Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 12

February 22, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

One week remains in the girls basketball regular season, and contenders are gearing up for District tournaments that begin a week from today.

Most weeks during the season, we check in with four teams from each class that have been especially impressive. After a bit of a hiatus, here’s a look at 16 more to remember when the tournament begins.

Class A

Allen Park (16-2) – After finishing second to Brownstown Woodhaven a season ago, Allen Park clinched the Downriver League championship Friday with a 56-20 win over Taylor Truman. The Jaguars’ only losses were to Woodhaven in their second meeting and Plymouth in the season opener.

Bloomfield Hills Marian (13-6) – The Mustangs have rebuilt quite a bit after winning last season’s Class A title, and finished only third in the Detroit Catholic League Central. But they beat second-place Warren Regina in the semifinal and then rival and league champion Farmington Hills Mercy 48-29 in Sunday’s A-B league tournament final.

Detroit Martin Luther King (16-1) – The Crusaders came back from their only loss this season – 68-65 to Renaissance on Dec. 17 – to beat Renaissance 68-66 and win their fifth straight Detroit Public School League Tournament title. King previously won the PSL East Division 1 title this winter.

Dexter (17-1) – The Dreadnaughts finished a perfect run in the Southeastern Conference White last week, defeating Ypsilanti Community 37-28, to win the league title outright after sharing the championship with Chelsea last season.

Class B

Bay City John Glenn (17-1) – The Bobcats bounced back from their lone loss this season, 50-47 two weeks ago to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, to put 40-point wins on Tawas and Pinconning over the last two weeks and finish a dominating run through the North East Michigan Conference.

Detroit Country Day (18-1) – Since falling to Saginaw Heritage on Dec. 29, Country Day has won 14 straight. The slate has an argument for the state’s most impressive – wins over Detroit Renaissance, Haslett, Southfield-Lathrup and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep are among the brightest highlights.

Fruitport (17-1) – The Trojans haven’t fallen since Dec. 11 to Spring Lake and secured a share of the Lakes 8 Conference championship with a 46-19 win over Muskegon Catholic Central on Friday. Fruitport finished only fourth in the league a year ago.

Marysville (15-2) – The Vikings have won 13 straight since falling to Country Day on Dec. 17 and 12 straight league games to again claim the Macomb Area Conference Gold title outright after sharing the championship with Center Line last season.

Class C

Johannesburg-Lewiston (17-1) – The Cardinals wrapped up a share of the Ski Valley Conference title with a 60-57 win over Onaway on Thursday and can claim it outright by beating Pellston on Tuesday. They finished second to Bellaire last season, but split with Bellaire this winter.

Morley Stanwood (17-2) – The Mohawks claimed a share of the Central State Activities Association Silver title Friday with a 60-34 win over Holton, but they’ll need to beat reigning champion Kent City this week to win the title outright. Morley Stanwood was second last season but beat Kent City 55-41 in their first meeting, Jan. 22.

Negaunee (14-4) – The Miners can finish a perfect run through the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference with a win over Ishpeming this week, and also avenge one of their losses, to Marquette on Dec. 15. Negaunee tied for fourth in the league and finished only 9-13 a year ago.

Sandusky (16-2) – The second-place Redskins will need help in the Greater Thumb Conference East title race from third-place Brown City – which plays league leader Marlette this week in the final GTC game for those teams. But Sandusky’s only losses this season were to Marlette, by 12 and seven points.

Class D

Climax-Scotts (17-2) – The league-leading Panthers finished a season sweep last week of rival Battle Creek St. Philip, beating the Tigers 42-39 after finishing second to St. Philip in the Southern Central Athletic Association West a year ago.

Crystal Falls Forest Park (16-3) – The Trojans hold a half-win lead on Bark River-Harris in the Skyline Central Conference West standings thanks to Munising’s recent upset of the former league leader; Forest Park must beat Bark River-Harris this week to clinch the title after losing 51-25 in their first meeting Dec. 4.

Gaylord St. Mary (16-3) – Despite finishing second to Johannesburg-Lewiston in the Ski Valley Conference, the Snowbirds should be optimistic heading into the tournament riding five straight wins and with their only losses by a combined four points to the Cardinals.

Mendon (15-3) – The Hornets clinched the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Blue title outright with a 46-27 win over Cassopolis on Friday and are already two wins better than last year’s team, which finished third in the old BCS East.

PHOTO: Ypsilanti Arbor Prep and Saginaw Nouvel are two teams expected to contend when the MHSAA Tournament begins next week. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Paw Paw Hoops Heroes Closing in on Milestones, Rewriting School Record Book

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

November 19, 2024

PAW PAW — With a basketball pedigree that goes back a generation, Paw Paw’s Grace Mitchell is one of two seniors closing in on personal and school records.

Southwest CorridorMitchell is just 164 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club.

“After my sophomore year I was over 500 (points), so I knew I could get another 500 my last two years,” said Mitchell, adding that the milestone is one of her long-time goals.

And she’s not the only one pursuing it.

Teammate AJ Rickli, a 6-foot-2 center/power forward, needs just 110 points to hit the 1,000-point mark.

Rickli stacked up her points in just over two seasons, after moving up from junior varsity near the end of her freshman year.

Scoring isn’t the only strength the players bring to the team.

Mitchell, a 5-10 guard, needs just four 3-pointers to break the school record of 156, something second-year head coach Dan Thornton said could happen when the Red Wolves open the season Dec. 3 by hosting Mattawan.

She holds the school’s season record for treys with 72 and swished eight in one game, tying another school record.

“I shoot a lot,” Mitchell said. “I’ve always like shooting the farther shots since I was little, but sophomore year I really got good at my 3-point shots.”

She is not a one-dimensional player, either, with 126 assists and 150 steals heading into her fourth varsity season.

That’s where the two seniors complement each other.

“She’s a guard; I’m a post,” Rickli said. “Where I slack, she picks up. Where she slacks, I pick up. I get her rebounds.”

Thornton said both players could reach other school milestones this season.

From left: Paw Paw coach Dan Thornton, Rickli and Mitchell headshots.“Grace potentially could be closing in on marks for steals, assists, on top of her shooting percentage from the free throw line and 3-point line,” he said, adding that Rickli could break the records for rebounds and blocks.

The coach is not surprised he has two players heading into 1,000-point territory.

“Last year we averaged about 75 points per game, and we had four different players average about double figures,” he said. “There were a lot of games where we’d get three, four and some games six people in double figures.

“It also meant everyone was scoring between 10 and 13 or 14 points per game. It made it very challenging on opposing defenses because if they focus too much on one, the other four would get very favorable matchups.”

Just two days into practice, Thornton said he plans to fill out his roster after Wednesday’s practice, laughing, “(Grace and AJ) both have a chance to make varsity.”

The Red Wolves graduated five seniors in the spring, two of them starters, from last year’s 22-3 team that advanced to a Division 2 District Final.

“It’s going to take a lot of determination and drive from everybody on the team (to move past Districts),” Rickli said. “Everybody has to contribute. Everybody has to want it the same, and we’ve got to have a team goal. And we will.”

Thornton will rely on Rickli and Mitchell for leadership, especially for those brought up from the junior varsity team.

“The two girls bring veteran leadership,” Thornton said. “They’ve both been through playing on varsity, playing in big games for a number of years.

“Both have had huge success over the years. I expect them to help nurture along younger players, guide them through our goals throughout the season.”

Rickli said the most important thing for new players is to let them know their roles.

“I’ll help the posts in their position. Grace will help the guards in their position and give them confidence,” Rickli said. “We’ll help them in practice. We’re not going to take it easy on them, because that won’t help them at all. We’ll push them in practice to get them used to varsity play.”

'Batman and Superman'

Rickli and Mitchell have been best friends and on the same hoops teams since second grade.

“We work really good together because we’re each other’s best friend, and we’ve played together forever,” Mitchell said. “We know what each other wants.

"I know how to get (the ball) in to her, and she knows when to kick it out to me. When I miss my shot, she gets my rebound and puts it back up, so it works out pretty good.”

Rickli, whose formal first name is Arin Jolyn, also plays volleyball and competes in the shot put and discus, but prefers basketball.

“Basketball just comes to me easier than the other sports,” she said. “I like the contact sports.”

Mitchell, who has committed to Alma College for golf and basketball, is keeping up her family hoops tradition.

“She comes from a very, very heavy basketball family,” said Thornton, who has been involved in coaching for 35 years and needs just 12 more varsity wins for 400. “Her father (Rick Mitchell) is legendary in basketball throughout most of Southwest Michigan. Her Uncle Gary (Mitchell) was a longtime coach (at Paw Paw), the same as her father, who is in the Paw Paw Hall of Fame.

“To have that kind of constant exposure at a young age to basketball from her family, be it her siblings or uncle or dad, probably helped Grace.”

Both girls are unselfish and supportive of their teammates, he said, adding, “They do a good job helping each other be successful. They’re very much Batman and Superman, you could say, because one of them excels in a certain area of the game and the other excels in another area. 

“The fact that the players, the team, aren’t selfish really speaks to the parenting with these players, how they’ve been raised and how they are willing to give up a good shot for themselves to give someone else a great shot.”

Pam ShebestPam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) At left, Paw Paw senior AJ Rickli gets a shot up against Otsego last season; at right, senior Grace Mitchell releases a jumper. (Middle) From left: Paw Paw coach Dan Thornton, Rickli and Mitchell. (Action photos by René Rodriguez; head shots by Pam Shebest.)