Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 1
December 5, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Welcome to the second week of the 2016-17 girls basketball season – and this winter’s first renovated “Breslin Bound” report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Over the last few seasons, we’ve weekly posted looks at teams to watch in each class with an eye on the end-of-season MHSAA Tournament. We’re changing things up and expanding a little too to make sure you know about all of the most significant scores from the week that was – like, for example, two of last year’s MHSAA champions suffering losses over the first seven days of this season – plus a few ideas on what games could be especially important in the week to come.
Results and schedules are based on what’s published for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or missing scores, please contact me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Bloomfield Hills Marian 56, Warren Cousino 42 – The Mustangs bounced back from an opening-night loss to hand reigning Class A champion Cousino a double-digit defeat at University of Detroit Mercy.
2. Williamston 37, Marshall 31 – The Hornets were District champs a year ago but can set their sights higher, especially after handing this loss to the reigning Class B champion Redhawks.
3. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 52, Muskegon Mona Shores 39 – The Sailors rightly have Class A title aspirations this winter, but reigning Class C champion Arbor Prep is loaded with future college players as well and should be a contender despite moving into Class B.
4. Manistee 50, Frankfort 34 – One of the few hiccups on Manistee’s run to the Class B Quarterfinals last season was a loss in the regular-season finale to Frankfort, which won 18 games total as the Chippewas finished 21-4.
5. Dearborn 50, Northville 49 – The Mustangs beat Dearborn 49-38 on opening night last season and ended the winter in the Class A Quarterfinals; Dearborn, which won 16 games last season, will be hoping for similar momentum.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Canton (2-0) – The Chiefs are coming off a league title and 17-5 record after ending last season in the District Final; they look poised for more after a week that included handing Detroit Cass Tech a 56-30 defeat and avenging last season’s opening loss to Marian with a 43-40 victory over the Mustangs.
Marquette (2-0) – The Redettes are seeking their third straight 20-win season and finished last week with a 39-38 victory over Brighton, which had opened with two wins.
CLASS B
Edwardsburg (2-0) – The Eddies tied for second last season in the Wolverine Conference South, just a win behind champion Sturgis; they have the upper hand early this time after beating Sturgis 61-38 following a 37-32 opening-night win over Niles.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (3-0) – The Gators are wasting no time making their Class B presence felt after winning Class C a year ago; the win over Mona Shores is proof last winter’s 25-2 record could transfer, especially since Arbor Prep played mostly bigger schools last regular season too.
CLASS C
Charlevoix (2-0) – Much is expected from 6-foot-1 freshman Elise Stuck, and she’s made good by turning last season’s 36-point loss to Petoskey in a 43-39 win this time and last year’s 28-point defeat to Cheboygan into a 60-32 victory for the Rayders.
Michigan Center (1-0) – The Cardinals have played only one game, but hope a 43-40 overtime win over Jonesville proves telling. Last season, Michigan Center fell by nine to Jonesville and went on to finish 6-15 while Jonesville was 19-3.
CLASS D
Portland St. Patrick (2-0) – An up-and-down 2015-16 saw St. Patrick enter the ostseason with a losing record but reach its Regional Final; all signs point to keeping the good times rolling after a first week with wins over Lansing Christian (43-36) and Fulton (55-51).
Wolverine (2-0) – With nine losses over its final 10 games last winter, Wolverine slid to a 6-14 finish. The Wildcats are one-third of the way to equaling their success after beating Northport 39-33 in overtime and then Atlanta.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday: East Lansing (1-0) at DeWitt (2-0) – These two Lansing-area Class A powers regularly meet, with DeWitt claiming a 12-point win last winter before both went on to division championships in the Capital Area Activities Conference.
Tuesday: Muskegon (1-0) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (1-1) – After graduating the Miss Basketball runner-up from a year ago, the Big Reds can continue to see how they might measure up against an annual Class B power.
Tuesday: Reese (1-1) at Millington (1-0) – These two combined to go 32-13 last season, with Reese winning their lone meeting by 18 points; the Rockets are coming off an 11-point win over Frankenmuth, which won Millington’s Tri-Valley Conference East last winter.
Wednesday: Morenci (1-1) at Pittsford (2-0) – The reigning Class D champion Wildcats have increased their winning streak to 29 straight; Morenci won 13 games last season before falling to Pittsford in their District.
Friday: Sault Ste. Marie (1-0) at St. Ignace (0-0) – The Blue Devils’ 15-6 run last season included a split with the Straits Area Conference rival Saints, who as usual ended up in a Class C Quarterfinal.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Flint Carman-Ainsworth (defending) earned its first win of the season Friday, 65-26 over Swartz Creek. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
Coach's All-Nighter Helps Brandywine Net 1st Trip to Championship Day
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2024
EAST LANSING — Niles Brandywine girls basketball head coach Josh Hood said following Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Grand Rapids Covenant Christian, he pulled his “first all-nighter since college.”
Hood said he was up until 5 a.m. Wednesday scouting what was going to be a taller Lake City opponent for Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal. He decided to come up with something on the fly to try and slow down the Trojans’ frontcourt duo of seniors MacKenzie Bisballe and Alison Bisballe, the tallest players on the floor.
“We knew it would take an army to defend them, and I thought our kids did a phenomenal job,” Hood said. “In one day, we instituted a triangle-and-2 defense. They executed it to perfection.”
Brandywine certainly did, holding the Bisballe cousins in check and using its superior 3-point shooting to earn a 52-39 win.
Members of Brandywine’s team were in the stands last week watching the Bobcats boys team win their program's first Finals championship, and the roles will be reversed Saturday as the boys watch the girls attempt to claim a state title for the first time.
“Watching the boys last (weekend) really helped,” Hood said. “That helped calm all of us. When you walk into the Breslin, you are in awe.”
MacKenzie Bisballe, a 6-foot-1 forward, finished with 13 points for Lake City. Alison Bisballe, a 6-foot-4 forward who has signed with Wisconsin, finished with 10 points, which was what Brandywine (26-1) hoped for when it designed its new defense.
Lake City head coach Bill Tisron said his team had seen other opponents play a triangle-and-2 defense on the Bisballes this year, but Brandywine was effective with its execution of it.
“It wasn’t completely brand new, but they ran it really well,” Tisron said. “Their starting five has very athletic girls. They executed it well, and we just couldn’t get shots to fall early.”
Meanwhile, Brandywine’s edge on the perimeter played out, as the Bobcats went 10 of 23 from 3-point range.
Junior Miley Young scored 16 points, and senior Kadence Brumitt added 11 to lead Brandywine to the Final.
“I can’t wait,” Brumitt said. “We have been working all year for this, and we knew from the beginning that this was the year.”
Lake City finished its season at 25-3.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but it was fun,” Tisron said. “I thought Brandywine shot lights out. I thought we did a good job of challenging those threes, but they were falling.”
Leading 27-13 at halftime, Brandywine didn’t let up in the third quarter, going on an 8-2 run to take a 35-15 lead with 3:22 left in the period.
From there, Lake City went on a surge, first cutting its deficit to 36-21 going into the fourth.
The Trojans then made it a 10-point game at 39-29 with 5:46 remaining on a steal and layup by MacKenzie Bisballe and a free throw by Alison Bisballe.
But Young hit a big 3-pointer from the wing to extend Brandywine’s lead to 42-29 with 4:49 left. The Trojans couldn’t cut their deficit below double digits the rest of the way.
Brandywine got off to a great start, taking a 13-4 lead during the first quarter and increasing the advantage to 27-13 by halftime.
The Bobcats went 6 of 12 from 3-point range and held an 18-10 rebounding advantage in the first half.
PHOTOS (Top) Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) gets a hand on Payton Hogan’s shot during the Bobcats’ Division 3 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) Ellie Knapp works to find space with Lake City’s MacKenzie Bisballe defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)