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.)
Defense Keys Hamady Semifinal Surge
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Flint Hamady made it to Van Noord Arena this season on a defensive effort that gave up only 40.4 points per game heading into Thursday’s Semifinal matchup with Lake City.
During the second half, the Hawks nearly shut down the Trojans entirely to lock down a spot in Saturday’s championship game.
Trailing heading into the third quarter, Hamady allowed just 13 points over the final 16 minutes to get past Lake City 42-33 and earn a return to the Finals for the sixth time and first since finishing Class C runner-up in 2015.
“We didn’t come with the best first half,” Hamady senior guard Jordan McKeller said. “But we look at each other as sisters, and at the end of the day it’s us and the coaching staff. We were able to keep our heads up and play together as a team.”
The Hawks (21-5) will play for their first MHSAA championship since 2010 at 4 p.m. Saturday against Pewamo-Westphalia.
Hamady is putting up just under 52 points per game this season. But the defense has hit another level during the tournament as the Hawks have gone from facing a number of larger opponents to schools their size. Including Thursday’s game, Hamady is giving up just 36 points during the playoffs.
Major differences in slowing down Lake City were 6-foot-1 senior forward Treshondra Williams and 6-2 junior center Aryana Naylor. Hamady outrebounded Lake City 37-27 – and 20-9 during the seconds half – and those two combined for 20 boards over the four quarters.
“I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half. They’re just a good shooting team,” Hamady coach Keith Smith said. “We wanted to stay more attached to number 12 (Makayla Ardis), she’s a good shooter. And in the second half we put Aryana Naylor on their 32 (Rylie Bisballe), made the adjustment there, and Ari did a good job.”
Lake City led by as many as four for most of the third quarter. But McKeller’s basket with 2:10 to play in the period gave the Hawks their first lead after the break, and they never gave it back.
Lake City (22-3) went from making 41 percent of its shots from the floor during the first half to 27 percent during the second. The Hawks, meanwhile, had a key six second-chance points during the fourth quarter as they pushed the lead to as large as 12.
Naylor and McKeller both had 10 points to lead Hamady, and Naylor also grabbed eight rebounds. Williams had nine points and 12 rebounds.
“We had a lot of nerves in the first quarter, but the girls were feeling good,” Lake City coach Bill Tisron said. “The second half we were pretty tense. I thought we got good looks, but their size took over. They had a lot of second opportunities in the second half, and I thought that was the difference.”
Ardis made 6-of-12 shots from the floor for a game-high 14 points to go with four steals. Junior forward Megan Hose grabbed eight rebounds.
Lake City was playing in its first Semifinal since the 1976 team won the Class D championship. Four starters and the top sub from Thursday should return next season, as Ardis was the only senior who saw more than a minute of action.
“It’s been really fun. To be the first team in 43 years (at the Semifinals) it’s pretty amazing – just the experience has been awesome,” said Bisballe, the team’s leading scorer this winter. “We’re just going to be a better team (next season), and our goal is to get back here again.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Hamady's Xeryia Tartt works to get past a Lake City defender. (Middle) The Trojans' Megan Hose (13) looks for an opening in the Hawks' defense.