (16-7), Redford Union (14-6).

Mumford will start its pursuit of a repeat Quarterfinal trip with another strong Detroit Public School League team in Collegiate Prep, which has added six wins to its total from 2015-16. On the other side of a wide-open bracket, Center Line has won six of its last eight while making the Macomb Area Conference Blue-Gold Tournament championship game, and Redford Union has reversed course from last season’s 6-15 finish.

Frankenmuth
Corunna (14-9), Freeland (23-0), Ithaca (19-4), Saginaw Swan Valley (18-5).

Freeland’s run to the Tri-Valley Conference Central title included a one-point win over Swan Valley, a possible Regional Final opponent. The Vikings open with Ithaca, a Class C semifinalist last season, while the Falcons will look to keep their perfect run alive against a Corunna team that has improved from 9-12 a year ago.

Hamilton
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (22-1), Hamilton (22-1), Howard City Tri-County (15-7), Muskegon Oakridge (21-2).

Hamilton, Oakridge and GRCC all won league championships, and Tri-County was a co-runner-up. Oakridge’s losses came back-to-back in December, and it is undefeated in 2017 as it takes on Hamilton in a Regional Semifinal for the second straight season – and with the opportunity to see GRCC in the title game also for the second straight winter. Hamilton’s only loss also was in December, to Class A Hudsonville, and GRCC’s defeat came on opening night to Class A Mona Shores.

CLASS C

Adrian Madison
Ann Arbor Greenhills (17-4), Blissfield (21-2), Grass Lake (17-6), Michigan Center (20-3).

Grass Lake won the Cascades Conference with a sweep of Michigan Center by 10 (in overtime) and 24. But the Cardinals have won 11 straight. To get a rematch, they first must get by Blissfield, the Lenawee County Athletic Association champion and owner of an 18-game winning streak with losses this season only to Class A Utica Ford and Class B Bay City John Glenn. And don’t forget about Greenhills, which also has won 11 straight and 15 of its last 16 after also going 17-4 last winter.

Flint Hamady
Brown City (16-6), Flint Hamady (16-5), Harbor Beach (17-5), Sandusky (23-0).

It’s hard to believe Hamady hasn’t won a Class C title since 2010; the Hawks are always in the mix and have won four Regionals this decade alone. But this could be one of their greatest challenges at this level of the tournament; Sandusky is playing for its first Regional title since 1999 and has been barely challenged, with only Harbor Beach getting as close as 10 to matching the Redskins. Sandusky, Harbor Beach and Brown City finished in the top three spots in the Greater Thumb Conference East. Hamady has seen its share of top teams, however, with losses to four others that also celebrated District titles last week – Detroit Country Day, Goodrich, Detroit Edison and Flushing.

Homer
Bronson (16-7), Kalamazoo Hackett (18-5), Niles Brandywine (19-4), Schoolcraft (18-5).

None of these teams won league championships, a testament to the tough competition they’ve faced in prepping for the postseason. Brandywine finished third in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Red to Class B Comstock and Buchanan (which shared the title) and is seeking its third straight Regional championship and sixth in seven seasons. Bronson finished second in the BCS Blue and is seeking its first Regional title since 2002, and Hackett and Schoolcraft tied for second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley and are both seeking a first championship in this round of the tournament.

CLASS D

Adrian Lenawee Christian
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (20-1), Hillsdale Academy (16-7), Morrice (19-4), Pittsford (23-0).

It’s been quite a closing run for Pittsford’s veteran crew, who have won 50 straight since falling in the Class D Final in 2015. First up this week is Morrice, which has won 11 straight and shared the Genesee Area Conference Blue title, while on the other side waits a possible familiar foe – Hillsdale Academy finished second to Pittsford in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. The Colts begin Regional play with Mid-South Conference champ Rudolf Steiner, which lost only to Class C Whitmore Lake.

Kingsford
Bark River-Harris (15-7), Cooks Big Bay de Noc (10-12), Crystal Falls Forest Park (18-4), Painesdale-Jeffers (17-6)

A championship game between Skyline Central Conference West rivals Bark River-Harris and Crystal Falls Forest Park would be charged; the Trojans beat Bark River-Harris by 13 early but saw the league title slip away with a 13-point loss to the Broncos in the regular-season finale. Not that Jeffers, with 12 wins over its last 14 games, will go easily in its Regional Semifinal against Bark River-Harris. Big Bay de Noc finished last in the SCC East but beat the second and third-place teams to win last week’s District.

Marion
Custer Mason County Eastern (16-5), Fruitport Calvary Christian (20-1), Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (22-1), Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (18-5).

Sacred Heart, last season’s Class D runner-up, has dominated again with only a loss to Carson City-Crystal, and only the Eagles and Merrill have gotten within single digits of the Irish so far. Tri-unity, which like Sacred Heart fell to eventual champion Pittsford during last season’s tournament, is looking to return to the Quarterfinals for the second straight. Especially intriguing is Calvary Christian, which finished ahead of Tri-unity to win the Alliance League and is a one-point December loss to Class C Mason County Central from a perfect season but has never won a Regional. To get that opportunity, Calvary will first have to beat Mason County Eastern, which has righted itself after losing three of four at the end of the regular season.

PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, here against Beal City, plays this week in what could be one of the toughest Regionals in Class D. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Sophomores Shine in 'Slugfest' as Frankenmuth Reaches 1st Final Since 1996

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

March 17, 2023

EAST LANSING – Frankenmuth scored only 37 points Friday, but it was enough to win a defensive slugfest.

And, at least for coach Joe Jacobs, it was a thing of beauty.

“The game was exactly what we wanted,” said Jacobs after his team held on for a 37-30 win over Goodrich in Friday’s first Division 2 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.

“We wanted a slugfest. We’re a very good defensive team, and our emphasis tonight was always knowing where their shooters were.”

Frankenmuth sophomore guard Clare Conzelmann was the star on both ends of the court, using her length to get into the passing lanes and disrupt the Goodrich shooters, then converting two traditional three-point plays during the final 3:27 en route to a game-high 15 points.

Conzelmann’s stellar play helped the Eagles soar into the Finals for the first time since 1996. Frankenmuth, 25-2 and champion of the Tri-Valley Conference 8, advanced to Saturday’s 6:15 p.m. championship game against the Grand Rapids West Catholic vs. Lansing Catholic winner.

Conzelmann said she benefitted from Goodrich focusing its defense on shutting down junior guard Mia McLaughlin (Ferris State commit) and 6-foot-1 senior Lexi Boyke (Central Michigan signee).

Goodrich's Kalen Williams (3) and Alexis Kosmowski (11) and Frankenmuth's Lexi Boyke (33) and Izzy Bernthal (4) work for position as they await a rebound. 

“A lot of their focus was on Mia and Lexi,” said Conzelmann, one of three sophomore starters for Frankenmuth. “They wanted to try and make other players score. Today, my shots went in, which was great. Sometimes they don’t.”

Frankenmuth led 6-4 after the first quarter, then scored five quick points to open the second quarter on a bucket by Boyke and a 3-pointer by McLaughlin.

But the story of the first half, and the whole game for that matter, was the Eagles’ stifling 2-3 matchup zone defense.

Goodrich (24-4), which is one of the state’s best 3-point shooting teams and scored 60 or more points in three of its first five tournament games, went a stretch of 8 minutes and 5 seconds in the first half without scoring a point. The Martians, who shot 26 percent from the floor for the game and just 4-of-13 from behind the arc, had a similar scoreless stretch of 5 minutes and 35 seconds to open the fourth quarter.

Goodrich coach Jason Gray, in his 24th year, said Frankenmuth’s defense was the best they faced all season.

“Their guards are long and they were getting their hands out and throwing us off,” said Gray, who led the Martians to back-to-back Class B titles in 2012 and 2013.

“We weren’t able to get inside and kick it out, like we like to do. We hung around, but we were never able to take the lead, which might have changed things.”

Goodrich junior Alexis Kosmowski certainly did her part, scoring a team-high 14 points as the Martians stayed within striking distance, trailing by just three points, 22-19, entering the fourth quarter.

That was when a pair of sophomores stepped up for Frankenmuth.

In addition to Conzelmann’s two traditional three-point plays, sophomore forward Izzy Bernthal added a crucial mid-range jumper and then an offensive rebound and putback in the final minute to seal the win. Bernthal finished with six points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Goodrich senior Riley Place, who entered the game with 77 3-pointers, was held to just one on Saturday and six points. Her younger sister, sophomore Ella Place, also scored six points.

The Semifinal win was especially sweet for Boyke, who missed all of last season after injuring her knee in the opening game. She contributed six points and five rebounds, and was happy to be playing instead of watching from the bench.

“It feels good to be on the court with my teammates,” said Boyke. “Yes, I am very thankful for the opportunity.”

Click for the full box score

PHOTOS (Top) Frankenmuth's Clare Conzelmann (2) brings the ball upcourt with Goodrich's Kayla Hairston (12) providing pressure. (Middle) Goodrich's Kalen Williams (3) and Alexis Kosmowski (11) and Frankenmuth's Lexi Boyke (33) and Izzy Bernthal (4) work for position as they await a rebound.