Class D: Athens Finds a Way
March 15, 2012
EAST LANSING – Athens has strung together six straight District titles, but always fell just a bit short of reaching the Finals at Breslin Center.
For a few reasons, this wasn’t supposed to be the season the Indians took that next step.
They graduated 11 players last spring. Add in the necessary blend-in of an exchange student, two sophomores and a freshman who play significant roles.
But coach Calvin Quist might’ve found a championship combination – of at least a historical one.
Athens downed Crystal Falls Forest Park 61-48 in Thursday’s second Class D Semifinal and will play in its first MHSAA championship game Saturday morning.
“It means everything in the world. Just to be part of a great tradition,” Athens junior Leia Fuller said. “It’s unexplainable. Going this far, you really don’t know what it feels like. You just want to go the further step, just want to go more and more.”
Athens (21-5) will take on No. 7 and two-time reigning champion Waterford Our Lady (22-4) at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Don’t expect the Indians to be intimidated.
No player measures taller than 5-foot-8, but the Indians proved again that doesn’t matter much if they don’t let opponents get the ball up the floor.
Relying on a stifling defensive press, Athens had 19 steals and took advantage of 23 total Forest Park turnovers. Trojans sophomore Alexis Gussert was outstanding – hitting 14 of 24 shots for 34 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, five blocks and three steals – but the rest of her teammates combined to shoot only 20 percent from the floor.
“I’m speechless. We had a pretty good game plan, and these young ladies executed it well,” Quist said. “This is the deepest team I’ve had in all the (seven) years I’ve coached. I have nine players and any of the nine could start. And that too was part of our plan, because we didn’t think they had much depth. So our plan was to get the ball and go.”
The Indians outscored Forest Park 19-5 in the second quarter to take a 35-15 lead into halftime and cap what Quist called one of the team’s best first halves this winter.
But the second half saw the Trojans (21-6) make a courageous comeback.
Keyed by Gussert’s offensive punch – she hit one of her 3-pointers from just in front of her team’s bench – Crystal Falls cut the deficit to eight, 56-48, with 42 seconds to play. But the Trojans couldn’t come all the way back.
“You’ve gotta keep it up, get it into your head that you can do this,” Forest Park senior Audrey Sholander said. “Being a senior, you don’t want to give up that game. You don’t want to come out with a loss. But regardless, we just knew what we had to do.
“We’ve had close games all season long. We know how to get back in the game, know we have to work hard. In the end, they just outplayed us. So it was a tough loss, but we tried our hardest.”
Sophomore Payton Wood led Athens with 13 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Leo Plaisir added 10 points. Nine players scored for the Indians, and seven had at least five points.
“We pass it around. We know our game and we know what shots we can take,” Wood said. “That teamwork seems to have gotten us through this game.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Athens freshman Allison Fuller looks for an open teammate Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Hockey Weekly Action Photos)
Title IX at 50: Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 22, 2022
As we wrap up our series of “Title IX at 50” celebrations for the winter sports season, we recall a team that didn’t lose for nearly three of those years.
From opening night 1989 until its Regional Final in 1991, Carney-Nadeau’s girls basketball team won every game – a stretch of 78 straight that remains the MHSAA record in the sport and has been approached by only a few others over the last three decades.
The 1989 team, with Connie Berger’s 22 points leading four scorers in double digits, downed Potterville 73-59 in Class D to win the program’s first Finals championship. The Wolves, who had made the Class D Semifinals in 1988 before registering their only loss that season in ending 25-1, finished 1989 28-0.
Jill Wetthuhn, who had scored 16 points in the 1989 Class D Final, poured in a team-high 19 as Carney-Nadeau downed Fowler 56-31 in the 1990 Class D championship game. The Wolves finished that season 27-0.
Carney-Nadeau had won its first 23 games of the 1991 season when it met also-undefeated Baraga in a Class D Regional Final, and that’s where the streak ended – with a 54-49 Baraga win.
Paul Polfus coached all of those Carney-Nadeau teams, in total leading the program to a 502-124 record from 1979-2005. He brought the Wolves one more Class D title, in 2001.
Pittsford came closest to matching the win streak with 76 consecutive victories from Dec. 1, 2015, through Feb. 26, 2018 – a run which included Class D championships in 2017 and 2018 and began after the Wildcats lost in overtime to St. Ignace in the 2015 Class D Final.
The Flint Northern teams of 1978-81 put together 75 straight wins, and Northern also won 71 straight from Aug. 30, 1994 through Nov. 26, 1996.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
March 15: Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 28 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTO Carney-Nadeau celebrates its 1990 Class D basketball championship. (MHSAA file photo)