Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9

February 3, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We’re closing in quickly on that time of year when months of work will play out in girls basketball league championships and this winter – for the first time – seeding of the top two teams at the District level.

Much could be determined in league races this week – check out our “Can’t-Miss Contests” below, which include a sixth game because five just wasn’t enough to note all of the high-profile conference clashes that deserve mention.

We’re also less than two weeks from undertaking the seeding process in basketball for the first time – and need your help. The teams receiving those top-two spots in District brackets – for girls and boys – will do so based on success and strength of schedule, and it’s imperative for MHSAA.com to list all games played and correct scores for each. Know a score we don’t or realize a game is missing that should be added? Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected]. Every result affects multiples of others, and we thank you for your help in advance. 

“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on those results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.

Week in Review

The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results: 

1. Detroit Cass Tech 68, Detroit Martin Luther King 43 – The Technicians clinched the Detroit Public School League East title outright by handing rival King its first loss.

2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 36, Farmington Hills Mercy 29 – The Mustangs moved into a first-place tie in the Detroit Catholic League Central by handing rival Mercy its first loss and after falling to the Marlins 46-34 on Jan. 7.

3. Midland Dow 52, Midland 33 – The Chargers avenged a 38-31 loss from Dec. 19 in a big way, handing the rival Chemics their first defeat.

4. Southfield Arts & Technology 59, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 47 – The Warriors’ tough schedule is paying off as they’ve won five of their last six games and handed Carman-Ainsworth its first loss.

5. Detroit Edison 54, Detroit Renaissance 52 – Edison moved to 12-0, but the Phoenix gave the Pioneers their closest in-state game in nearly two calendar years.

Watch List

With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:

DIVISION 1

Battle Creek Lakeview (9-4) After winning 12 games both of the last two seasons, the Spartans are on pace to surpass that total by the end of the regular season. They also enjoy a slight lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East after avenging their opening-night loss to Battle Creek Central (10-3) with a 35-33 win Friday. Lakeview’s only two losses since an 0-2 start are to teams with double-digit wins, Portage Central (10-2) and Battle Creek Harper Creek (11-2).

Detroit Cass Tech (12-1) As noted above, Cass Tech is a league champion again after sharing the PSL Midtown title with King last season. LaTonya Tate, a star on Cass Tech’s 1987 Class A championship team, has built the program into a contender again. Its only loss was to Davison on Dec. 29 at the Motor City Roundball Classic, and Cass Tech also picked up a strong 46-40 win over Southfield A&T on Jan. 25

DIVISION 2

Cadillac (12-0) A 42-40 win a week ago over McBain provided one of the few scares of the season for the Big North Conference-leading Vikings. They’ve run their league winning streak to 16 after closing last winter in the Division 2 Quarterfinals – pretty impressive only a season and a half removed from a 3-18 finish in 2017-18. Cadillac can clinch the league title – at least a share, or outright – Friday against Traverse City West.

Ludington (11-1) Since falling big to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (12-2) in its season opener, Ludington is unbeaten and nearly unchallenged with only two of those wins by single digits and those two games both against Division 1 schools. The Orioles hold a one-game lead on Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Lakes 8 Athletic Conference standings after sharing the title with the Warriors a year ago.

DIVISION 3

Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The reigning Division 3 champion had high expectations for this season and rightly so, bringing back most of its firepower from a year ago. The Pirates have celebrated two seniors scoring their 1,000th career points this winter and an early win over Southfield A&T. The losses were pretty strong too – to Grass Lake (12-1) and Division 1 East Lansing (12-1). P-W could meet Grass Lake again in a Semifinal at Breslin.

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (12-4) After falling to P-W in overtime in a Division 3 Semifinal last season, the Gators are sticking to a winning gameplan. They’ve played 12 of 16 games against teams with winning records and seven games against teams with double-digit wins. They beat two of those 10-win teams over the last two weeks – Royal Oak Shrine Catholic and Jackson Northwest – and their three in-state losses were to Division 1 Ann Arbor Huron (12-2) and Brighton (11-1) and Division 2 Harper Woods Chandler Park (7-6).  

DIVISION 4

Camden-Frontier (13-1) Even with just one loss, Camden-Frontier probably was considered just a notch below undefeated Pittsford heading into last week’s matchup – plus Pittsford had beaten C-F at least 17 times in a row (which is as far back as MHSAA.com data goes). But the Redskins came away with a 54-34 win and moved into a first-place tie with the Wildcats in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. They meet again Feb. 17.  

Deckerville (10-3) The Eagles entered one of the biggest small-school games in the state last week battling history as well as an unbeaten opponent – and owned the night. Deckerville avenged a 41-28 loss to Kingston from Dec. 16, handing the Cardinals their first loss this season and first league loss since 2013-14. The win also put Deckerville into a first-place tie with Kingston in the North Central Thumb League Stars.

Can't-Miss Contests

Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up: 

Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (13-1) at Grosse Pointe South (10-3) – Dakota leads the Macomb Area Conference Red with two more wins than South, but South handed Dakota its only loss, 49-46, on Jan. 17.

Tuesday – Michigan Center (10-3) at Grass Lake (12-1) – Grass Lake won the first meeting 51-46 on Dec. 18 and can edge closer toward the Cascades Conference title with a regular-season sweep.

Thursday – Brooklyn Columbia Central (12-1) at Ida (12-2) – This could nearly decide the Lenawee County Athletic Association title as BCC looks to hold off Ida for the second straight season and won the first matchup 44-36 on Jan. 7.

Thursday – St. Ignace (10-1) at Sault Ste. Marie (11-1) – The Blue Devils are hoping to take back a share of first place in the Straits Area Conference after losing it to the Saints in a 40-37 nail-biter Dec. 20.

Friday – DeWitt (11-2) at East Lansing (12-1) – The Trojans lead the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by a game over DeWitt thanks to a 62-38 win over the Panthers on Dec. 20.

Friday – Fremont (9-4) at Big Rapids (12-1) – Fremont’s 39-33 win in the first meeting Dec. 20 was Big Rapids’ only loss, and remains the reason Big Rapids trails only Fremont in the Central State Activities Association Gold.

Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.

PHOTO: Deckerville handed Kingston its first loss of the season last week, and first league loss since 2013-14. (Photo by Jackie Salowitz.)

Best of Divine Child's Blairs May Be Last as Kennedy Paces Hopeful Falcons

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

January 12, 2023

DEARBORN – The Blair family’s presence within Dearborn Divine Child athletics – and most significantly in basketball – has stretched more than a decade as youngest-of-five-siblings Kennedy Blair takes the court for the last of her four seasons on the Falcons’ varsity.

Greater DetroitThere was Morgan, who was on Divine Child’s 2011 Class B championship team and went on to a college career at Northern Kentucky and Hillsdale.

Next was Riley, Kennedy’s other older sister who played at Divine Child and Ferris State.

Kennedy’s two older brothers, Quinn and Gannon, also played basketball at Divine Child, with Quinn going on to play in college at William & Mary.

“Being able to watch them play, it helped me grow my IQ,” Kennedy said. “They definitely are huge role models to me.”

Given how all five Blairs loved basketball, one can only imagine the battles that took place on the family’s backyard court.

“We always fought because we are so competitive,” Kennedy said with a laugh. “We play occasionally, and it never turns out well.”

Now a senior at Divine Child, Kennedy, a 5-foot-9 point guard, is not only the last of the siblings to star at Divine Child, but she also might be the best.

Blair is one of the most talented basketball players in the state, coming off a 2021-22 season during which she was named first-team all-state in Division 1 after averaging more than 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals per game.

There’s been no letup or seniorities this year, as going into Tuesday’s game against Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, Blair was averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals a contest for a Divine Child team that will take a 9-2 record into a Friday game at traditional state and Catholic League powerhouse Bloomfield Hills Marian.

Blair celebrates with her teammates. “You know you have a pretty special player because it’s so impressive to lead in essentially every statistical category for all four years,” said Divine Child head coach Mary Laney, who is in her 19th season at the helm of the program.

Laney said Blair has been even better this year thanks in large part to an increased emphasis in two areas.

One was strength and conditioning over the offseason.

“She’s really gotten even stronger,” Laney said. “She put forth a great deal of effort — more so than in previous offseasons — in regards to strength and conditioning. She came into this season in better condition and stronger than during any other season. That’s helped her game.”

The other was continuing to evolve into just as big of a force on defense as she is on offense.

“She’s really long and always could get a lot of deflections,” Laney said. “Those are now turning into steals. She rebounds the ball really well.”

As was the case with Morgan, Riley and Quinn, Kennedy won’t be done with basketball after high school, as she has signed to play for Bowling Green.

“It was the best fit for me,” Kennedy said. “They know where I’m going to fit in the offense and recruited me really strictly. They knew everything about me and made sure to take their time following everything I do, which I appreciate as a player.”

Before worrying about college basketball though, Kennedy wants to become the second player in the family to have a state championship ring.

Kennedy admits to hearing some good-natured trash talking from Morgan about how she has a championship, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility Kennedy can be a part of a title-winning team as well.

Divine Child was in Division 1 last year, but is competing in Division 2 this season. The Falcons were tied for No. 9 in the first Associated Press poll, released earlier this week.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the path to the Finals will be easier, especially with traditional state power Detroit Edison possibly looming in Regionals.

But with one of the state’s best players regardless of division, the sky is the limit for Divine Child.

“We can get it this year,” Kennedy said. “I can feel it.”

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Divine Child’s Kennedy Blair considers her options while directing the team’s offense. (Middle) Blair celebrates with her teammates. (Photos by Rick Jakacki, Dearborn Divine Child athletics.)