Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 12
February 19, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re filled with anticipation as we begin the final week of this girls basketball regular season.
Most league titles have been determined – although some excellent deciding matchups do still remain. What’s more, every team has had three months to figure out what it does best – and we’re on the eve of seeing them make a final dash with everything on the line.
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. Saginaw Heritage 59, Detroit Country Day 49 – Heritage is one of three undefeated teams left in Class A and reinforced it’s a serious contender by downing the reigning champ in Class B.
2. Marysville 53, St. Clair Shores Lakeview 44 – Although Lakeview lost its leading scorer to an injury two minutes in, Marysville handing the Huskies their first loss in this Macomb Area Conference Blue/Gold championship game remains significant.
3. Detroit Mumford 60, Detroit Renaissance 58 – Mumford downed Renaissance earlier this season to clinch first in their division of the Detroit Public School League, and this classic rematch gave the Mustangs the overall league tournament title.
4. Jackson Northwest 47, Coldwater 37 (OT) – The Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title very well may have been decided during overtime between these teams that are a combined 33-3 overall this winter.
5. Detroit Edison 88, St. Ignace 56 – In what looked like a possible matchup of the best in Class C, reigning champion Edison showed it’s still the team to beat (and with only a loss to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, which beat Country Day this week).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Bloomfield Hills Marian (14-3) – Despite being swept by Dearborn Divine Child during the league season, Marian shared the Detroit Catholic League Central championship with Farmington Hills Mercy – and then finished off a run to the A-B tournament title with a 49-30 win over the Falcons on Sunday. The only other loss this season was by a point to Royal Oak (15-2).
DeWitt (17-1) – After falling to still-undefeated rival East Lansing by a point Dec. 5, the Panthers have quietly run off 15 straight wins and claimed the Capital Area Activities Conference Red championship. DeWitt and East Lansing could see each other again in a District Final at Owosso. Both games last season, including the Trojans’ District Final win, were decided by a point as well.
CLASS B
Freeland (16-2) – The Falcons have clinched another Tri-Valley Conference Central title, running their league winning streak to 40 straight games with Friday’s victory over Shepherd. Freeland also posted double-digit crossover wins against Birch Run and Hemlock teams that are a combined 29-5, with the only defeats to Class A powers Saginaw Heritage (17-0) and Bay City Western (14-3).
Hamilton (17-1) – The Hawkeyes followed up last year’s run to the Regional Finals by opening this winter with a four-point loss to Class A Jenison (14-4). Hamilton hasn’t lost again, claiming a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title with its 40-27 win over now-third place Zeeland East on Friday. The Hawkeyes also own a win against Comstock Park, the leader in the O-K Blue.
CLASS C
Centreville (18-1) – The Bulldogs have won 26 straight league games including their first 16 in the first year of the Southwest 10 Conference. The defeat came in overtime Dec. 1 against former league rival Bronson. The Bulldogs will be tested immediately in the District though, with Homer (16-2) first up next week.
New Lothrop (16-1) – Since falling to reigning Class C runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia in its opener, New Lothrop is undefeated and finished 10-0 in the Genesee Area Conference White. The Hornets also have a nice win over Birch Run and beat GAC Blue co-leader Byron by nine last week. The league title was the second straight after New Lothrop shared with Burton Bendle last season.
CLASS D
Fruitport Calvary Christian (16-3) – The Eagles got off to a middling start at 0-2 and then 4-3, but have won 12 straight and finished a perfect run through the Alliance League. Next they’ll go for a fifth straight District title and hope for more; two of the three losses came to Class C teams, and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (16-2) also went on to win a league title.
Hillman (18-1) – The Tigers ran their North Star League winning streak to 46 straight in claiming the Big Dipper championship outright with a 51-38 victory over second-place Rogers City on Thursday. The lone defeat came against another small school power in Cedarville (13-3), by three on opening night – but Hillman does need to be cautious facing Rogers City (13-4) again in its first District game Feb. 28.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Edison (15-1) at Saginaw Heritage (17-0) – Fresh off a win over the reigning Class B champion, Heritage will try to add another against last season’s Class C title winner.
Tuesday – Kingsley (19-0) at Maple City Glen Lake (17-1) – Glen Lake will try to avenge an earlier 16-point loss and share the Northwest Conference title.
Wednesday – St. Clair Shores Lakeview (18-1) at Utica Eisenhower (17-2) – A pair of MAC divisional champs get one last tune-up before the start of Districts.
Thursday – Sandusky (16-3) at Marlette (14-4) – The Greater Thumb Conference East title comes down to this meeting between co-leaders, and Marlette won the first by 17.
Thursday – Charlevoix (14-3) at Traverse City St. Francis (14-3) – These two are tied for first in the Lake Michigan Conference, and Charlevoix won their first meeting by two.
PHOTO: Saginaw Heritage held on to its perfect record with a big win last week over Bay City Western. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 3
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 19, 2022
We’ve gained some early insights on local races and statewide superiority as we near the end of the first month of this girls basketball season – but perhaps the most eye-opening play will be tipping off between now and when the ball drops to ring in 2023.
We enjoyed another telling week of mostly nonleague play across the state – including a matchup of potentially the best two teams regardless of division. There’s more of that to come as these next two weeks are filled with holiday hoops events – and we’ll catch up on those when “Breslin Bound” returns the first week in January.
“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. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 66, West Bloomfield 62 The most intriguing matchup of this season so far saw the reigning Division 3 champion Gators (3-1) edge the reigning title holder in Division 1 West Bloomfield (3-2) during the Arbor Prep Ice Breaker.
2. Chelsea 64, Portland 27 The Bulldogs (5-0) put together their biggest win to avenge two losses from last season against the Raiders (4-2), including their season-ender in a Regional Final.
3. Lake Fenton 51, Grosse Pointe North 33 Lake Fenton’s impressive 6-0 start has arguably its most impressive win so far, as the Norsemen (5-1) also have shown plenty of potential.
4. Hudsonville 48, Wayne Memorial 46 The Eagles (4-2) have navigated a strong nonleague schedule so far, as has Wayne (1-3) with this West Michigan Spotlight matchup its second-straight two-point defeat.
5. East Grand Rapids 61, Redford Westfield Prep 56 The Pioneers (5-1) also pulled out a close win during the “Spotlight” at Aquinas College, against another program in Westfield playing a loaded December slate.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Farmington Hills Mercy (5-0) The Marlins annually are one of the top teams in Division 1, but this has been their best start since 2019-20. Along the way, they’ve handed the only losses so far to Rochester and Northville. Mercy is the reigning Detroit Catholic League Central champ and will begin an attempt at a repeat run Jan. 6 against the other likely favorite, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard.
Mattawan (4-1) Last season’s 13-9 finish included a run of six wins and a District championship over Mattawan’s final seven games, and the trending upward has continued. After an opening loss to East Grand Rapids – which has quickly established itself as a top team in Division 1 – the Wildcats have won four straight.
DIVISION 2
Haslett (5-0) The Vikings have averaged 16 wins per season over the last four, and regardless of the additional two games on the schedule beginning this winter they have looked early like a contender to match or exceed that solid level of success. They’ve defeated all five opponents by double digits, including Parma Western (21-2 last season), Jackson Northwest and last week Williamston. The Northwest win was the season opener, and the Mounties haven’t lost again.
Saginaw Swan Valley (4-0) All four of Swan Valley’s opponents so far have continued to maintain records of .500 or better, with Hemlock otherwise undefeated. The Vikings finished 19-5 a year ago and second in the Tri-Valley Conference 8, with three losses (including in the Regional Final) to Frankenmuth – and those two will meet for the first time this season the first Friday of 2023.
DIVISION 3
Blissfield (7-0) The Royals have plowed through the first one-third of their schedule, winning those seven games by an average of 34 points per victory. Blissfield finished an impressive 17-6 last season, and has avenged three of those losses defeating Erie Mason 68-30 and Brooklyn Columbia Central 47-27 after losing to the latter twice last winter.
Farwell (6-0) The Eagles are building on a 15-7 finish and second place in the Jack Pine Conference from last season. Their latest win was 29-24 on Friday over Gladwin, one of the JPC teams they split with last winter, and their first matchup with reigning champion Sanford Meridian is Jan. 13 as they look to avenge three 2021-22 losses to the Mustangs that were all by six points or fewer.
DIVISION 4
Martin (5-0) The Clippers are on the right track coming off last season’s 11-12 finish. They started 5-1 last winter as well before a tough stretch, but this month’s work has already included avenging 2021-22 losses to Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep and Gobles. The 39-35 Hackett win is their only single-digit victory so far.
Onaway (4-0) The Cardinals are halfway already to equaling last season’s eight wins, and they’ve done so with a pair of major highlights along the way. The 41-20 season-opening victory over Posen avenged three defeats from last winter, and Thursday’s 45-39 victory over Johannesburg-Lewiston avenged two more losses from 2021-22.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (3-1) at Chelsea (5-0) – Both are noted above and seen as potentially dominant teams this season in Divisions 3 and 2, respectively.
Wednesday – Imlay City (7-0) at Goodrich (5-0) – Both will be facing potentially their strongest early test, although Imlay City also has a tough one against Frankenmuth tonight.
Dec. 29 – St. Ignace (4-0) vs. Ann Arbor Huron (3-2) at Redford Westfield Prep – This Motor City Roundball Classic matchup provides a solid challenge for both, especially the Division 4 Saints as they play through a string of larger opponents.
Dec. 29 – Detroit Country Day (3-2) vs. Detroit Renaissance (3-0) at Westfield Prep – This is another Motor City matchup, and will tip off barely 24 hours after Country Day plays Rockford at the same event.
Dec. 30 – Lake Fenton (6-0) at Detroit Cass Tech (3-0) – Both have games to play before this meeting, but both also are pushing for the opportunity to enter 2023 undefeated.
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PHOTO St. Louis faced Ithaca in a matchup of Tri-Valley Conference 10 teams Friday; Ithaca won 61-41. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)