Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 11
February 12, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re two weeks from the start of District tournaments in girls basketball, and diligently working to bring fans fully up-to-date on what they could see when the postseason begins.
But there are still plenty of substantial games to play … so many this week that league-deciding matchups like Flint Beecher/Goodrich and Hamilton/Zeeland West just missed our “Can’t-Miss Contests” below.
In addition to our weekly “Countdown to Calvin” reports, please be encouraged to check out MHSAA.com; click “Schools” to search for full schedules, results and standings for every team, and click “Sports” and then “Girls Basketball” for brackets for every District and Regional.
Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school on our site. To offer corrections or help us fill in missing scores, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. St. Ignace 87, Goodrich 56 – Here come the Saints; untested for most of the season, they passed their toughest so far in a big way to remind the rest of the state they’ll be among Class C contenders.
2. Goodrich 57, Flushing 51 (OT) – Don’t sleep on the Class B Martians; four days before falling to St. Ignace, they beat the reigning Class A champion in overtime.
3. Macomb Dakota 51, Clarkston 41 – These two stand to be contenders in Class A, Dakota as the Macomb Area Conference Red co-champ and Clarkston right now trying to close out at least a shared Oakland Activities Association Red title.
4. Midland Dow 52, Midland 33 – The Chargers have won six of their last seven to climb back into the thick of the Saginaw Valley League race, this time avenging a 12-point December loss to their rival.
5. Gaylord St. Mary 38, Bellaire 32 – With this rivalry series between Class D elite went the Ski Valley Conference title, with St. Mary sweeping and hoisting the trophy for the second straight season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
East Lansing (15-0) – The Trojans have built on last season’s 21-3 finish with another dominating run. East Lansing opened this winter with a 10-point win over Marshall and has added victories over DeWitt and Williamston – both 15-1 – to a perfect run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue that saw them win their first meeting with second-place Okemos by 34.
Utica Eisenhower (15-1) – A 10-point loss to Lake Orion on Nov. 28 has to feel like a distant memory as Eisenhower enjoyed a perfect run through the MAC White after finishing second in the league a year ago. Now comes a major opportunity to impress – the MAC Red/White tournament beginning today and will give the Eagles a chance to match up with opponents from one of the state’s most touted leagues.
CLASS B
Edwardsburg (16-1) – The Eddies are one victory from completing a perfect run through the Wolverine Conference South for the second straight season and have won 14 straight; the lone defeat came by three points to Class A St. Joseph on Dec. 5. Only two other games have been decided by fewer than 14 points, and the District this season includes four opponents Edwardsburg has swept so far.
Kingsley (17-0) – This indeed has been a special season for the Northwest Conference-leading Stags, who have beaten all of their opponents by at least 16 points and most by many more. That 16-point win was the only loss for rival Maple City Glen Lake – which beat Kingsley twice last season to win the league title.
CLASS C
Detroit Edison Public School Academy (15-1) – Although it’s a matchup Edison needs to be watchful for during the tournament, the five-point loss to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep on Jan. 11 has been the only trip-up for the reigning Class C champion. The list of wins is awe-inspiring: Detroit Martin Luther King, Detroit Country Day and Ann Arbor Huron all fell to the Pioneers by double digits.
Maple City Glen Lake (16-1) – The Lakers would be undefeated this season if not for that 16-point loss to Kingsley noted above – and surely they’ve circled the Feb. 20 rematch. Aside from that defeat, only two other games have been decided by single digits – and Glen Lake has won its last five by an average of 44 points per game.
CLASS D
Adrian Lenawee Christian (15-1) – A one-point loss to Class A Monroe in January is all that’s kept Lenawee Christian from a perfect run. Early, the Cougars beat a Class B Ida team that went on to win the Lenawee County Athletic Association title outright. Most recently, they downed Class A Dexter by 14 on Thursday.
Ewen-Trout Creek (12-3) – The school’s boys team has gotten a ton of attention as one of the state’s best in Class D, but the girls are right there as well. A seven-game winning streak included a 54-49 overtime win last week over Ontonagon, the only team with a chance of catching the Panthers in the Copper Mountain Conference Porcupine Mountain division.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Bay City Western (14-1) at Saginaw Heritage (14-0) – Western suffered that lone loss to Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Feb. 2, but downing the Hawks would put all three in line to share the Saginaw Valley League title.
Thursday – Detroit Country Day (12-2) at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (11-5) – The last time these two met, Country Day claimed the 2017 Class B championship.
Friday – Detroit Public School League Final at University of Detroit Mercy – Renaissance (11-6), Martin Luther King (13-2), Mumford (13-3) and Collegiate Prep (11-2) will play semifinals tonight.
Saturday – St. Ignace (17-0) at Detroit Edison Public School Academy (15-1) – Could these be the state’s best in Class C? This one could be a preview of a late March rematch.
Sunday – Detroit Catholic League A-B Final at University of Detroit Mercy – Farmington Hills Mercy (15-2), Bloomfield Hills Marian (13-3), Dearborn Divine Child (12-5) and Livonia Ladywood (7-9) remain in contention with semifinals Wednesday.
PHOTO: Goodrich, here against Corunna, played two of the state’s most notable games last week. (Click to see more from Varsity Monthly.)
Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 12
February 24, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
March is almost here, warm weather downstate has given us at least a reminder of spring, and the final week of girls basketball regular season is another indication that the most exciting part of a long winter is nearly upon us.
Of course, there are a few championship to decide before next week’s start of the MHSAA Tournament, and a few more big-time nonleague matchups to get in as teams prepare to take their best shots at becoming Breslin Bound.
We offer a glance at some of those below. Next week we’ll come back with previews of three Districts of particular interest in each Division as we move closer to our final destination at Michigan State. “Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Hartland 36, Brighton 33 – The Eagles (17-1) and Miss Basketball Award finalist Whitney Sollom avenged their lone loss, 41-33 on Jan. 24, to move past Brighton (16-2) and clinch the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West championship.
2. Lake City 36, Manton 26 – The Trojans (18-1) finished a perfect run through the Highland Conference to win their first league title since 2000, downing second-place Manton and then third-place McBain two days later.
3. Port Huron 42, Grosse Pointe North 39 – The Big Reds capped a 20-0 regular season by downing North (13-6) to win the Macomb Area Conference Red/White Tournament.
4. Farmington Hills Mercy 51, Bloomfield Hills Marian 40 – After a regular-season split that led to a shared Detroit Catholic League Central championship, Mercy (17-2) clinched the Bishop Tournament title with this deciding game over the Mustangs (14-4).
5. Montague 59, Hart 46 (3OT) – The Wildcats (15-4) clinched the West Michigan Conference championship after previously losing to Hart (16-4) on Jan. 17, 39-31.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Kentwood (15-3) The Falcons are carrying an eight-game winning streak since suffering their only Ottawa-Kent Conference Red loss, 45-41 to Hudsonville on Jan. 17, and will earn a shared league title if both teams win out this week. East Kentwood is the reigning league champion and beat this week’s opponents Grand Haven and Caledonia by 37 and 43, respectively, the first time through the schedule. The Falcons’ only other losses came to two other Division 1 contenders – Detroit Renaissance by two and East Grand Rapids by seven, both in mid-December.
Hudsonville (17-1) The Eagles’ only defeat this season came to East Kentwood on Feb. 14, 53-46, and a shared league title would give them their first league championship since 2015-16. They beat their opponents for this week, Holland West Ottawa and Grandville, by 35 and 41, respectively, during the first round of league play. In addition to defeating East Kentwood in January, Hudsonville also handed recently-clinched O-K Gold champion East Grand Rapids (18-1) its only loss, on Dec. 13.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Edison (17-0) We’ve highlighted one of Edison’s wins in the above section of this report nearly every week – which is what happens when a team goes undefeated against a slate of opponents with a combined .810 winning percentage. Among those, Edison has beaten arguably the top three teams in Division 1 – Ann Arbor Huron, East Lansing and Detroit Renaissance – with its only two single-digit in-state wins to Renaissance by two and last week to reigning Division 4 champion Adrian Lenawee Christian 67-62. Standout senior Gabrielle Elliott also is one of three Miss Basketball Award candidates.
Freeland (14-4) The Falcons defeated Frankenmuth (13-5) on Friday 43-39 to clinch the Tri-Valley Conference East outright, continuing a courageous run this season after the unexpected death of highly-respected coach Tom Zolinski on Nov. 22. Freeland opened the season 3-3, but has lost only once since Dec. 18, to Division 1 Saginaw Heritage (12-6) by four. The Falcons avenged one of those early defeats by beating TVC East second-place Standish Sterling 60-54 on Jan. 28, and they also own an impressive win over Kingsley (13-6).
DIVISION 3
Flint Hamady (18-2) Last season’s Division 3 runner-up is back in tournament form and closed its regular season by clinching the Genesee Area Conference title outright with a 63-54 double-overtime win over Morrice (13-4). Hamady swept the Orioles and rival Flint Beecher (12-6) in league play, and also earned solid wins over Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (12-6) and Grand Blanc (10-8) during the first weeks of the season. The only losses came to Division 1 Flint Kearsley (13-5) and Davison (11-7), the Davison defeat by just a point.
Springport (16-2) The Spartans have clinched the Big 8 Conference title for the second-straight season and run their league winning streak to 29 despite playing in a conference this winter with four other teams that have won at least 10 games. Total, Springport has won 10 games over teams with double-digit victories, with its only defeats to Cascades Conference co-leaders Grass Lake (16-2) and Michigan Center (15-3).
DIVISION 4
Fowler (14-4) The Eagles locked down second place in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference last week behind reigning Division 3 champion Pewamo-Westphalia. And if last season’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals was an indication, another high league finish should pay off for the Eagles. Five CMAC teams have at least 10 wins or more going into this final week, and Fowler swept the rest including Portland St. Patrick (14-4). The Eagles’ other losses were to reigning Division 4 champ Adrian Lenawee Christian (17-2) and Division 2 power Portland (16-3).
Ubly (17-1) The Bearcats have locked up the Greater Thumb Conference East title, their first league championship in at least a decade, after finishing fourth in the East and 11-11 overall last season. This winter’s run included sweeps of Sandusky (15-4) and Harbor Springs (13-5), and the only defeat came Dec. 17 to eventual GTC West champion Caro. Ubly is holding opponents to a mere 24.4 points per game.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Brighton (16-2) at Wayne Memorial (15-3) – The KLAA East champion hosts the West runner-up, with the winner playing for the overall league title Thursday against either Hartland or Dearborn.
Tuesday – Williamston (15-3) at Michigan Center (15-3) – With Friday’s one-point win over Haslett, Williamston is in position to win at least a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Red, but first faces a Michigan Center team in the same scenario in the Cascades Conference.
Thursday – Farmington Hills Mercy (17-2) at Detroit Renaissance (17-2) – The Detroit Public School League champion Phoenix host the Catholic League Bishop champion Marlins at the annual Operation Friendship games.
Thursday – Plainwell (13-5) at Edwardsburg (17-1) – The Eddies tied for first in the Wolverine Conference South and host North champion Plainwell; Edwardsburg winning their Feb. 11 meeting.
Friday – Midland Dow (16-2) at Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-3) – Dow from the Red and Carman-Ainsworth from the Blue will play for the overall Saginaw Valley League championship.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports 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: East Lansing’s Aaliyah Nye, a Miss Basketball Award finalist, gets a shot up over two Okemos defenders last week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)