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.)
Kent City Shooting for Long Tourney Run
March 7, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
RAVENNA – As Zara Weber explains it, part of growing up in Kent City is learning how to properly shoot the basketball.
“They start us young at camps, working on our form and things like that,” said Weber, one of two senior starters for Kent City (18-4), which rolled over Holton 55-13 on Wednesday and into Friday’s Division 3 District Final against Muskegon Western Michigan Christian at Ravenna.
“They get us started, and then it’s up to all of us to put in the time. We spend a lot of time in the gym. A few of us made it our goal to shoot 10,000 3-pointers over the summer.”
So, for Weber, the 3-pointer that she made late in the first quarter on Wednesday was just another shot – but it was also the shot that tied the team state record for most 3-pointers made in a season.
It was fitting that the record-breaking trey, which came less than a minute later, was made by a reserve, senior Janelle Krueger – because all of these Eagles can shoot.
“Almost every girl on the team can shoot it,” said 10th-year Kent City coach Scott Carlson, who knows something about scoring as the all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,263 career points. “I don’t think the record really mattered. We knew we were getting close. I just have a great shooting team.”
Kent City, which was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press Division 3 poll, finished with eight 3-pointers on Wednesday, pushing its season total to 244 – and breaking the old record of 237 triples by Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central set in 2005.
The boys state record is 356 by Whitmore Lake in 2009-2010.
Carlson did not make a big deal about the state record. The game was not stopped after Krueger’s record-setting shot, and no announcement was made; in fact, most of the Eagles did not know until after the game.
Earlier this year, Kent City broke the state record for 3-pointers in a single game, making 25 in a home win over Holton. Kent City had the previous record of 23 in a single game, set during the 2012-2013 season, when current assistant coaches Kendal Carlson and Aleah Holcomb were on the roster.
How do they do it?
The Eagles’ motion offense normally features four players spotted up at different points along the 3-point arc, with players taking turns driving and kicking it back out to one of those players, who are always ready to shoot. KC shoots 32 percent from 3-point range and averages 11 treys per game.
The “big three” for KC all season long has been Weber and sophomore standouts Jenna Harrison and Kenzie Bowers – who have all made more than 50 3-pointers this season. The other starters for the Eagles are sophomore Audrey Dreyer and senior Lauren Freeland, an all-state track and cross country standout who will run at Michigan State next year.
“Shooters got to shoot,” explained Harrison, who led all scorers on Wednesday with 13 points, including two 3-pointers. “We know that we have to shoot if we are open; that’s the way our offense works. If the defense comes out on us, then we have to drive.”
The Eagles know their games will keep getting tougher, starting with Friday’s District championship game against Western Michigan Christian. If the Eagles prevail, it could set up a blockbuster Regional Semifinal matchup at home Monday against top-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia.
“That’s the game everyone in town is talking about, but we’re just taking them one at a time,” Harrison said.
The Eagles’ outstanding season has been a pleasant diversion for Carlson, who has experienced more family tragedies resulting from car crashes than any one man should ever have to endure.
In 1989, his younger brother Todd was paralyzed in a car accident. One year later, his younger sister Shannon was paralyzed and suffered a closed head injury in a car accident. In 2009, his mother, Jane, died in another car accident (Todd lost his right leg in the same accident).
Then last August, Todd – who served as an assistant coach for the Eagles and helped run Kent City’s youth basketball program for 15 years – died in yet another crash at the age of 49.
“It’s been tough because he was such a big part of this team,” said Carlson. “I’ve learned you just have to keep going forward. Basketball is something we have always had to focus on and work on.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kent City’s Jenna Harrison lines up to shoot a 3-pointer against Cedar Springs during a Feb. 19 win. (Middle) Mikayla Loew (21) looks for an opening around the perimeter. (Photos courtesy of the Kent City athletic department/Sue Harrison.)