Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview
March 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament field was reduced from more than 700 to 128 last week with a number of the expected contenders moving on – and few of the unexpected joining the group as well.
See below for four teams from each class that jumped out as we watched Districts finish up and anticipated the start of Regionals tonight. Click for brackets for all 32 and stay with Score Center tonight for scores and updated matchups.
Class A
Dearborn (16-7) – The Pioneers saw a two-season league title streak end, but have improved four wins from a year ago and won their District with a 56-51 victory over Allen Park – which finished 18-4. Dearborn has won 12 of its last 14 games.
East Lansing (17-6) – The Trojans emerged from a District that featured the reigning runners-up in Class A (DeWitt) and B (Haslett), downing Haslett 60-42 in an opener, then rival Grand Ledge 52-36 before beating surprise Lansing Waverly in the Final; 57-41. The Trojans have won 10 straight.
Saginaw Heritage (21-1) – The Hawks’ season looked like it might get away when they fell to Midland Dow 48-40 on Feb. 12 after the team lost standout Jaela Richardson to injury for the rest of the season. But Heritage has rebounded to win six straight and beat Dow 42-32 in the District Final.
Southfield Lathrup (20-3) – The win in the District Final, 56-28 over Southfield, was significant in that the two schools will merge into one after this school year and Southfield was a league champion this winter. But on the way, the Chargers also beat two more league champs in Berkley and Detroit Renaissance.
Class B
Alma (11-10) – The Panthers entered the postseason with a sub-.500 record, but opened last week with an overtime upset of Belding (which beat Alma in the District last season) and then won the title with a 15-point clincher over Shepherd.
Freeland (20-3) – The Tri-Valley Conference Central champion won its ninth straight game in a nail-biter, beating league rival Saginaw Swan Valley 56-53 in double overtime for the District title. The Falcons had beaten the Vikings by only six and five points during the regular season.
Reed City (11-11) – The record may not jump out, but the Coyotes are leaps and bounds better than 2014-15, when they finished 0-21. Reed City tied for fourth in the Central State Activities Association Gold this winter, but beat co-champion Big Rapids in the opener before edging Clare 48-47 in the Final.
Stevensville Lakeshore (19-2) – The Lancers won their first District title since 2013 with a 57-35 win over Benton Harbor, holding Tigers star Kysre Gondrezick to a still-impressive 24 points after she had scored an MHSAA-record 72 in a double-overtime District-opening win a few days earlier.
Class C
Gobles (22-0) – The Tigers nearly saw their perfect run end against a familiar foe, surviving a 65-62 triple-overtime thriller against Hartford in the District Final. Gobles had beaten Hartford, which finished 15-8, 61-18 and 62-28 during the regular season.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (16-5) – Last week ended much differently than District week in 2015. Covenant Christian opened with a 45-19 win over Grandville Calvin Christian, a league champion and the team that eliminated the Chargers last year. They then won 54-18 over a Saugatuck team that finished 18-5.
Iron Mountain (14-8) – The Mountaineers repeated as District champs in something of an unexpected scenario. Iron Mountain met up with Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference foe Norway for the third time, and this time won 51-40 after falling 63-37 and 79-45 in the regular-season meetings.
Traverse City St. Francis (22-1) – The Lake Michigan Conference champion hadn’t crossed paths this season with Northwest Conference champion Maple City Glen Lake, but ended the Lakers’ season at 20-3 with a 62-55 win in the District championship game after beating 15-win Elk Rapids in the Semifinal.
Class D
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (18-3) – The annual Mid-South Conference power took another step this season, winning its league again and then its District with a 42-35 victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian; the Storm fell in its first District game in 2015.
Athens (16-7) – After closing the regular season with three losses in its final four games, Athens is back in familiar territory thanks to a 51-49 overtime District Final win over Mendon – which finished 17-4. Athens also beat Mendon for a District title last season.
Bellevue (17-6) – The Broncos continue to improve under former Eaton Rapids standout Kayla Whitmyer and are four wins better than a season ago. Bellevue beat Battle Creek St. Philip 36-30 in the District Final a week after falling 40-36 to the Tigers amid a three-losses-in-four-game skid.
Fruitport Calvary Christian (19-3) – One more win will give Calvary Christian 20 for the third straight season, but would mean much more than that; also for the third straight season, the Eagles meet Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in a Regional Semifinal and have lost the last two meetings.
PHOTO: Reed City and Clare players scramble for a loose ball during Reed City’s one-point District Final win last week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Eagle Provides Decisive Lift as Ishpeming Lands 1st Finals Championship
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 23, 2024
EAST LANSING — This gave new definition to soaring to new heights on the wings of an eagle.
Through the first 15 minutes of Saturday’s Division 4 championship game against Kingston, Ishpeming sophomore and leading scorer Jenessa Eagle had just two points.
From that point on, nobody on the floor flew higher.
Eagle scored 25 points over the final two quarters plus a minute of the second, finishing with a game-high 27 points to help lead Ishpeming to its first Finals title with a 73-54 win over a Kingston team that also was playing in its first championship game.
“I was really getting into wanting to win,” Eagle said. “I was wanting to do it for my team. I wasn’t really thinking that much. I was just going out and doing what I practiced.”
Ishpeming became the first girls basketball team from the Upper Peninsula to win a Finals championship since Calumet and St. Ignace did so in 2015.
Despite what the final score said, Ishpeming had to navigate some first-half adversity.
Kingston used a 16-2 run late in the first quarter to take a 22-11 lead going into the second. A critical juncture came with 2:34 remaining in the second quarter, when Ishpeming senior Jenna Maki had to leave the game with her third foul.
Kingston held a 26-21 lead at that point, with Maki having scored 16 of the Hematites’ points. But Ishpeming rallied with Maki on the bench, outscoring Kingston 10-4 the rest of the quarter to take a 31-30 lead into halftime.
Eagle and senior Kaitlyn Van Deuren each sank 3-pointers to start the rally, and then Eagle and senior Payton Manninen both added 2-point baskets for the Hematites.
“We have a very trusted bench,” Ishpeming head coach Ryan Reichel said. “Our girls all come in knowing that they have a role where they can compete and do some big things for us. Even when Jenna was out, we knew we had girls who could still put the ball in the basket.”
Ishpeming continued that momentum during the third quarter, forcing six turnovers over the first 1:39 of the frame to build a 39-30 lead. Eagle then caught fire from the outside, draining a couple of deep 3-pointers to give Ishpeming a 47-34 lead with 3:35 to go in the period.
Ishpeming ultimately took a 58-46 lead into the fourth quarter, with Eagle scoring 15 of the team’s 27 points during the third. The Hematites kept up the pressure from there, going on a 10-0 run to take a 73-50 lead with 3:21 remaining and essentially start the celebration.
Maki, the school’s all-time leading scorer, finished a terrific career by adding 24 points to her total and pulling down eight rebounds. She and the rest of Ishpeming’s seniors fulfilled an ambition they have had since they started playing together in kindergarten.
The Hematites won just five games four seasons ago, but skyrocketed quickly and are now on top of the state.
“It really does feel great,” Maki said. “Just like this experience, it feels surreal right now. It’s amazing to see all the fans and all our community who made it down here. It’s a great feeling.”
Senior Abbey Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Molly Walker scored 14 points for Kingston, which finished a historic season of its own at 27-2.
“This was a great day for Kingston girls basketball,“ Kingston head coach Jay Green said. “There was a huge crowd here supporting us, and we played an outstanding team. The girls gave it all they got. I told their coach after the game that they can make the final four in Division 1, 2, 3 or 4. That team is outstanding. Everybody knows that.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming players raise their championship trophy Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Hematites’ Jenessa Eagle gets up a shot with Kingston’s Keria McGarvie (24) and Molly Walker defending. (Below) Jenna Maki (1) launches a 3-point attempt. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)