Country Day Claims Senior-Dominated Semi

March 16, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

GRAND RAPIDS – The eras come and go as standouts cycle through coach Frank Orlando’s Detroit Country Day program.

Win or lose Saturday, another will close as all-staters Kaela Webb and Maxine Moore play their final high school game attempting to lead the Yellowjackets to a third Class B championship over the last four seasons.

They earned that opportunity with a 70-54 win over previously undefeated Kingsley in the second Class B Semifinal on Friday at Van Noord Arena.

“It’s truly a blessing. Me and her have been together since sixth, seventh grade, and we always talked about winning state titles,” Moore said. “Our sophomore year was heartbreaking (a Semifinal loss to Grand Rapids South Christian). But it was a goal of ours coming in here to work hard every day, go hard especially on defense – we know defense is the key to winning championships – and I’m just really excited and blessed to go out there tomorrow and compete.”

Reigning title winner Country Day will take on Jackson Northwest in the 6:15 p.m. championship game at Calvin College.

It was a Semifinal full of seniors. Although Country Day’s are only Webb, Moore and Destini Lewis, Webb has started all four years of her high school career and Moore is a four-year varsity player and three-year starter.

Kingsley, meanwhile, saw six seniors finish their careers with their only defeat this season after leading the team to its second Semifinal ever and first since 2008.

“As a senior, it’s just an amazing feeling to get here and be part of such an amazing team,” Stags senior Lindsey Boyajian said. “The seniors this year, we came together and we were just like a family. The whole team was a family. It was so exciting. To end my season, as a senior, to make it to Calvin, it was just great.”

The game was nearly a draw through a quarter, with Country Day (22-4) leading only 14-12 heading into the second. But the Yellowjackets broke out for a 29-16 advantage over the next eight minutes – the eventual difference as the teams played to a near-deadlock over the final two quarters as well.

The most telling stats dealt with turnovers – and their results. Kingsley gave away the ball 22 times, compared to 12 for Country Day. And Country Day scored 33 points off those turnovers, while Kingsley managed just six off their takeaways.

Although the teams shot nearly identical percentages from the floor, and Kingsley outrebounded the Yellowjackets by three, the Stags (26-1) made only 1 of 12 tries from 3-point range – negating something else that usually is a strength.

“We got beat at our own game,” Kingsley coach Matt Schelich said. “Thirty-three to six off turnovers, that’s our ammo. But we ran into a team that’s got incredible size and speed, and as a team there’s not a lot of weak spots out there.”

Junior Maddie Novak scored a game-high 20 points for Country Day, while Webb had 15 points, eight assists and four steals. Moore added 11 points and seven rebounds and junior Adrian Folks had 10 points.

Webb finished with four fouls but managed to play 31 minutes, second on her team.

“I’ve been here and I know how it gets when the crowd gets into it. … I knew we had to stick together,” Webb said. “What was more important was stopping them from scoring, and me fouling was going to help them score. I had to just lock down mentally with that.”

Brumfield had 14 points for Kingsley despite seeing only 12 minutes of action because of foul trouble as well. Senior Rebekah Crosby had 12 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Brittany Bowman had 11 points.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Country Day’s Kaela Webb pushes the ball up the floor Friday while Lacey Benton (10) keeps pace. (Middle) Kingsley’s Jacie King drives toward an opening with Jasmine Power defending.

Fremont Builds on Coach's Inspiration to Become League, District Champion

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

March 14, 2024

FREMONT – The Fremont girls basketball team entered this season with relatively low expectations.

West MichiganThree straight sub-.500 seasons with double-digit losses and a new coach didn’t necessarily have the Packers considered as one of the top contenders in the West Michigan Conference.

Peter Zerfas, who won more than 300 games over 21 seasons as Fremont’s boys coach, was hired last April to help rejuvenate the struggling program. 

“I think the girls might have been a little nervous of me at first, and didn’t really have that high of expectations,” Zerfas said. “But I told them on the first day of practice we could win the conference.”

Fremont hadn’t won an outright conference championship since 1978. Yes, 46 years ago, although the Packers did share the league title with Big Rapids in 2020.

So what did the players think when their new coach mentioned such a lofty goal?

“I thought we always had the potential to be good. and I thought we had the athletes to be good the past few years,” said senior Jessica Bennett, a four-year varsity player. “He said we were going to be conference champs this year, and when he said that no one really believed him. I sure didn't.

“I thought we could be good and win some more games, but it's hard to have faith in someone you don’t really know.”

Senior Katie Ackerman, a three-year player, also had her doubts.

“I thought that was a really big goal, and I didn't believe him at first,” she said.

The Packers opened the season with a loss to Spring Lake, but then reeled off 10 wins over their next 11 games.

They defeated Whitehall on the road Jan. 10 and moved to 4-0 in conference play, but the major turning point came two weeks later when they knocked off five-time reigning conference champion Ludington, 41-35.

Ludington had beaten the Packers 15 straight years.

“I could see in the locker room after that game that they believed we could win the conference,” Zerfas said.

Fremont averaged 64 points per game over the next nine and defeated Ludington again 42-38 on Feb. 27 in front of a large home crowd.

That victory gave the Packers an undefeated conference season.

“When we went to Whitehall and beat them, that's when I pretty much bought in I think,” Bennett said. “I thought it was a good test for us, and at that moment I bought in and thought we had the potential to be good.”

Packers captains Katie Ackerman (22) and Jessica Bennett with coach Peter Zerfas.Fremont entered District play on a high, but lost second-leading scorer Mia Clemence to an ankle injury.

However, a win over Sparta put the Packers in the District Final against rival Grant.

After scoring only one point in the first quarter and falling behind 20-6, Fremont stormed back to earn a 49-40 win and its first District title since 2009.

Fremont advanced to a rematch with Spring Lake in Monday’s Division 3 Regional Semifinal, but saw the season end with a 58-27 defeat.

“They had beaten us by 20 or more twice and they were the better team, but my center was on crutches, our leading scorer had a broken thumb on her shooting hand and we had two girls with high temperatures before the game,” Zerfas said. “The girls battled and played their best, but it was the perfect storm with injuries and illnesses. And Spring Lake is really good and deserved to win.”

Still, Fremont ended with a 20-5 overall mark, the most wins in a season since 1978 when that team advanced to the Quarterfinals.

“I believe the success we had came from great senior leadership and them accepting me as a coach and what I wanted to teach them,” Zerfas said. “But most importantly, they worked hard and worked together. The season was a ton of fun, and I’m going to miss the pasta dinners, the team bonding and how close this team was.”

It was a memorable season for all.

“I expected us to be better than previous years, but I did not expect us to be as good and go as far as what we did,” Ackerman said. “It was a really cool experience, and he made basketball fun. It’s one of the best years I’ve ever had playing.”

Bennett credited her coach for bringing a different mindset to the program.

“It was about Coach coming in and completely changing the system and the culture from what we had done in the past,” she said. “We were going to push the ball up the floor, and we were going to play fast and shoot a lot. And the leadership on our team was good. 

“It was very exciting to win the conference, and it’s easier to play really hard for a coach that believes in you and has faith in you.”

The community also embraced the team as wins began piling up. Sparse crowds to begin the season ballooned midway through, and an estimated 1,000 people from Fremont showed up for the District Final.

“Everywhere you went in town, people who loved basketball were talking about our team and how hard they worked and how fun they were to watch,” Zerfas said. “Our local media was talking about us, too, and for a little while we were the talk of the town.”

The future could remain bright for the Packers as they will return seven players next season. In addition, their junior varsity went 20-1.

Fremont’s middle school teams also are having success as they have combined for only one loss.

Dean HolzwarthDean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties. 

PHOTOS (Top) Fremont’s girls basketball team finished 20-5 this season and won its first outright league title since 1978. (Middle) Packers captains Katie Ackerman (22) and Jessica Bennett with coach Peter Zerfas. (Photos courtesy of the Fremont girls basketball program.)