Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 2

December 17, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor 

Those who regularly contend for MHSAA titles or monitor high school sports statewide always are on the lookout for surprise teams making an impression at the beginning of a season or showing signs of contending at the end. 

A number of teams making this week’s report would qualify. Read on for why.

1. Pittsford (4-0, Class C) – The Wildcats have won their last three games by at least 18 points apiece, including by 18 over last season Class D Semifinalist Climax-Scotts. 

2. Ann Arbor Huron (4-1, Class A) – Huron has rebounded from an opening loss against powerful Goodrich to put up some solid wins including a 26-pointer over Temperance Bedford.

3. Jackson (4-1, Class A) – The Vikings also started last season 4-1, but look a lot better this time with a big win over perennial power East Lansing. 

4. Flat Rock (4-0, Class B) – The Rams are on another run after going 22-2 last season, already posting an impressive win over Flint Southwestern.

5. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (5-0, Class D) – The Irish have cruised after an opening two-point win, and beat reigning Class D runner-up Waterford Our Lady by 30 last week. 

6. Mackinaw City (5-0, Class D) – The school has only 61 students but five girls hoops wins including three by 40 or more points.

7. Flint Southwestern (3-2, Class B) – Southwestern won only five games last season; its victories so far include an impressive one over Muskegon, while the losses were to Flat Rock (mentioned above) and last season Class B runner-up Flint Powers. 

8. Plymouth (3-0, Class A) – The Wildcats have beaten three teams with winning records to reverse paths after opening last season 1-3.

9. Hemlock (4-0, Class C) – The Huskies have won their first four games by 50, 19, 40 and 43 points, respectively, after opening last season 2-4. 

10. Twining Arenac Eastern (4-0, Class D) – The Eagles have beaten soundly some bigger opponents already, with three victories by 25 or more points.

PHOTO: Saginaw Heritage, in green, got past Saginaw 61-48 last week and stood at 2-1 entering this week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Arbor Prep Earns Saturday Return Driven by 'Unfinished Business'

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 21, 2024

EAST LANSING — Ypsilanti Arbor Prep won the Division 3 championship just two years ago, but it might as well have been 20 to the Gators. 

Arbor Prep’s 2022-23 season ended with a Regional Final loss, and that lit a fire for players and coaches who remembered what it felt like to win it all just a year before.

“Our warm-up shirts say, ‘Unfinished Business,’” Arbor Prep senior Stephanie Utomi said. “We take it personal. We knew from the start of the season — which is June for us — we knew what the goal was. We knew we wanted to get back here. It was a sour taste and it hurt a lot, to say the least. We wanted to go back-to-back. To be here, it’s everything. But the job’s not done.”

That business Arbor Prep wants to finish is just one win away, as the Gators returned to Michigan State’s Breslin Center on Thursday and earned a 52-30 win over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in the day’s second Division 3 Semifinal.

Arbor Prep (24-4) will look for its second championship in three years when it meets Niles Brandywine in the Division 3 Final at 4 p.m. Saturday. 

The Gators’ only losses this season were to Division 1 or Division 2 opponents: Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Jackson Northwest, Detroit Edison, and Detroit Country Day.

The Gators’ Angela Meggisson (2) considers her next move.“Our intentions were to make sure we had the right energy level and the right effort to start the game,” Arbor Prep head coach Scott Stine said. “We were going to try and press them, and we were going to try and create tempo.” 

Lutheran Northwest, which entered the MHSAA Tournament unranked and with nine losses, knew full well what it was up against in Arbor Prep.

But that obviously didn’t lessen the experience of reaching the Semifinals for the first time in school history and getting to play on the Breslin Center floor.

The school essentially took the day off Thursday, holding a sendoff for the team as it boarded its bus and then all driving to East Lansing to witness something the school had never experienced. 

“This is the first time in our school’s history that we’ve been able to do this, so they made it a really big day for us,” Lutheran Northwest junior Ashley Cadicamo said. “It made every moment count. The fact that we lost, it’s OK. We came here, and we were made to be here.”

The experience should prove especially valuable since Lutheran Northwest had only one senior and three juniors on a roster dominated by underclassmen. The Crusaders had seven sophomores and two freshman on the roster. 

“Just being here was just huge for our team and our program, and with one senior, we are looking to possibly be back,” Lutheran Northwest head coach Jimmy Mehlberg said. 

Freshman Keaira Spiehs scored six points to lead Lutheran Northwest, which saw nine players score points. 

Senior Taylor Wallace scored 14 points, Stephanie Utomi scored 11 and senior Stacy Utomi added 10 points and nine rebounds for Arbor Prep. 

The Gators took a 34-16 lead into halftime and then scored the first eight points of the third quarter to build a 42-16 lead with 5:45 left in the period. Arbor Prep increased the advantage to 32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Click for the full box score. 

PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep’s Taylor Wallace (5) puts up a shot Thursday with Lutheran Northwest’s Charlotte Gramzow (3) defending. (Middle) The Gators’ Angela Meggisson (2) considers her next move. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)