Class A: Comeback Classic
March 17, 2012
EAST LANSING – Shar’Rae Davis had one thought when she received the ball with only a few seconds remaining and Grand Haven’s first championship on the line in Saturday’s MHSAA Class A Final.
She saw the rim on Breslin Center’s north basket. And she knew she had 12 seconds to reach it.
“I didn’t even see the rest of my team. So I was like, I’ve got to score,” Davis said. “That was my mentality.
Not only did Davis race the length of the court; she drove to finish the third-longest comeback in MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals history.
Davis completed her lay-up with six seconds to play. Grosse Pointe South couldn’t connect on its final last-second attempt. And the only thing Davis was a second late for was the start of the celebration: Grand Haven 54, Grosse Pointe South 53.
“When I made the basket, I thought it was tied or something. I was looking around for the timeout. Nothing was happening,” she said. “Then I saw Abby (Cole) jump, everyone run at me. I still didn’t believe it. I had to look at the score.”
Believe it: Grand Haven won its first MHSAA championship after surviving a harrowing double-overtime Quarterfinal against East Lansing, and a late rush by 2011 champion Inskter in Friday’s Semifinal.
But Saturday’s comeback topped them both.
Starting at the end of the first quarter, Grosse Pointe South led for 24 minutes, 5 seconds straight. The Blue Devils’ advantage reached 18 points with 1:51 to go in the third quarter.
“Obviously things weren’t looking good for us down 18. It was another nightmare,” Buccaneers coach Katie Kowalczyk-Fulmer said. “But there was a lot of time left on the clock. And we just talked about getting back into it one possession at a time. You can’t get it all at once. We couldn’t foul just to foul because we knew if the game was going to come down to free throws and we put them at the line, we wouldn’t have a chance.”
Instead, she directed her players to deliver the ball repeatedly to Cole.
The 6-foot-5 junior scored nine of her 18 points over the final 9:38 of the game, including seven straight free throws as the Devils tried to keep her from getting any closer to the hoop (she also had eight rebounds and eight blocks). Davis scored 14 of her game-high 19 points during that 27-10 run.
But those efforts still nearly weren’t enough.
Reeling a bit after giving up the big lead, Grosse Pointe South got a jolt of hope from freshman guard Cierra Rice. Grand Haven took its first lead in two quarters with 1:10 to play, and held a two-point advantage with 24 second to go when Rice dropped in a lay-up, was fouled, and made the free throw to give the Devils back a one-point edge.
But after Davis’ ensuing full-court scoring run, the last attempt by the Devils didn’t fall.
Only Farmington Our Lady of Mercy in 1982 (19 points) and Detroit Cass Tech in 1987 (20) made bigger championship game comebacks than Grand Haven – both to win Class A titles as well.
“We knew we could do anything because of that Quarterfinal game,” Grand Haven senior Alex Law said of the 42-40 win over East Lansing. “It was crazy, but that gave us so much confidence. I was like, ‘Let’s go, we can do this. We’ve got this. It’s our last game. Let’s do it right.’”
Grand Haven finished 27-1, losing only to East Kentwood – a loss the Buccaneers avenged later in the season. They were ranked No. 1 heading into the postseason.
Grosse Pointe South (23-4) was only an honorable mention heading into playoffs. But that didn’t make Saturday any less heart-breaking.
Four Blue Devils scored at least 10 points, led by Rice with 14 and junior Claire DeBoer with 13. Three grabbed at least 10 rebounds – Senior Caitlin Moore had 12 to go with her 12 points, and senior Catherine Palazzolo had 10 to go with her 10 points as Grosse Pointe South outrebounded the taller Buccaneers by 19.
But nine of the Blue Devils 19 turnovers also came during that final Grand Haven run, caused in large part by the Bucs’ “monster” press defense, as they call it. It produced monstrous – and championship – results.
“The past couple of games when the pressure got on, we haven’t always handled it well. And they making the adjustment and really going inside, throwing into the big girls, definitely hurt,” Blue Devils coach Kevin Richards said. “What can you say? We made plays all but right at the very end. We had a great effort and the gameplan worked. We just need to have a little bit better ball security.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Haven celebrates its first MHSAA championship. (Photo courtesy of Terry McNamara Photography.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 7
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 22, 2024
The second half of this girls basketball regular season is upon us, and with it several teams are finding their ways into our “Breslin Bound” conversation.
The biggest headliner of last week certainly was East Kentwood, and we explain why below. The Falcons have just one loss this winter, but 19 teams have reached this point without experiencing defeat – and we discuss five of those as well, along with others continuing to emerge with six weeks remaining until the start of District play.
“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. East Kentwood 60, Rockford 54 The Falcons (10-1) handed reigning Division 1 champion Rockford (10-1) its first loss since Dec. 22, 2022, breaking the Rams’ 33-game winning streak and taking over first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red.
2. Portage Central 54, Stevensville Lakeshore 44 The Mustangs (9-0) won this matchup of undefeated teams to move a game ahead of Lakeshore (8-1) in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West standings.
3. Goodrich 44, Lake Fenton 36 The Martians (11-0) remained perfect and further avenged last season’s three regular-season losses to reigning Flint Metro League Stars and overall champion Lake Fenton (8-4).
4. Frankfort 59, St. Ignace 45 The Panthers (8-3) crossed the Bridge and won St. Ignace’s B.C. Pizza Classic, defeating the Saints (9-3) in the final after downing Menominee on Friday to advance.
5. Freeland 67, Chelsea 61 Freeland’s Falcons (9-1) won a matchup of Division 2 hopefuls, avenging last season’s 58-52 loss to the Bulldogs (8-3).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Renaissance (12-0) Coming off last season’s 23-2 finish and run to the Division 1 Semifinals, Renaissance has raced back into contention with an early 53-46 win over reigning Division 2 champion Lansing Catholic and victories over Romulus and Detroit Country Day also among the most impressive. The Phoenix downed Muskegon 65-43 on Saturday and can clinch at least a share of the Detroit Public School League Blue title in its next game, next Monday against Detroit Cass Tech.
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (9-0) With five of six teams in the Oakland Activities Association Red at 6-4 or better, and reigning Division 1 runner-up West Bloomfield sharing the league lead, Stoney Creek’s start is even more impressive. But the Cougars put themselves in this conversation a few seasons ago and have built on last year’s 17-7 run with victories over nine-win Romeo and Clarkston and by handing Royal Oak its lone loss. The first meeting with West Bloomfield comes up Jan. 30.
DIVISION 2
Adrian Madison (9-2) The Trojans moved into Division 2 this season after several in Division 3, and also switched to the Lenawee County Athletic Association from the Tri-County Conference. So far, so very good, as Madison already has bettered last season’s 7-15 record and sits just a half-game behind Blissfield in the league standings with their first of two meetings coming up Tuesday. What’s more, all but one of Madison’s opponents has a winning record or would if not for losing to the Trojans.
Paw Paw (8-1) The Red Wolves have finished second in the Wolverine Conference the last two seasons but could be the team to chase this winter. They defeated reigning champion Vicksburg 60-50 in their second game this season, which remains the Bulldogs’ only loss. Paw Paw did follow up that win with an 87-85 double-overtime loss to Edwardsburg, but the Red Wolves came back to defeat the Eddies 58-53 last week and then handed Otsego its first conference loss Friday, 55-39. Paw Paw plays Vicksburg again Feb. 2.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (8-1) Last season’s 22-4 run included a perfect 10-0 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley, and the Comets are halfway to repeating the latter accomplishment as they sit in first, one game ahead of rival Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep. Christian’s only loss was 68-44 to Grand Rapids Covenant Christian on Jan. 5 in their first game after break, and Martin and Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian are among upcoming opponents that should give the Comets similar tests as they ready for an intriguing postseason.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (8-2) Arbor Prep’s opponents have won 78.4 percent of their games this season, and yet Arbor Prep has bested that with losses only to undefeated Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard and one-loss Jackson Northwest. The Gators handed the only defeat to Flint Powers Catholic, 51-43, and as usual for the Division 3 contenders have a schedule loaded with challenges the rest of the way including undefeated Detroit Edison. Only one of Arbor Prep’s final 12 regular-season opponents doesn’t have a winning record at this point.
DIVISION 4
Gobles (6-3) As we move toward the midway point of the regular season for most of the state’s girls teams, Gobles ranks high in Division 4 Michigan Power Rating in part because of good losses to SAC Central rivals Martin and Saugatuck, both 8-1, and with its third defeat coming from Kalamazoo Christian (see above). Gobles also has defeated Hackett and opened the season with a 52-39 win over Watervliet, which ended the Tigers’ 2022-23 in the District. The Saugatuck rematch comes up Friday, and the second meeting with Martin is Feb. 2.
Portland St. Patrick (7-2) The Shamrocks have loaded the schedule again this winter, taking a loss to 2023 Division 2 semifinalist Grand Rapids West Catholic but handing Division 3 Ovid-Elsie its first defeat last week 51-45. St. Patrick followed the latter with a 56-33 win over reigning Central Michigan Athletic Conference champion Dansville. The Shamrocks also fell to one-loss Fowler 69-63 on Dec. 14, and that rematch is coming up Feb. 2 – but they certainly will be dialed in first for Wednesday’s home game against undefeated Bath, which with Fowler leads the CMAC this winter.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Harbor Beach (10-1) at Sandusky (10-1) – These two are first and second, respectively, in the Greater Thumb Conference East, after Harbor Beach won the first meeting 30-26 on Jan. 2.
Friday – East Kentwood (10-1) at Grand Haven (10-1) – They join Rockford at 10-1 overall and as noted above, East Kentwood defeated Rockford last week to move into first alone in the O-K Red.
Friday – Fowler (9-1) at Bath (8-0) – Both are undefeated in CMAC play heading into their first of two meetings, the second set for Feb. 27.
Friday – Frankenmuth (8-2) at Freeland (9-1) – The Eagles hold a one-game edge in the Tri-Valley Conference Red thanks to their 53-51 win over the Falcons on Dec. 8.
Saturday – Rockford (10-1) vs. Lansing Catholic (7-3) at Calvin University – The reigning Division 1 and 2 champions, respectively, meet in the 6 p.m. game at the Calvin University Showcase.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). 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 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 Tessa Prough (31) puts up a shot during her team's 61-31 win over Sturgis last week. (Middle) A Clare player gets to the basket during her team's 51-36 win over Ithaca. (Top photo by Gary Shook; middle photo by High School Sports Scene.)