D3 Preview: Contenders Earn Another Championship Chance
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 16, 2022
Three contenders who surely felt just a few steps away from claiming last season’s Division 3 championship are making the trip to Breslin Center this weekend to decide this year’s title, joined by a fourth set to make history when Thursday’s second Semifinal tips off.
Kent City was last season’s runner-up, losing 52-50 to Grass Lake in last year’s Final. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, the overall top seed in Division 3 this winter, had lost to Grass Lake two games earlier in a Regional Final. And Maple City Glen Lake is back following its second-straight undefeated regular season and after suffering its lone defeat last year in the Quarterfinals.
They’re joined by Madison Heights Bishop Foley, which will play in its first Semifinal after also seeing last year’s run end a game shy of East Lansing.
DIVISON 3 Semifinals – Thursday
Maple City Glen Lake (25-0) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (23-2), noon
Kent City (25-0) vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley (20-3), 2 p.m.
FINAL – Saturday – 4 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s games are $12 for both Semifinals and Finals and are available via the Breslin Center ticket office. All Semifinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription to MHSAA.tv, and all four Finals will air live Saturday on Bally Sports Detroit’s primary channel as well as on the BSD website and app. Audio broadcasts of all Semifinals and Finals will be available free of charge from the MHSAA Network.
Here’s a look at the four Division 3 semifinals (with rankings by MPR and statistics through Regional Finals):
KENT CITY
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 5
League finish: First in Central State Activities Association Silver
Coach: Aleah Holcomb, first season (25-0)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2021.
Best wins: 34-33 over No. 6 Schoolcraft in Quarterfinal, 42-39 over No. 11 Hart, 43-23 over Division 2 No. 13 Sparta, 33-27 over Grand Rapids Christian.
Players to watch: Lexie Bowers, 5-7 jr. G (17 ppg, 71 3-pointers, 3.8 apg, 3.3 spg); Madelyn Geers, 5-9 soph. G (14.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg); Taryn Preston (7.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
Outlook: The Eagles will return this weekend with four of the six players who saw minutes in that championship game, with 5-11 senior forward Emmalyn Geers (4.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) joining Preston and Madelyn Geers as returning starters. Holcomb is a former Kent City standout as well and served five seasons as junior varsity coach before taking over the program this season. Preston and Emmalyn Geers are the only seniors.
MADISON HEIGHTS BISHOP FOLEY
Record/rank: 20-3, No. 7
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Intersectional #1
Coach: Ray Joseph, third season (50-15)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 55-48 over No. 14 Reese in Quarterfinal, 51-46 over Division 2 No. 18 Wixom St. Catherine, 60-23 over Clawson, 52-50 over Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Melanie Moore, 6-0 sr. C (17.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg); Alyssa Samartino, 5-7 jr. G (6.0 ppg, 3.0 apg); Ryan Moorer, 5-7 soph. G/F (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg).
Outlook: Bishop Foley has added its first Semifinal trip to its first Regional title won last week. The Ventures have won 16 games by double digits., with all three losses to teams with at least 15 wins including Division 3 overall top seed Arbor Prep by only five (66-61) in the regular-season finale. Moore and Samartino earned all-state honorable mentions last season, and Moore is the only senior starter and one of only two on the team.
MAPLE CITY GLEN LAKE
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 8
League finish: First in Northwest Conference
Coach: Jason Bradford, 14th season (254-69)
Championship history: Class D champion 1978, runner-up 1979.
Best wins: 50-29 over Lake City in Quarterfinal, 53-39 over No. 3 Calumet in Regional Final, 53-34 over No. 2 St. Ignace in Regional Semifinal, 57-47 (District Final) and 59-40 over Traverse City St. Francis, 48-41 over No. 10 Elk Rapids, 63-41 and 60-23 over Kingsley.
Players to watch: Grace Bradford, 5-11 sr. G (22.9 ppg, 40 3-pointers, 10.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 4.1 spg); Jessica Robbins, 5-8 sr. F (9.3 ppg, 4.3 spg, 1.4 bpg); Ruby Hogan, 5-7 jr. G (11.3 ppg, 3.2 spg).
Outlook: Glen Lake’s only loss over the last two seasons was last year’s to Calumet in a Quarterfinal, and the Lakers avenged it last week. This will be their third trip to the Semifinals over the last six seasons and first since 2018. The seven-point win over Elk Rapids on Dec. 7 was the only one by single digits this season. Grace Bradford made the all-state first team last season, and junior 6-foot center Maddie Bradford is another top contributor at 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
YPSILANTI ARBOR PREP
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Scott Stine, fifth season (96-24)
Championship history: Class C champion 2016, two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 66-61 over No. 7 Madison Heights Bishop Foley, 65-38 over No. 4 Grass Lake, 66-38 over No. 16 Jonesville, 67-41 over Division 1 No. 16 Wayne Memorial, 63-48 over Division 1 No. 19 South Lyon East, 54-51 over Division 2 No. 2 Redford Westfield Prep, 65-39 over Division 2 No. 7 Lansing Catholic, 75-45 over Division 2 No. 5 Frankenmuth, 89-57 over Division 2 No. 12 Imlay City, 57-47 over Division 2 No. 16 Lake Fenton.
Players to watch: Mya Petticord, 5-9 sr. G (22.9 ppg, 43 3-pointers, 5.0 apg, 4.3 spg); Karianna Woods, 5-8 sr. G (12.1 ppg, 4.8 apg, 3.6 spg); Stacy Utomi, 5-11 soph. F (11.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg).
Outlook: Arbor Prep will play its first Semifinal since 2019, when a freshman Petticord was the high scorer and Woods played 12 minutes in an overtime loss to eventual champion Pewamo-Westphalia. Three seasons later, Petticord was a Miss Basketball Award finalist and will continue her career at Texas A&M, and Woods will continue at Bethune-Cookman. The Gators have played one of the state’s strongest schedules in any division with their only losses to Division 1 No. 11 Parma Western and Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Edison. Sophomore Stephanie Utomi adds another 9.5 points and nearly a block per game.
PHOTO Kent City’s Lexie Bowers (23) and her teammates defend during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Schoolcraft. (Photo courtesy of the Kent City athletic department.)
Seniors Continue Country Day Legacy
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS – Detroit Country Day senior Kaela Webb dribbled out the clock Saturday on a hard-fought Class B title game against Jackson Northwest, and a smile overtook her face.
She looked over at her coach, Frank Orlando, who was about to celebrate his 13th MHSAA title at the school, and her smile grew wider.
She looked at her classmates, Maxine Moore and Destini Lewis, who with her have been at Country Day for three titles, and triumphantly tossed the ball into the air, finishing off the 64-48 victory.
“I just looked over at Max, Destini and Coach O, and I couldn’t do anything but smile,” Webb said. “We just never thought about winning three state championships, but we came in hungry and wanted to continue that. This team was so special because we had to find our own identity. We had to pick up where we left off last year from losing a valuable asset on both sides of the floor, so we knew we had to work even harder than we had the year before.”
The championship was the second straight for the Yellowjackets (23-4), who were making their 17th appearance in the title game, all coming under Orlando, who is the state’s all-time leader in girls basketball coaching victories (785).
Orlando didn’t say whether or not the 13th title would mark his final game at Country Day, but he did say that in the moment, it was just as sweet as the first.
“It’s a blessing -- I just feel like it’s a blessing,” Orlando said. “It’s these kids right here that gave me the blessing. If it has to go down in a certain way, I’ll give it to them.”
The three seniors have no choice but to move on, but they certainly left their mark on a program that was already incredibly rich with tradition.
“I’m so blessed and grateful, and I have to give it up to my teammates and especially Coach O for instilling a tremendous work ethic in all of us,” said Moore, who will play next year at Western Michigan. “In practice every day, this was our common goal, this is where we wanted to be. To have three of these, not a lot of people can say that. Me and Kaela and Destini, we’re so proud of our program, our coaches, everybody.”
Despite the 16-point margin of victory, the Yellowjackets had their hands full throughout with a Jackson Northwest (25-2) team making the program’s first appearance in the Finals. The Yellowjackets never trailed, and the game was tied for only five seconds before Webb opened with a 3-pointer from the corner. But the Mounties never went away.
“That was a dogfight, and I think our effort was anything a coach could ask for out of his players,” Jackson Northwest coach Ryan Carroll said. “I heard the radio announcer out of the corner of my ear say this was a David vs. Goliath matchup here tonight, and I don’t think it was that at all. Coming in, I didn’t think that’s what it was. They just knocked down some big shots, and we really shot ourselves in the foot when we had chances to get back into the game.
“I’m extremely proud of our effort and the way we showed up tonight and represented our school, I think, in the best possible fashion.”
It was a late Country Day run in the third quarter that finally put some distance between the teams, and it came with star guard Jasmine Powell on the bench with four fouls.
The Mounties had cut the lead to five points, but 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Lewis and Maddie Novak pushed the lead to 11 heading into the fourth quarter.
“They were huge,” said Webb, who will play collegiately at Providence next season. “When Jasmine got in foul trouble, Coach O was basically telling me to take over, so I knew at that point that I had to go. They were closing in on the lead, they were starting to have another run and I knew that I had to do everything in my power to prevent it. That contributed to getting my teammates involved, because they started to plug in on me, then (Lewis and Novak) knocked down the open 3s when we needed it.”
Powell still led the Yellowjackets in scoring with 19 points despite the foul trouble. Novak added 13 points, while Adrian Folks had 12 points and seven rebounds. Webb filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven assists and six steals. As a team, Country Day had 15 steals on the night.
“If I’ve got Kaela on my side, that’s all I want,” Orlando said. “She’s a fighter, she’s a coach, she knows the game and she plays it with her heart. If anybody can do it, Kaela can, and I respect that.”
Sydney Shafer led Jackson Northwest with 22 points, including some deep 3-pointers, and eight rebounds. Ella Bontrager added 10 points for the Mounties, who were playing in front of what felt like a home crowd.
“Seeing all the parents there that aren’t just our parents, but that were community members and (parents of) people that we go to school with, it was really awesome to see them here,” Jackson Northwest senior Carsyn Sleight said. “Here supporting not just their kids, but their community.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day players celebrate their Class B championship Saturday night at Van Noord Arena. (Middle) Adrian Folks works to get a shot in the post while walled off by Jackson Northwest defenders.