Class A Champs Repeat in Grand Fashion
March 16, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING — With the cameras capturing Grand Haven’s championship celebration, Abby Cole successfully avoided an emotional meltdown.
That changed in the privacy of the Bucs’ locker room deep inside the Breslin Center.
It was there that the 6-foot-5 senior center was struck by the realization that she would never play a meaningful basketball game again. It certainly didn’t help during a postgame tribute to her seniors that coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer uttered the words, “Abby, I love you. I’m going to miss you.”
That’s when the tears flowed. At least Cole held it together for the photographers.
“I promised myself this year if we won that I wouldn’t cry, because I looked awful in all the pictures last year,” Cole said following Grand Haven’s 60-54 overtime victory over Grosse Pointe South in the MHSAA
Class A championship game on Saturday. “The honor of getting this medal put on my neck, holding up the trophy with my team, singing to our student section … then we go in the locker room.”
Cole said she has played basketball since she was 5 or 6 years old. She has known Kowalczyk-Fulmer that entire time. Now Cole will never again play for her long-time mentor, moving on to play volleyball at
the University of Michigan.
“Once she got to me (in the locker room), I couldn’t handle it,” Cole said. “I’m done with basketball. That’s so hard for me. It’s been a huge part of my life, definitely helped shape me as a person. I’m really going to miss it.”
And Grand Haven fans definitely will miss Cole.
The program had reached the MHSAA Semifinals only once (1981) before getting at least that far the last three seasons and winning 51 straight games. The Bucs lost 39-38 to Detroit Renaissance in the 2011
Semifinals, then won a 54-53 thriller over Grosse Pointe South in last year’s Final.
The rematch was as good as advertised, although it took time for the drama to build.
Grand Haven (28-0), which rallied from 18 points down to beat South last season, led 40-29 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter. With Cole on the bench with four fouls, the Blue Devils (25-2) began
cutting into the lead. They went ahead for the first time since early in the first quarter, 49-48, when sophomore Cierra Rice scored with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter.
That would be South’s only lead, as Grand Haven’s Hannah Wilkerson responded with a basket eight seconds later. There was no more scoring in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by South’s Gretchen Shirar
tied the game 52-52 with 1:52 left in regulation.
The Blue Devils held for the final shot after getting the ball with 45.9 seconds left. A pass down low went out of bounds with 6.4 seconds left.
South attempted the same play that worked for a back-door bucket by Rice on the Blue Devils’ go-ahead basket three minutes earlier.
“I think they saw it coming,” Rice said. “They had a bunch of defenders there ready to take the ball. It just bobbled everywhere once we tried to run it again.”
Grand Haven scored the first five points of overtime, including four on back-to-back baskets by Cole. The margin was never closer than three points after that. Cole, who finished third in Miss Basketball voting, was only 2 for 5 with seven points during regulation time. She finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and eight blocks.
“Abby can score inside, but they weren’t just going to let us lob it in,” Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “She wasn’t going to be able to score 30 points or anything. We just had so many contributions from so many
kids.”
Grand Haven shot 75.9 percent from the field to overcome an otherwise bizarre stat sheet. South took 78 field goal attempts to Grand Haven’s 29 and had only five turnovers while forcing the Bucs into 32.
“Having lost for the second straight year to the same team, obviously it hurts,” South coach Kevin Richards said. “But I just love the way our girls competed. Even at halftime, I like how we played hard. We
had the tempo we wanted. Give Grand Haven credit — they made some plays when they needed to.”
Cole was only Grand Haven’s third-leading scorer in the championship game, as senior Wilkerson shot 8 for 8 while scoring 17 points and junior Taylor Craymer shot 5 for 7 in a 14-point effort.
“Last year we had a lot of talent,” Wilkerson said. “This year a lot of girls stepped up. We worked hard for this one.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Haven's Abby Cole blocks a shot during Saturday's Class A Final; she had eight blocks in the game. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South's Cierra Rice (5) attempts to drive past Cole. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
New-Look Kent City Blazing Same Successful Playoff Path
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2022
Taryn Preston doesn’t see why the “in-between” year can’t be the magical year when Kent City wins its first MHSAA Finals girls basketball championship.
Preston scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Eagles stayed unbeaten with a hard-earned 36-33 victory over host Morley Stanwood in Friday’s Division 3 District Final.
“Our experience pulls us through in games like this,” explained Preston, one of just two seniors, along with post Emma Geers.
“We are a different team than last year, but everyone knows what they have to do when they step on the floor, and that’s really important.”
Last year, Kent City made it all the way to the Finals at the Breslin Center before losing to top-ranked Grass Lake 52-50 in the championship game.
Most outsiders expected a letdown this winter as the Eagles graduated two of the state’s best 3-point shooters in Kenzie Bowers (Illinois State) and Jenna Harrison (Siena Heights), and the team’s two best players this year are underclassmen – sophomore Maddie Geers and junior Lexie Bowers.
Adding to the question marks, 12-year head coach Scott Carlson resigned in October and took an assistant coaching job at Western Michigan University, turning the reins over to his former player and five-year junior varsity coach Aleah Holcomb, who is just 26 years old.
The final hurdle was injuries, as both of the team’s seniors missed extended time with injuries – Emma Geers six weeks with a knee injury and Preston three weeks with an Achilles strain.
Despite all of that, the Eagles have found a way to win every game to maintain their lofty No. 2 state ranking, winning their fifth-straight Central States Activities Association Silver title and now their fifth-straight District title.
Kent City (22-0) will face Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (17-4) in Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. Division 3 Regional opener at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
“I am amazed by the determination and drive of these girls – that never changes,” said Holcomb, who is assisted by Mikayla Loew, another former Kent City player. “We have a great system in place here. We just had to tweak a few things, the way we do every year, and these girls have made it an easy transition.”
Holcomb’s calm sideline demeanor and respect for her players has helped with the coaching transition, to be sure.
Holcomb and her team kept their cool in Friday’s District title game, even after Morley tied the game at 32 with four minutes remaining, bringing the upset-minded home crowd to its feet.
The first-year coach actually went to a four-corners offense, keeping the ball away from the Mohawks and eventually drawing fouls. The Eagles made 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to pull out the win.
“We were in foul trouble, so the more time we could spend on offense, the better,” explained Holcomb. “I believe in our girls’ ability to handle the ball. It was a risky call, but it worked out.”
Kent City made a statement during the first month of this season, registering a huge, season-opening road win at Muskegon, then downing Ada Forest Hills Eastern and Grand Rapids Christian to capture the Cornerstone University Holiday Tournament Gold division title. Maddie Geers won the tournament Most Valuable Player honor.
While Carlson’s KC teams were known statewide for their 3-point shooting prowess, this year’s team is more diverse in its attack.
Maddie Geers and Bowers are excellent at slashing to the basket, while the senior duo of Emma Geers and Preston have proven their toughness inside.
“We can still knock down the 3s, but we revolve more around our inside game,” said Holcomb, who played college basketball at Davenport University in Grand Rapids. “Having girls that can get inside and make tough shots is just another asset that we have on this team.”
One of those girls is Preston, a three-sport athlete who is the star on her other two teams and more of a role player on the basketball court.
Preston, who is near the top of her class academically, is an all-state hurdler who signed in December with Cornerstone University, where she will run track and study nursing. She was also the leading hitter for the Eagles’ volleyball team, averaging 4.5 kills per game last fall.
She credits her teammates with helping her improve on the hardcourt.
“The girls on the basketball team have pushed me, and this year I’m a lot more confident in myself,” said Preston. “I don’t have a sister of my own, but I consider every single one of them to be a sister.”
Preston is a versatile player who is willing to do all of the little things the team needs to win, according to Holcomb.
The senior nailed two crucial 3-pointers Friday night, and when the team went cold from downtown, she drove to the basket and made a pair of key buckets. Kent City had one of its poorest shooting nights of the year, making just 4-of-25 shots from behind the arc.
Preston knows the team will have to shoot better if it hopes to win another Regional title – but she believes in her team.
“We are very versatile this year, so we can overcome a bad shooting night,” Preston said. “We have the skills and we have the mindset, so I really believe that we can get back (to the Breslin).”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kent City celebrates its Division 3 District title win Friday against Morley Stanwood. (Middle) Lexie Bowers (23) begins making her move toward the basket. (Photos courtesy of the Kent City athletic department.)