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Class A Preview: Stars Sure to Shine
March 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Class A – made up of the largest high schools in Michigan – also has the most star power to offer this weekend at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids.
This season’s Miss Basketball plus two more finalists, not to mention some of the likely contenders in 2019, all will take the floor during Friday’s Semifinals and Saturday’s championship game.
And much is at stake, of course. Three of these teams have won MHSAA titles, but none since at least 2010. The fourth will compete during the final weekend of the season for the first time.
Class A Semifinals – Friday
Grosse Pointe North (20-5) vs. Saginaw Heritage (25-1), noon
East Lansing (25-0) vs. Wayne Memorial (22-4), 2 p.m.
Class A Final – Saturday, 12:15 p.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Class D and Class A). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit and streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports Go! app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
EAST LANSING
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 2
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Coach: Rob Smith, 16th season (record N/A)
Championship history: Class A champion 2010, runner-up 2008.
Best wins: 63-45 over No. 8 Muskegon in Quarterfinal, 54-40 over No. 6 Coldwater in Regional Semifinal, 50-38 (District Final) and 52-51 over No. 4 DeWitt, 63-43 over Class B honorable mention Williamston.
Players to watch: Jaida Hampton, 5-11 sr. F (15 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 57 3-pointers); Aaliyah Nye, 5-11 soph. F (13 ppg, 4.6 rpg).
Outlook: After getting stopped in Quarterfinals three times this decade, East Lansing broke through to make its first Semifinal since the championship season of 2010. The Trojans have won four of five postseason games by at least 12 points. Hampton is the recently honored Miss Basketball Award winner, and she’s got plenty of help not only from Aaliyah Nye, but also senior guards Aazhenii Nye (11.7 ppg) and Amelia McNutt (9.5 ppg), among others. All four of those players also had connected on at least 24 3-pointers entering this week.
GROSSE POINTE NORTH
Record/rank: 20-5, unranked
League finish: Tied for first in Macomb Area Conference Red.
Coach: Gary Bennett, 35th season (576-221)
Championship history: Class A champion 2008.
Best wins: 47-44 over Detroit Martin Luther King in Quarterfinal, 53-51 (Regional Semifinal) and 66-63 over No. 9 Macomb Dakota, 44-32 over St. Clair Shores Lakeview in District Semifinal.
Players to watch: Julia Ayrault, 6-2 jr. G/F (19 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 4.4 spg); Christina Braker, 5-9 soph. F (6.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg).
Outlook: North will be returning to the Semifinals for the first time since the title-winning season of 2008, when it defeated East Lansing in the championship game. Ayrault is considered a contender for next season’s Miss Basketball Award and helped her team navigate what annually is one of the state’s strongest leagues. Lakeview (20-2) was another league champion North had to get past along the way. This could be a preview of next season as well; the Norsemen have only one senior.
SAGINAW HERITAGE
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 3
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League.
Coach: Vonnie DeLong, fifth season (105-14)
Championship history: Class A champion 2002, runner-up 2001.
Best wins: 63-40 (Regional Final) and 60-44 over No. 7 Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 59-49 over Class B No. 1 Detroit Country Day, 51-35 over Class B No. 5 Freeland.
Players to watch: Moira Joiner, 5-9 jr. G (14.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4.2 apg); Shine Strickland-Gills, 6-1 jr. F (12.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg).
Outlook: Heritage has won 20 or more games the last four seasons and made the Semifinals again to go with its 2015 appearance. The Hawks’ only loss was by a basket in overtime to reigning Class C champ Detroit Edison, and no other opponent got closer than 10 with wins as well over Clarkston (20-5), Hartland (20-6), Midland Dow (17-6) and Bay City Western (17-4). Joiner is another highly-regarded junior who could be in the Miss Basketball conversation in 2019. Four players average at least seven points per game, with senior guard Jessica Bicknell also in double digits at 10.8.
WAYNE MEMORIAL
Record/rank: 22-4, No. 10
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Black.
Coach: Jarvis Mitchell, fourth season (55-34)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 54-44 (Quarterfinal) and 45-40 over Hartland, 50-46 over Howell, 73-70 over Class B No. 2 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Camree’ Clegg, 5-5 sr. G (23.7 ppg, 6.4 apg); Jeanae Terry, 5-10 jr. G (Statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Wayne went 0-20 in Mitchell’s first season, then won a league title his second, league and District championships his third and added the Regional title for the first time in program history this winter. Clegg was a Miss Basketball Award finalist and has led the Zebras to double-digit wins in every postseason game. The losses came twice to Detroit Edison – including by just two points the second time –Williamston early when it was full strength and considered a Class B favorite and Ohio semifinalist Toledo Rogers (25-3).
PHOTO: Saginaw Heritage's Moira Joiner (4) works to get past a Flint Carman-Ainsworth defender during last week's Regional Final victory. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
![Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston gets up a shot during a season-opening win over Davison.](/sites/default/files/2022-12/221212_gbb_2H.png)
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 2
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 12, 2022
Basketball season in Michigan is played over four months, and this season – for the first time – over 22 games, or two more than in seasons past.
In many cases, those additional games will be used by teams to test themselves a few more times against less-familiar opponents, especially early, and we’ve seen a number of intriguing nonleague matchups already this season – some of last week’s best are covered below, and some of this week’s are mentioned as well.
“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. Detroit Renaissance 41, Wayne Memorial 39 These have been two of the state’s best regardless of division the last few seasons, and this win by the Phoenix (2-0) at the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic avenged a 61-44 loss from a year ago.
2. Portland St. Patrick 48, Fowler 40 The Shamrocks (3-1) ran their regular-season winning streak over the reigning Division 4 champion Eagles (2-2) to three to take a quick upper hand in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference.
3. Belleville 69, Detroit Country Day 61 Belleville (2-0) is looking to build on last season’s 13-8 finish, and defeating Country Day (2-2) – a Division 2 semifinalist the last two seasons – also at the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic, is a nice move in that direction.
4. Evart 42, Lake City 40 After losing to Lake City (3-1) by four and one point in last season’s meetings, and Lake City going on to the Division 3 Quarterfinals, this is a big booster for the Wildcats (3-1) as Highland Conference play begins.
5. Imlay City 51, Sandusky 48 The Spartans (5-0) opened the week with a Monday win over Bloomfield Hills Marian and closed it by edging Sandusky (3-2) to win Capac’s Harry Moore Classic.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Grand Rapids (4-1) After a series of District and/or 20-game winning seasons, East Grand Rapids cooled to 12-10 last winter. But the Pioneers are tracking among the elite again, with Friday’s 52-41 win over Hudsonville avenging an early loss from a year ago. Their only defeat was 49-41 to again-powerful Grand Rapids West Catholic, and EGR should get another strong test this weekend against Redford Westfield Prep at Aquinas College.
East Kentwood (3-0) The Falcons also came down from a series of superior seasons to finish 12-10 in 2021-22, but they’re surging again as well. They opened with a 43-40 win over Byron Center, avenging last year’s season-opening and District Final defeats, and added double-digit wins last week over Grand Ledge and Muskegon Reeths-Puffer.
DIVISION 2
Chelsea (4-0) The Bulldogs’ fast start has been one of the most impressive in the state, with double-digit victories over Parma Western, Marshall and Clarkston and a 58-52 win over Freeland. All four won at least 16 games last season, and Marshall defeated Chelsea in an early matchup. The Bulldogs did go on to finish 20-4, and next up this week is Portland – the team that eliminated Chelsea in last year’s Regional Final.
Escanaba (4-0) The Eskymos’ start doesn’t at all resemble the 0-3 beginning to last season, and hasn’t since opening night when Escanaba avenged a pair of 2021-22 losses to Marquette with a 65-50 win. Escanaba since has also avenged two more losses from last season’s 10-10 run with a 66-50 win over Negaunee, and defeated Gaylord St. Mary and McBain to win the latter’s Season Kickoff Tournament.
DIVISION 3
Cass City (3-0) The Red Hawks improved from 6-9 two seasons ago to 16-5 last winter, and a big win over Sandusky last week gives reason to believe they’re ready to take another step. Cass City lost twice to Sandusky last season, including in a Regional Semifinal, but defeated Sandusky 51-49 in overtime last Tuesday. Cass City’s opening 61-42 win over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary remains MLS’s only loss as well.
Oscoda (3-1) The Owls have strung together five seasons of solid-to-outstanding finishes, and early on this looks like a possible number six. Oscoda opened with a 57-53 loss to Alpena, but then defeated Division 1 Bay City Central and Midland before handing Cedarville its second defeat of the season. The Owls had lost to both Bay City Central and Cedarville in going 15-7 last winter.
DIVISION 4
Ewen-Trout Creek (3-0) The Panthers were a solid 14-8 a season ago and have been among the most notable in Division 4 over the last half-decade. This season’s early run should be creating plenty of anticipation as well, as Ewen-Trout Creek have avenged last-year losses to Dollar Bay and Ironwood with wins of 20 and 16 points, respectively. The Panthers finish this week at Ontonagon, which defeated them twice last winter.
Brethren (4-0) Starting with 2018-19, the Bobcats won three, four, five and then 11 games, respectively, heading into this winter. They’re on their way to continuing that improvement with a fast start that’s included all double-digit victories – including 60-21 over Mesick, which split its meetings with Brethren last season on the way to sharing the West Michigan D League title.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Flint Carman-Ainsworth (3-0) at Dearborn Divine Child (4-0) – These two combined for 37 wins last season and have six double-digit victories between them this winter.
Tuesday – Portland (3-1) at Chelsea (4-0) – As noted above, this is a Regional Final rematch after Portland won that playoff meeting 47-22 and also a regular-season matchup 53-36.
Wednesday – Grosse Pointe North (4-0) at Lake Fenton (3-0) – Both made Regional Finals a season ago and have impressive early wins, GPN over Country Day and Lake Fenton over Frankenmuth.
Friday – Williamston (3-1) at Haslett (4-0) – These two shared the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title last year and could be among the state-ranked in Division 2 as well this winter.
Saturday – West Bloomfield (1-1) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (1-1) at Detroit Renaissance – The reigning Division 1 and 3 champions, respectively, will meet at the Phoenix Shootout.
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.
PHOTO Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston gets up a shot during a season-opening win over Davison. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)