Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 10
February 6, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re getting late into this girls basketball season. But that hardly means everything is figured out, even as league titles are being awarded and tournament contenders are keeping an eye on possible opponents who could crop up down the road.
See Ypsilanti Community, which fell for the first time this season Saturday, to Muskegon. Or Goodrich and Byron, two Flint-area teams who also took unexpected defeats last week to Davison and Durand, respectively.
Bottom line: A lot of teams still have the chance to create an exciting finish this winter even as odds look stacked again them. Read on to learn about a few more that have stuck out in this week’s Breslin Bound report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Carson City-Crystal 35, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 32 – The Eagles broke the 19-game regular-season winning streak of the reigning Class D runner-up, and followed this win by also avenging its other loss this season to Merrill.
2. Detroit Country Day 60, Southfield Arts & Technology 51 – In a season of impressive wins, this one ranks right up there for the Yellowjackets, with the Warriors falling to 9-4 versus one of the state’s toughest schedules.
3. Williamston 74, East Lansing 47 – The Hornets have put together a strong run over the last two seasons, but this win over a 13-2 Class A team has to be among the most impressive victories during that time.
4. Detroit Edison PSA 43, Flint Hamady 39 – Sandwiched between losses to Class A Detroit Martin Luther King and Class B Country Day, DEPSA downed Class C Hamady, the only team of the three it could see again in the postseason.
5. Edwardsburg 57, Buchanan 39 – The Eddies backed up their status as a rising team in Class B by handing the first loss this season to Buchanan, which then fell again to rival Comstock in its next game.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Brownstown Woodhaven (11-3) – The Warriors have won eight straight and beat Wyandotte Roosevelt 53-51 last week to move into first place with the Bears in the Downriver League. Woodhaven finished second in the league last season to Allen Park, with which it split this winter.
Roseville (10-5) – The Panthers have won seven straight to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Silver championship. One more win will guarantee an improvement on last season’s 10-10 overall finish as well.
CLASS B
Detroit Country Day (13-0) – The Yellowjackets have come back from last season’s Semifinal loss to Grand Rapids South Christian on a tear. Last week might have been their best with the above-mentioned win over Southfield Arts & Technology and another over DEPSA, and Country Day is the only team that has beaten Detroit Martin Luther King.
Kingsley (10-3) – The Stags were quietly cruising to a solid season when they made a big wave by handing Kalkaska its first loss this season, 53-43, on Thursday. The victory also tied Kingsley’s win total for all of last season.
CLASS C
Homer (12-3) – The Trojans trail leader Springport by two wins in the Big 8 Conference but have a win over the Spartans and see them again Tuesday. They also see second-place Jonesville again next week, controlling their destiny as they look to repeat as league champions.
Kingston (13-2) – A quarterfinalist in Class D last season, Kingston is continuing its surge but now in Class C. The Cardinals sit first in the North Central Thumb League and have won nine straight since falling to still-undefeated Sandusky in December.
CLASS D
Custer Mason County Eastern (12-2) – The Cardinals have doubled up last season’s six wins in taking the lead in the West Michigan D League. A 61-60 win over Bear Lake on Thursday avenged one of those two losses this winter.
Waterford Our Lady (12-2) – Coming off making the MHSAA Semifinals last season, the Lakers are building for another run with 11 straight wins after opening 1-2. Those losses, though, came against arguably the Class B favorite in Country Day and 12-win Class A Clarkston.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Marquette (14-1) at Houghton (15-0) – From a strong group of Upper Peninsula teams, these might be the best in addition to being among the largest of likely MHSAA title contenders from that side of the bridge.
Tuesday – Birch Run (11-3) at Frankenmuth (11-4) – The Eagles needed a two-point win over Millington on Thursday to run their Tri-Valley Conference East win streak to 105, but the Panthers may present the toughest challenge of this season.
Tuesday – Sandusky (14-0) at Reese (13-1) – The Thumb has some of the state’s best Class C teams, and these might be the top of the crop, with one undefeated and the other winners of 13 straight.
Tuesday – Marine City (13-1) at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (15-0) – This is a matchup of top Class B teams in the state, with Marine City getting a chance to show it’s in the title mix along with one of the most discussed contenders.
Friday – DeWitt (14-1) at Lansing Waverly (10-4) – The Warriors on Jan. 4 handed DeWitt its only loss, and a sweep would all but give Waverly the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title.
PHOTO: DeWitt, here in a win over Mount Pleasant, can avenge its only loss this season when it takes on Lansing Waverly on Friday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
West Iron Track Champ Shamion Also Finishing 1,000-Point Hoops Career
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 21, 2024
STAMBAUGH — Danica Shamion has enjoyed plenty of success in track & field throughout her high school athletic career.
The West Iron County senior is also quite successful in basketball.
Shamion joined the 1,000-point club here Jan. 23 while scoring 34 in a 63-60 loss to Norway.
“That really felt good,” she said after last week’s 93-41 win over Bessemer on Senior Night. “I’m glad I was able to do that at home. Although, it would have been even better had we won that game.”
The Wykons scored five in double digits against the Speedgirls, led by senior Siena Stine with 20 points. Junior center Sidney Storti added 17 points, and Shamion finished with 16 points and 17 assists.
“Sidney is a real asset to our team,” Shamion said. “I can see the floor pretty well, and the other girls are doing a pretty good job getting open. This was our last home game. It definitely meant something to us.”
Shamion, an All-Upper Peninsula Division 1-3 first-team selection a year ago, twisted her ankle in a season-opening 47-40 triumph over Iron Mountain and missed the next three games.
West Iron was 1-3 going into the holiday break before getting back on track with a 42-28 victory over Kingsford on Jan. 2. That enabled the Wykons to improve to 4-3 before dropping six of their next seven games.
West Iron, which was 5-9 after dropping a 73-55 decision at Negaunee, had won four in a row prior to Thursday’s 46-44 loss at Calumet. But the Wykons bounced back with a 51-49 win over Ishpeming Westwood on Tuesday to get back to .500 at 10-10.
“We were trying to forge our identity and weren’t hitting our shots (earlier in the season),” Shamion said. “Although, we’ve been playing better defense lately. We’re pretty good one-on-one and usually play man-to-man. We try to run the floor and score in transition.
“Negaunee is probably the best team we’ve seen this year, although Ishpeming and Houghton are also very good and Calumet and Westwood are tough,” she added.
In track & field, Shamion set U.P. Division 2 Finals record in the 200-meter dash (26.34 seconds) and 400 (57.18) last season. She also won the 100 (12.79) and placed second in high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches. She is a three-time Finals champion in all three sprint races.
Shamion also made the all-U.P. Volleyball Dream Team in the fall.
She will continue on the track at Central Michigan University after she graduates from West Iron this spring.
“I didn’t know much about their program, but I was interested in what they had to offer,” she said. “The girls on the team are nice, which is part of the reason why I chose Central. It’s a relief to have that decided.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) West Iron’s Danica Shamion (24) blocks a shot during her team’s game at Ishpeming on Jan. 15. (Middle) Shamion maintains possession of the ball. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)