Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 11
February 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
If the conclusion of league races this winter is an indication of what we should expect when the MHSAA Tournament begins in two weeks, fans will be on the edges of their respective seats.
Just this past week we had Norway downing Ishpeming and Carleton Airport edging Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central both by a point with titles on the line. Hamilton got past Holland Christian by a mere basket in another matchup of league contenders, and Hartland and Blissfield won only more comfortably by five apiece to secure championships.
And those are just five more scores in addition to those occupying the usual spot below kicking off our Breslin Bound report, powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Midland Dow 46, Saginaw Heritage 44 – Revenge surely was sweet for the Chargers, who moved into a first-place tie in the Saginaw Valley League North by handing the Hawks their first loss this season and after losing to Heritage 50-47 in overtime Jan. 17.
2. Birch Run 56, Frankenmuth 49 – The Panthers still trail the Eagles by a win in the Tri-Valley Conference East, but they did break Frankenmuth’s 105-game league winning streak.
3. Houghton 46, Marquette 40 (2OT) – No league title was on the line in this one, but perhaps the status as top team in the Upper Peninsula with the undefeated Gremlins making another strong claim.
4. DeWitt 55, Lansing Waverly 52 – The Panthers avenged their lone loss of this season, which came 55-47 to the Warriors on Jan. 6, to hold onto first alone in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red.
5. Sandusky 38, Reese 23 – The Redskins can claim to be the best of a strong group of Class C teams in the Thumb with wins over the two-loss Rockets and two-loss Harbor Beach as well.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Flushing (14-2) – The Raiders have won 13 straight since back-to-back early losses to Heritage and Dow and should clinch a share of the Flint Metro League title Tuesday against Linden. It’s been nearly a repeat of the 2015-16 regular season, when Flushing came back from the same losses to finish 19-3.
St. Clair Shores Lakeview (16-1) – The Huskies dominated the Macomb Area Conference Blue, and that lone loss came just two weeks ago by a point in overtime to second-place Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. Not a bad way to add to last season’s District title and 14-9 overall finish.
CLASS B
Fowlerville (12-5) – With two more wins, the Gladiators will guarantee their best finish this decade, with last season’s 13 victories coming after seasons of four and one, respectively. The attention-grabber was last week’s upset of 2016 Class B semifinalist Bay City John Glenn, 60-48.
Detroit Mumford (12-5) – The Mustangs have earned a berth in Saturday’s Detroit Public School League championship game against Detroit Martin Luther King. Mumford could be a team to watch in Class B again with four losses this winter to Class A teams (including twice to King) and after making the MHSAA Quarterfinals a year ago.
CLASS C
Springport (13-2) – The Spartans may need to win out to secure the Big 8 Conference championship, but set themselves up over the last 10 days with wins over second-place Jonesville, third-place Homer and in overtime over Quincy. The win over also-reigning league champion Homer avenged Springport’s only Big 8 loss.
Leroy Pine River (14-2) – Three teams are tied for first place in the Highland Conference with three league games to play, and Pine River is among them after avenging an earlier loss last week to co-leader McBain. The Bucks have won outright or shared the last two titles and also are tied with Manton this time.
CLASS D
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (15-2) – The Titans can clinch the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title with a win Saturday against Three Oaks River Valley. The championship would be Michigan Lutheran’s third straight, and its only losses this winter are to league leaders – Class A St. Joseph and Class B Buchanan.
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (13-1) – The Storm hasn’t lost a Mid-South Conference game since the start of the 2011-12 season and can clinch another league title this week. Rudolf Steiner also could improve on last season’s 18-3 overall finish, with its only loss this winter to Class C Whitmore Lake.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Clarkston (14-3) at Bloomfield Hills (14-1) – The Black Hawks are a win away from securing the Oakland Activities Association White title, but first can add to a great season by downing the second-place team in the Red.
Tuesday – Traverse City St. Francis (14-1) at Kalkaska (12-2) – Kalkaska has the lead in the Lake Michigan Conference because it dealt St. Francis’ only loss Jan. 14.
Thursday – Marquette (15-2) at Houghton (17-0) – Ten days after the game mentioned at the top of the report, these two will meet again.
Saturday – Detroit Martin Luther King (16-1) vs. Detroit Mumford (12-5) at University of Detroit Mercy – The PSL championship game features a matchup King has won twice already, but an opportunity for Mumford to send a shockwave throughout the state.
Saturday – Detroit Country Day (15-0) at Saginaw Heritage (15-1) – Consider this a little pre-postseason tune-up for contenders in Class B and A, respectively.
PHOTO: Flushing’s 14-2 start this season included a win over Flint Hamady on Feb. 7. (Click to see more from Varsity Monthly.)
West Bloomfield Makes Good on Preseason Goal with 1st Finals Win
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2022
EAST LANSING – Apparently Sydney Hendrix holds a grudge.
The West Bloomfield junior has held onto the hurt from her team’s Regional Semifinal loss to Hartland in 2020, and on Saturday, she let it all out on the court.
Hendrix had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 51-42 victory over the Eagles in the Division 1 Girls Basketball Final at the Breslin Center.
“We lost to Hartland my freshman year, and I think I was crying for like three days straight,” Hendrix said. “I wanted it so bad, but we couldn’t pull out the win. I’ve been wanting my get-back for a minute now. I’m just so glad we got it.”
The title win was the first in program history for the Lakers, who last played in a Final in 1989. This year’s team set the goal of winning it all at the first practice, and after losing its opening game against Dexter, won 25 straight to accomplish that.
“I remember November 12, everybody coming together and saying they wanted the state championship,” West Bloomfield coach Darrin McAllister said. “So I knew at that time, our coaching staff, we had to do everything in our power to get us to this point. We bought into the ‘I believe’ mindset. We worked our tails off, and we got here to the Breslin and we did what we had to do.”
West Bloomfield never trailed in the game, and held Hartland at arm’s length throughout most of it.
Indya Davis led the Lakers (25-1) with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Summer Davis and Myonna Hooper each scored nine points for the Lakers.
“This game was very personal,” said Hooper, who was also on that 2020 team. “We took it upon ourselves to make sure everybody was in the position they needed to be, everybody was playing their role, everybody was executing, everybody was picking each other’s heads up when somebody was down. From Day 1, we’ve been talking about this, and we never let up.”
Amanda Roach scored 21 points for Hartland to lead all scorers. Emerson Sargeant had six points and nine rebounds for the Eagles (25-2).
Roach had half of Hartland’s field-goal makes in the game, as the Eagles struggled to make shots, finishing 16 of 64 from the field.
“I think West Bloomfield had a lot to do with that, but on the other hand, we did have some good looks,” Hartland coach Don Palmer said. “Shots that we normally make, they didn’t go today. Sometimes, that just kind of feeds.”
West Bloomfield led by as many as 14 points in the second half. Roach tried to pull the Eagles back into the game, and nearly did in the fourth quarter. She hit a long 3-pointer to bring her team to within seven with four minutes to play and put some belief in the Hartland fans.
The Eagles wouldn’t get any closer, though, until she hit another long 3 with 25 seconds to play that brought her team within six of the lead. But West Bloomfield was able to close the game out at the free throw line.
“I personally thought we still had a chance with 30 seconds left,” Roach said. “We fight back every single game. I’m just proud of everybody.”
Each Hartland push was met with a response from the Lakers, and often it was the result of an offensive rebound, or two. Hendrix had seven on her own.
“She’s a beast,” Palmer said. “She is strong, she can finish, she’s got a little bit of a mid-range jumpshot. A lot of times when you have teams with ‘superstars’ those other kids get lost in the coverage, but I certainly picked (Hendrix) up on tape.”
Hartland also came into Saturday in search of its first Finals title after advancing beyond the Quarterfinal for the first time.
“Obviously, it feels great to be up here and play with all these girls that I started with,” Hartland senior Leah Lappin said. “Obviously, disappointing because we didn’t play our best. But it was good to play with these girls.”
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Indya Davis (24) turns toward the lane Saturday as Hartland’s Lauren Sollon (25) walls off the baseline. (Middle) The Lakers’ Myonna Hooper (4) prepares to make her move toward the hoop. (Below) Sydney Hendrix (5) pulls up for a shot over Sollon’s reach. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)