Breslin Bound: Girls Report Post-Break

January 8, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Many of the girls basketball teams impressing us most this season are those we're used to watching march to the Breslin Center every winter.

But others are popping back on the radar in a big way for the first time in a few years – and this week's list includes a few of those as well.

The following 10 teams were among those most impressive while school was out these last few weeks. Records and scores are based on those submitted to the MHSAA.com Score Center.  

1. Muskegon Oakridge (11-0) – Oakridge now has won 24 straight regular-season games including a pair at this season’s Oakridge Holiday Tournament, an event it did not win a year ago.

2. Southfield-Lathrup (7-0) – The Chargers have been expected to dominate, and they’re making good on that forecast. Their only close game was still a 51-45 win over a solid Ypsilanti Arbor team.

3. Flat Rock (8-0) – The Rams showed signs of this ability going 16-7 last season. A 47-44 win over a strong Eaton Rapids team is among those most impressive so far this winter.  

4. Center Line (6-0) – After opening last season 3-0 and finishing with just four wins total, the Panthers have won all of their games this winter by at least 20 points.  

5. Goodrich (7-1) – On one hand, Goodrich lost for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season. On the other, that loss came to Twinsburg, Ohio, meaning the Martians still haven’t lost to an in-state team in more than a year – and beat Class A power East Lansing the day before that defeat.

6. Grosse Pointe South (6-0) – It’s been hard not to mention this reigning Class A Semifinalist yet. And 15 and eight-point wins on back-to-back days over Livonia Ladywood and Brownstown Woodhaven made it even tougher to wait any longer.

7. Freeland (6-0) – Michigan State recruit Tori Jankoska and her teammates are favorites to make another run at Class B after reaching the Semifinals last season. A one-point win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett should build some momentum for that effort.

8. Calumet (6-1) – This volleyball school is showing some skills on the basketball court as well and is already halfway to last season’s win total. On Thursday, Calumet handed L’Anse its first loss this winter.

9. Saginaw Valley Lutheran (5-1) – The Chargers have been elite for a few seasons now, and can add a 69-40 win over much larger Saginaw Arthur Hill to recent accomplishments. Their only loss this season was to Freeland on opening night.

10. Saginaw Nouvel (6-1) – The frequently-powerful Panthers are off to another nice run. They bounced back from that lone loss, to undefeated Reese, with a 46-44 win over Dearborn Divine Child.

PHOTO: Grosse Pointe South's Aliezza Brown looks for an open teammate while being guarded by multiple Brownstown-Woodhaven players during a win at the end of December. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Spring Can Wait as Standfest, Elk Rapids Eager to Add to This Winter's Success

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

February 16, 2024

Winter weather has been rather mild in Northern Michigan this basketball season.

Northern Lower PeninsulaMany are thinking spring, and those who play soccer are already thinking about the upcoming season.  

Make no mistake. Elk Rapids’ Kendall Standfest is not one of them.

Standfest has all kinds of unfinished business ahead of her before she starts thinking about what used to be her favorite sport. The high-scoring senior point guard is focused on capturing at least a share of the Lake Michigan Conference championship and a long postseason run in March.

Onlookers in Northern Michigan wouldn’t be surprised if she has March 23 circled on her calendar – the date of the Division 3 Final at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Among the most prolific scorers in Elk Rapids history, Standfest has become quite familiar with postseason success in both basketball and soccer – and as a team leader for both.

She shares the basketball leadership role with senior and long-time teammate Morgan Bergquist. Standfest is averaging better than 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks a game. And Bergquist contributes nearly 15 points per contest.

“I have referred to them as ‘Batman and Robin,’” coach Mike Brown said. “We need both of them at all times because come playoff time, people are going to try to take away their game and make other people step up.”

Elk Rapids is 16-2 overall and 9-1 in league play. Two wins came in overtime. The lone league loss was to Harbor Springs, the team sharing the conference lead. The Elks will host league foes Boyne City tonight and Kalkaska next week. Road games at East Jordan and Kingsley will finish regular season. Then the fun starts again.

Postseason will begin with the District at Johannesburg-Lewiston. Other possible opponents are Charlevoix, East Jordan, Mancelona and Traverse City St. Francis. By playoff time, Elk Rapids will have seen all but the host Cardinals.

The Elks reached the Quarterfinals last year before losing to eventual Division 3 champion Hemlock 52-37.

Standfest directs the offense during another game.“Hemlock was a really good team – they could do it all,” Brown said. “Our goal ever since that game has been to get back to the Breslin Center.”

Standfest, too, is excited about the Elks’ potential and looks forward to seeing how far they go this year.

“Our team is coming together and playing really well,” she said. “The ultimate goal is definitely to get to the Breslin, but first Districts obviously and Regionals.”

Standfest also has enjoyed tremendous success on the soccer pitch and as a top-notch cross-country runner. She’s headed to Michigan Tech to play basketball next season, and took this past fall off from high school sports to focus on hoops, now her “definite” favorite sport. “It used to be soccer, but that stopped a while ago and it has been basketball ever since,” Standfest said.

Standfest has been a key player and big scorer for the Elks soccer team, which also has enjoyed great postseason runs reaching Division 3 Semifinals the last two years. They lost to eventual champion Hudsonville Unity Christian in both.

Standfest, who has a chance to reach second on the school’s all-time scoring list, always draws the opposing team’s best defender — if not best overall player. She relishes the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with such challengers.

She already has battled Manton’s Lauren Wilder, Lake City’s MacKenzie Bisballe and Harbor Springs’ Olivia Flynn.

“I enjoy playing against better competition because I think honestly I play better most of the time,” said Standfest, known as Kenny to her team. “It gives me a sense of pride to beat ’em or do something good against them.”

Brown, who took over the Elks program in 2018 after heading up the freshman and JV teams for six years, enjoys watching those battles.

“Kendall played AAU and a lot of those girls did too, so it is fun to watch them go at each other,” he said. “Kendall is always guarding their best player.”

But Brown knows it takes more than his two senior leaders to win consistently.

“It is a team sport,” Brown pointed out. “Everybody has to fill their role.

“We’ve got some up-and-coming sophomores,” he continued.  “We are kind of peaking and playing well as a team.”

Should opponents key in on the Elks’ dynamic duo, those likely to step up are sophomores Brooke Fluty, Rylnn Skrocki and Anna Pray, along with junior Hunter Schellenberger.

Brown also notes he’s enjoyed watching the Elks grow into strong contenders and really loves the individual improvement.

“It is really nice when you see these kids get it, and they improve and they’re having fun,” Brown said. “These kids made basketball coaching rewarding.”

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) The Elk Rapids girls basketball team celebrates Kendall Standfest’s 1,000th career point; she’s holding the basketball. (Middle) Standfest directs the offense during another game. (Top photo by Abby Porter; middle photo courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)