Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 1
December 3, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
More than 700 girls basketball teams hope to be playing at Michigan State University's Breslin Center when this season ends.
That may be fourth months away. But those quests began last week.
Each Monday, Second Half will tell you about 10 teams and individuals who jumped out the week before. What's below isn't any sort of statewide ranking – merely a top-10 list of notables for fans no matter where they live and who they will cheer on this winter.
I fully admit I won't be able to catch every team that does something special. That's where you come in. Post below and let us know which teams did what, or who we should watch coming up.
1. Brownstown-Woodhaven (1-0) – Much is expected this season out of the Warriors, who finished 22-2 last season. And Detroit Country Day is replacing an all-state backcourt that graduated a year ago. But a win over Country Day is still a win over Country Day, and Brownstown-Woodhaven got one Saturday, 54-52.
2. Goodrich (1-0) – The reigning Class B champion beat the reigning Class C runner-up, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 51-42. Goodrich still has a number of key pieces from last season’s run, while University Liggett has a few too, but is replacing Miss Basketball Madison Ristovski.
3. AuGres-Sims (2-0) – Welcome to high school basketball, Cassidy Boensch. AuGres’ 6-foot-2 freshman had 29 points, 17 rebounds, 16 blocks and 13 steals in her team’s 55-16 win over Whittemore-Prescott, and then 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 51-42 win over Fairview. Click to read more from the Bay City Times.
4. East Lansing (1-0) – The Trojans and Lansing Waverly regularly have been the Lansing area’s best over the last decade and regularly face each other on the first Friday. This time the Trojans won big, 72-44.
5. West Bloomfield (1-0) – West Bloomfield got off to a good start with a 52-44 win over a team that has finished the last three seasons with victories. Waterford Our Lady has won the last three Class D championships.
6. Hartland (2-0) – The Eagles returned to the court after their 21-win season and second straight District title with a pair of close victories. Hartland beat Holly 36-31 and then Fenton 49-48.
7. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (2-0) – The Cardinals showed perhaps some of the poise they learned during last season’s run to the Class D Quarterfinals. They won two close ones over Class B teams, 49-47 over Standish Sterling and 33-31 over Hemlock.
8. Oxford (2-0) – The Wildcats won 10 games last season, and are 20 percent of the way to equaling that total thanks to a pair of close wins. Oxford edged Rochester 35-34 on opening night, then Farmington Hills Harrison 30-27.
9. Leroy Pine River (1-1) – The Bucks rebounded from an opening-night loss to Reed City to double up the reigning Class C champion, Morley-Stanwood, 57-25.
10. Shepherd (2-0) – The Bluejays opened with wins against both teams that call Mount Pleasant home. They beat Class D Sacred Heart 46-37 and Class A Mount Pleasant High 36-23.
PHOTO: Fowler defeated Ithaca 51-37 on Tuesday. The Eagles are among teams that have begun 2-0 this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Gladstone Senior Standout Sharp from Start This Season
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
December 29, 2021
GLADSTONE — They say practice makes perfect.
Gladstone’s Claire van Ginhoven is very close to that from the free throw line, where she’s cashed in on 40-of-42 shots through her first six games this season.
The senior guard had sank her first 28 before missing her last one in a 53-42 victory over Kingsford on Dec. 14.
“I definitely work on that a lot and improved a lot from last year, although I’m more of a 3-point shooter,” said van Ginhoven, who has qualified for the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan free throw competition at this winter’s MHSAA Finals. The top 10 free throw shooters in the state are invited to be part of the field.
She also was connecting on more than 40 percent of her 3-point attempts through the team’s first five games.
“I’m able to drive more to the hoop this season. Running our offense is giving me and my teammates more opportunities to score,” she said. “We run a weave, and I think our rotation works well.”
Coach Andy Cretens is impressed with van Ginhoven’s play this season. She opened with 38 points against Gwinn and is averaging 19.8 ppg.
“Claire has ability to score from anywhere on the floor,” he said. “She changes the dynamics of our offense and forces opposing teams to change their game plan. Last year was the first time Claire was asked to be a leader. That was a great learning experience for her, but she became a stronger player by having to handle adversity.
“Claire is a late bloomer. She’s nowhere near her peak yet. She has a lot more development to go.”
The 5-foot-9 standout played at Bark River-Harris as a freshman before transferring to Gladstone as a sophomore.
She plans to continue her basketball career at Finlandia University in Hancock next winter. Cretens believes college ball will be a good experience for van Ginhoven.
“That helps keep players motivated because they have something to look forward to after high school,” he said.
“I think Claire raises the level of competition for us and motivates the other girls to put more time into their game. She’s a good role model for our younger girls.”
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) Gladstone’s Claire van Ginhoven gets to the basket last season against Ishpeming. (Middle) Van Ginhoven puts up a shot against Kingsford last winter. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)