Class C: Mohawks get their title shot
March 15, 2012
EAST LANSING – Morley-Stanwood coach Bob Raven said his team has been knocking on the Breslin Center door for a long time.
Clichés aside, the top-ranked Mohawks finally have busted right through.
After four Quarterfinal tries over the last seven seasons, Morley-Stanwood broke through on their fifth attempt earlier this week. And by knocking off reigning Class C champion St. Ignace 60-50 in Thursday’s Semifinal, the Mohawks have earned their first opportunity to play for an MHSAA championship.
"I think we have the experience this year for sure. All of our tournament games have been tough, and we weren't as nervous as we've been in past games," Huntey said. "It's definitely exciting to be here. But then again, you have to make sure you stay calm, do what you've always done and be prepared for the next game."
Morley-Stanwood (27-0) will face No. 9 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (23-4) in the Class C Final at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Mohawks won their 11th straight league and seventh-straight District championships earlier this year. But Breslin was a foreign building, while St. Ignace was quite familiar with it after also finishing Class C runner-up in 2010.
“I think St. Ignace had the advantage having played down here,” Raven said. “But I wouldn’t trade this group of girls for anybody.”
All-state seniors Bailey Cairnduff and Alexis Huntey also led the Morley-Stanwood volleyball team to the Class C championship in the fall. They and senior guard Elyse Starck took over Thursday when it was needed most.
Cairnduff broke a 38-38 tie with a basket and free throw with 7:20 to play. She scored 10 of her game-high 28 points during the fourth quarter, and Starck had 10 of her 19 points over the final eight minutes as well as the two combined to score 20 of the team’s 22 points in the final period. Huntey scored only a point in the fourth quarter, but had four rebounds and two assists. She finished with 11 points and five assists.
The Mohawks made 60 percent of their shots from the floor during the second half.
“We definitely got beat tonight by a team that was on fire,” St. Ignace co-coach Dorene Ingalls said. “We went through some things for Morley, but we would’ve liked one more day to prepare. They caught us on that back-door cut way too much. But I thought we battled back.”
Sophomore guards Kelley Wright and Emily Hinsman both scored 12 points to lead the Saints (25-1). Senior Lauren Goldthorpe – who began playing basketball seriously only three seasons ago and earned all-state special mention this season – had 11 points, six rebounds and four steals.
St. Ignace presented Morley-Stanwood with the toughest press defense the Mohawks had seen this season. Now they’ll take on Miss Basketball Madison Ristovski and the team that fell to St. Ignace in last season’s Final.
“We’ll definitely have a great game on our hands. We’ll have to play hard and take care of the ball and do what we do best, and I think we’ll be all right,” Starck said. “It’s always been our dream to even be here. And to make the state Finals is absolutely a blessing for our team and our community.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Morley-Stanwood senior guard Elyse Starck takes a shot Thursday. She scored 19 points. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
GPN's Braker Moving Full Speed Ahead on College Coaching Trail
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 11, 2023
Ariel Braker has never forgotten being a part of Grosse Pointe North’s Class A girls basketball championship team in 2008, but a couple of happenings in recent months have made her reflect even more on that title.
The first came in March, when Braker was hired as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program at the University of
Minnesota. That brought a stark reminder of an oopsie when she was on a recruiting visit to Minnesota after the championship and while she was still in high school. having helped the Norse to the title as a sophomore.
“I left my (state championship) ring in the hotel here in Minnesota,” Braker said. “So I needed a new one.”
The second came in June, when Grosse Pointe North won the Division 2 girls soccer title.
Those Norse were coached by Olivia Dallaire, a teammate of Braker’s on the 2008 girls basketball title team.
“It was an interesting full circle moment of 'Wow, it really was that long ago,'” Braker said. “You have someone on your team now leading the school to a state championship in a different sport. It was pretty cool.”
A 6-foot-1 dynamo who could play every position on the court in 2008, Braker had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocked shots in a 58-46 win over East Lansing in the championship game.
That followed a 23-point, 20-rebound performance in a Semifinal win over North Farmington.
Braker was more than just a standout basketball player for North, however.
She was also a member of the volleyball team and an all-state high jumper for the track & field team, and being a three-sport athlete made her high school experience even better.
“It let me take a break from basketball, use other muscles and take my mind off of it,” Braker said. “The ability to be with different people, make different friends, and do different things was very helpful.”
During her senior year in 2010, Braker finished third in the state's Miss Basketball Award voting.
Braker signed to play college basketball at Notre Dame, where she played for legendary head coach Muffet McGraw.
During her tenure with the Fighting Irish, Braker was a part of three teams that won Atlantic Coast Conference championships and advanced to the 2014 national championship game.
After college, Braker decided she wanted to give coaching a try and landed at Western Texas College, a community college in Snyder, Texas.
It was there that the coaching bug really hit her hard.
“Those kids needed a lot of instruction and teaching,” Braker said. “You have to be willing to be patient and teach the game in different ways so it touches everyone. It was a growing year for me, but I was like, ‘I can do this.’ That gave me confidence.”
From there, Braker has gone on to assistant jobs at Lehigh, Oakland, South Dakota and West Virginia before being hired on to first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s staff at Minnesota this past March.
Braker said that at all of her coaching stops so far, she’s tried to follow Michigan youth teams on the recruiting trail given her familiarity with the state.
She obviously hopes that familiarity will pay dividends in her new role at Minnesota if she needs to mine for talent in Michigan.
“There are some younger kids who are up-and-coming who could help,” she said. “I’m excited to get back home and be able to recruit them.”
When she does come back to recruit, it’ll likely join the lost championship ring in Minnesota and soccer success this spring as reminders of that magical ride to a basketball title with the Norse 15 years ago.
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Braker plays in the 2008 Class A championship game, and at right Braker coaches at University of Minnesota. (Below) Braker drives to the basket; she scored 15 points in the 2008 championship game against East Lansing. (Photos courtesy of the Detroit News and University of Minnesota athletics.)