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 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.
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PHOTO Goodrich’s Kayla Hairston gets up a shot during a season-opening win over Davison. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)