Chassell Adds Chapter to Storybook Season

March 15, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

GRAND RAPIDS – The possibility of a Chassell basketball team playing for an MHSAA championship for the first time since 1958 was within reach with a half remaining Thursday. 

But earning that opportunity would take some work.

The Panthers trailed Waterford Our Lady by nine during their Class D Semifinal at Van Noord Arena – and senior point guard Milly Allen had an uncharacteristic eight turnovers.

“At halftime we realized we needed to push, and that if we played our game we’d be perfectly fine,” Allen said. “We came out in the second half, kept chipping away.

“We worked together as a team. We told each other we need to come out, we need to bounce pass, we need to be smarter with the ball all together.”

Chassell had only three turnovers as a team during the second half. Allen had none. And the ball spent most of the final minutes safely in her hands as Chassell’s girls team continued its longest run in program history with a 55-51 victory.

Chassell (26-1) will play Adrian Lenawee Christian in Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game.

The Panthers’ Regional title last week was the first won by either the girls or boys basketball programs since the boys won three straight Class D titles from 1956-58.

 “This means the world. They’ve earned it,” Chassell coach Brandi Hainault said. “They’ve worked hard, and we always knew we could get here. … I guess in our minds, this is where we were going to go. For it to happen, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

Some big-time second half efforts made it reality.

Four players combined to score all but two of Chassell’s points – Allen finished with 17, senior center Sydney Danison 15, senior forward Meg Hokenson 10 and junior guard Jenna Pietila 11. But they’d combined for only 24 of those 53 points during the first half.

Allen scored 11 of her 17 during the final two quarters, and also finished with five assists and three steals – and plenty of praise from Our Lady coach Steve Robak.

“(She) was very fast and we didn’t do a good job containing her. She was able to get around us when we’d try to press or trap, and that’s what created the most problems,” he said.

“They tried to get the ball to (Allen) every time and have her try to do her thing, which is use her speed. Maybe in the first half we did a better job containing her, but I felt like most of the game we had trouble with (her) when she had the ball.”

The 6-foot-1 Danison also made an impression during the second half with nine of her points and a strong presence defensively.

The Lakers started off the game hitting 52 percent of their shots during the first two quarters. They then made only 27 percent during the third quarter and 21 percent during the fourth.

Our Lady had only nine turnovers for the game – but along with the tough shooting night was outrebounded 36-25.

Senior Tiffany Senerius had 19 points and four steals to lead Our Lady (20-5), and senior Kayla Sanders added 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

“We had five seniors, three were starters, and I’m extremely proud of the entire team because the entire team had an incredible season,” Robak said. “We had four losses (before Thursday) all year to four really good teams, two of which are still playing. So I’m proud of this team and everything they gave. The seniors gave everything they had.”

Our Lady has had its share of storybook endings lately with three Semifinal runs over the last four seasons and three championships over the last eight.

In Chassell, stories of the 1956-58 boys championship teams continue to be told. Now the girls are carving out their place in local and state history.

“It’s awesome for them. They had three state championships, and that’s something you’re going to talk about for the rest of your time around,” Hainault said. “I guess we want to start our own story.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Chassell’s Milly Allen dives for a loose ball during Thursday’s Class D Semifinal. (Middle) Our Lady’s Kayla Sanders puts up a shot over Allen’s reach. 

Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 7

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 16, 2023

We’ve officially reached the midpoint of another girls basketball season, and with that comes many more eyeballs turned toward the MHSAA’s Michigan Power Ratings used to seed the top two teams in each District and place them on opposite sides of the bracket.

MI Student Aid

An explanation of how MPR is calculated and full lists for all four divisions can be found clicking here. We also reference MPR much more below than we have over the first six weeks of the season, since every game added into the equation makes MPR a more accurate representation of what teams are accomplishing this winter, and at this point many teams have played nearly half their regular-season schedules.

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

Week in Review

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

1. Traverse City Central 41, Maple City Glen Lake 29 The Trojans (9-1) are off to a scorching start, and with this victory ended Glen Lake’s 41-game regular-season winning streak.

2. Lake Fenton 45, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 39 The Blue Devils (12-0) opened last week by downing the reigning Division 3 champion Gators (5-4).

3. Escanaba 50, Hancock 49 Potentially the two best teams in a strong Upper Peninsula this winter matched up that way, with the Division 2 Eskymos moving to 11-0 and Division 3 Hancock to 9-1.

4. Jackson Northwest 50, Coldwater 46 By handing Coldwater (9-1) its first defeat, Northwest (9-1) also moved into first place alone in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference.

5. Grand Rapids Christian 46, East Grand Rapids 45 These two are tied for only third in a strong Ottawa-Kent Conference White, in part because the Eagles (6-3) handed EGR (8-2) its first league loss.

Traverse City Central’s Jakiah Brumfield (2) splits two defenders on her way to scoring in the Trojans' 41-29 win over previously-undefeated Glen Lake last week.

Watch List

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

DIVISION 1

Grand Blanc (6-3) After opening this season with three defeats to top competition (Hartland, Frankenmuth and Wayne Memorial), Grand Blanc hasn’t lost since and sits No. 5 in Division 1 MPR with all nine of its games against teams with winning records. Among those wins, the Bobcats handed Blissfield its only loss, and Holt just its second.

Holland West Ottawa (11-0) The Panthers are up to No. 4 in Division 1 MPR with a 55-51 overtime win over reigning O-K Red champion Hudsonville a major highlight last week. They also handed O-K Green co-leader Muskegon Mona Shores a 45-39 defeat in early December and can assert themselves as the best in the Red with matchups against Rockford and East Kentwood coming up over the next two weeks.

DIVISION 2

North Branch (9-1) The Broncos are a two-point December loss to Division 1 Oxford from a perfect start, and only two other games have been close despite playing six teams with winning records. North Branch opened with an impressive 52-35 win over Marysville and closed last week defeating Armada after splitting with the Tigers last season. The Broncos also have avenged a pair of last-season losses to Yale and a third to Millington.

Vicksburg (10-0) The Bulldogs began accelerating toward this kind of success in finishing 14-8 last season, and they made a statement immediately this winter with a 45-31 win over reigning Wolverine Conference champion Otsego on Dec. 2 after losing twice to the Bulldogs last season. Actually, they made a statement even before that, handing Buchanan what remains the Bucks’ only defeat, 47-42 in the season opener – which also remains Vicksburg’s only single-digit game.

DIVISION 3

Buchanan (8-1) As noted above, Buchanan opened with a defeat to Vicksburg but hasn’t lost since to move up to No. 4 in Division 3 MPR. The Bucks also have the first-half lead in the first-year Lakeland Conference, a game ahead of longtime rival Niles Brandywine after handing Brandywine a 49-45 overtime loss Dec. 15. No other opponent during the winning streak has gotten closer than 18 points.

Calumet (8-1) Coming off three straight seasons with at least 19 wins, Calumet is used to being in the mix and no surprise this time with its only loss to Hancock. Impressive wins over Negaunee and Baraga have followed, but these next two weeks should be especially telling with trips to Houghton, Gwinn and Marquette followed up by home games against Escanaba and Hancock again. The Copper Kings’ only regular-season losses last year were in splits with the Gremlins and Eskymos.

DIVISION 4

Kingston (9-0) The Cardinals entered this season a combined 75-12 over their last four, with that just a sample of consistent high-level success stretching more than a decade – and they’re adding to that impressively again. A 66-60 double-overtime win over Armada to finish the season’s first week was their only single-digit game so far, despite seven wins total over teams .500 or better and five over teams that have won at least seven games – easily explaining Kingston’s top rank in Division 4 MPR.

Maple City Glen Lake (8-1) The loss to Division 1 Traverse City Central (see above) should only strengthen Glen Lake’s standing as one of the best in Division 4, as the Lakers remain No. 2 in Division 4 MPR with double-digit wins over the rest of their opponents including three more with at least seven wins. A Feb. 1 matchup with Division 3 Traverse City St. Francis should be a gem, and expectations are high again after Glen Lake’s lone loss last season came to Arbor Prep in a Division 4 Semifinal.

Can’t-Miss Contests

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

Tuesday – DeWitt (9-0) at Haslett (10-0) – These rivals have split their last two, with DeWitt winning last year’s meeting 24-22.

Tuesday – Petersburg Summerfield (11-1) at Morenci (10-0) – This pair is tied for first in the Tri-County Conference with the only loss between them Summerfield’s to Division 2 Ida.

Thursday – North Farmington (11-0) at Oxford (10-1) – The co-leaders in the Oakland Activities Association White face off for the first of two meetings.

Friday – Lake Fenton (12-0) at Goodrich (10-0) – The co-leaders in the Flint Metro League Stars also are ranked Nos. 4 and 11, respectively, in statewide Division 2 MPR.

Friday – Rockford (9-1) at Holland West Ottawa (11-0) – As noted above, these two have the early lead in the O-K Red, and Rockford also is No. 1 in Division 1 MPR with West Ottawa No. 4.

MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews 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.

PHOTOS (Top) Otsego’s Hannah Fitzpatrick (23) gets to the lane in her team’s 44-42 overtime win over Plainwell. (Middle) Traverse City Central’s Jakiah Brumfield (2) splits two defenders on her way to scoring in the Trojans' 41-29 win over previously-undefeated Glen Lake last week. (Photos by Gary Shook and Rick Sack, respectively.)