Defense Keys Hamady Semifinal Surge
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Flint Hamady made it to Van Noord Arena this season on a defensive effort that gave up only 40.4 points per game heading into Thursday’s Semifinal matchup with Lake City.
During the second half, the Hawks nearly shut down the Trojans entirely to lock down a spot in Saturday’s championship game.
Trailing heading into the third quarter, Hamady allowed just 13 points over the final 16 minutes to get past Lake City 42-33 and earn a return to the Finals for the sixth time and first since finishing Class C runner-up in 2015.
“We didn’t come with the best first half,” Hamady senior guard Jordan McKeller said. “But we look at each other as sisters, and at the end of the day it’s us and the coaching staff. We were able to keep our heads up and play together as a team.”
The Hawks (21-5) will play for their first MHSAA championship since 2010 at 4 p.m. Saturday against Pewamo-Westphalia.
Hamady is putting up just under 52 points per game this season. But the defense has hit another level during the tournament as the Hawks have gone from facing a number of larger opponents to schools their size. Including Thursday’s game, Hamady is giving up just 36 points during the playoffs.
Major differences in slowing down Lake City were 6-foot-1 senior forward Treshondra Williams and 6-2 junior center Aryana Naylor. Hamady outrebounded Lake City 37-27 – and 20-9 during the seconds half – and those two combined for 20 boards over the four quarters.
“I thought we did a good job defensively in the first half. They’re just a good shooting team,” Hamady coach Keith Smith said. “We wanted to stay more attached to number 12 (Makayla Ardis), she’s a good shooter. And in the second half we put Aryana Naylor on their 32 (Rylie Bisballe), made the adjustment there, and Ari did a good job.”
Lake City led by as many as four for most of the third quarter. But McKeller’s basket with 2:10 to play in the period gave the Hawks their first lead after the break, and they never gave it back.
Lake City (22-3) went from making 41 percent of its shots from the floor during the first half to 27 percent during the second. The Hawks, meanwhile, had a key six second-chance points during the fourth quarter as they pushed the lead to as large as 12.
Naylor and McKeller both had 10 points to lead Hamady, and Naylor also grabbed eight rebounds. Williams had nine points and 12 rebounds.
“We had a lot of nerves in the first quarter, but the girls were feeling good,” Lake City coach Bill Tisron said. “The second half we were pretty tense. I thought we got good looks, but their size took over. They had a lot of second opportunities in the second half, and I thought that was the difference.”
Ardis made 6-of-12 shots from the floor for a game-high 14 points to go with four steals. Junior forward Megan Hose grabbed eight rebounds.
Lake City was playing in its first Semifinal since the 1976 team won the Class D championship. Four starters and the top sub from Thursday should return next season, as Ardis was the only senior who saw more than a minute of action.
“It’s been really fun. To be the first team in 43 years (at the Semifinals) it’s pretty amazing – just the experience has been awesome,” said Bisballe, the team’s leading scorer this winter. “We’re just going to be a better team (next season), and our goal is to get back here again.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Hamady's Xeryia Tartt works to get past a Lake City defender. (Middle) The Trojans' Megan Hose (13) looks for an opening in the Hawks' defense.
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 10
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 6, 2023
Championship time is quickly approaching this girls basketball season.
We’re still three weeks out from the start of District play. But league contenders are clashing all over the state, with a handful of conferences finishing up their schedules this week and several favorites facing off soon with titles on the line. We make mention of a number of those below.
“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. West Bloomfield 59, Detroit Edison 49 Last season, West Bloomfield (15-2) became the first in-state team to defeat Edison (12-3) since 2018 – and the Lakers have become the only one to do so again this winter.
2. Maple City Glen Lake 51, Traverse City St. Francis 45 The Lakers (13-2) are up to No. 2 in Division 4 MPR, while St. Francis (12-2) sits No. 4 in Division 3.
3. Holt 55, DeWitt 53 The Rams (14-2) sit alone atop the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue after sending the Panthers (13-2) into second in a matchup of top Division 1 teams statewide.
4. Hancock 50, Calumet 47 The Bulldogs (13-1) maintained their one-game lead in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference West with their second win this season over third-place Calumet (11-3). Both are among the top seven statewide in Division 3 MPR.
5. Detroit Edison 44, Farmington Hills Mercy 42 The Pioneers bounced back from the West Bloomfield loss with a pair of close wins, this one over Mercy (14-2) followed by a one-pointer over Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Saturday.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (11-5) After a 2-4 start with those losses to top Division 1 and 2 teams statewide, Reeths-Puffer is 9-3 and tied for first in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green with Muskegon after edging the Big Reds 56-52 on Friday. That avenged a 14-point loss to Muskegon on Jan. 6, and the Rockets have since gone on an eight-game winning streak. They also opened last week with a 42-39 victory over 11-win Ludington.
Wayne Memorial (13-4) The Zebras further solidified their standing atop the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East standings with last week’s 75-57 win over second-place Belleville. That followed up a 44-41 win over the Tigers on Jan. 6, and total Wayne has won 12 straight since a 1-3 start that included two-point losses to Division 1 contenders Detroit Renaissance and Hudsonville and a third defeat to Illinois power Chicago Whitney Young.
DIVISION 2
Goodrich (14-1) The Martians are locked in another battle atop the Flint Metro League Stars with Lake Fenton and trail the Blue Devils by a game after a 50-44 loss Jan. 20. That’s Goodrich’s only defeat, and they’ll attempt to avenge it in the league finale Feb. 17. In the meantime, the Martians can continue their statewide push upward with 13-win Flushing coming up Wednesday and 15-win Ovid-Elsie next week as well.
Redford Westfield Prep (11-6) The Warriors take on many of the state’s best, evidenced by their No. 8 MPR despite six losses. Westfield has won seven of its last eight games, the lone defeat during that streak 55-53 to still-undefeated Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Jan. 16 – and with perhaps its most notable instate win of the season 46-45 in double overtime Jan. 12 over reigning Division 3 champion Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
DIVISION 3
McBain (13-4) The Highland Conference race could go down to the finish, especially after McBain avenged its earlier 17-point loss to second-place Evart with a 51-35 win last week. McBain also has a six-point loss to league leader Lake City from Jan. 20, but can avenge that in the regular-season finale Feb. 23. The Ramblers additionally have a pair of victories over 12-win Beal City and a solid early loss to still-undefeated Division 2 Escanaba.
Ovid-Elsie (15-2) The Marauders haven’t slowed down a bit after last season’s 21-2 finish with league and District titles, the latter in Division 2. This season in Division 3, Ovid-Elsie is up to No. 6 in MPR with a 14-game winning streak since suffering its lone losses early to Pewamo-Westphalia (10-5) and Dansville (15-1). The Marauders handed Mackinaw City its first defeat Saturday, 59-55 on a neutral court, and also has a victory over 14-win Ithaca plus a two-game lead in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference.
DIVISION 4
Fowler (11-6) Coming off back-to-back Division 4 championships, Fowler put together a schedule featuring solid-to-strong teams from Divisions 1-4 and sit No. 3 in Division 4 MPR. The losses have come to Midland Dow, Haslett, Lansing Catholic, Kent City and league rivals Dansville and Portland St. Patrick, and the Eagles avenged the Shamrocks defeat 51-44 last week. Fowler will need help to catch Dansville in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, down two games from the league leader, but will try to get one back from the Aggies on Feb. 14.
Norway (16-1) The Knights are leading the large-school division of the Skyline Central Conference with the likely deciding matchup coming at Bark River-Harris next week. Norway has lost only to Niagara (Wis.), by five two weeks ago, and handed Carney-Nadeau (13-2) one of its losses among other strong work – and after ending last season’s 11-10 run with a 15-point District loss to the Wolves.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Coldwater (15-1) at Jackson Northwest (15-1) – The Mounties lead Coldwater by a win in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference thanks to a 50-46 win in their first meeting Jan. 10.
Tuesday – Utica Ford (14-1) at Grosse Pointe North (13-2) – North has clinched a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title heading into tonight’s league finale, while Ford won by a large margin in the MAC White.
Thursday – Houghton (13-1) at Hancock (13-1) – As noted above, Hancock leads the West-PAC West by a game – but will face second-place Houghton twice over the next two weeks.
Friday – Standish-Sterling (15-1) at Hemlock (13-3) – Hemlock owns the lead in the Tri-Valley Conference West 10-1 thanks to a 62-31 doubling up in the first meeting Jan. 6. But that remains the Panthers’ lone loss, and they’ve since handed TVC 10-2 co-leader Saginaw Valley Lutheran one of its two defeats.
Friday – Saline (15-2) at Temperance Bedford (16-1) – Saline is first and Bedford second in the Southeastern Conference Red thanks to Saline’s 41-22 win in their first meeting Jan. 27.
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PHOTOS (Top) A trio of Fowler defenders surround a Bath player driving to the basket during a 49-27 win earlier this season; they meet again Thursday. (Middle) Maddie Bradford of Maple City Glen Lake contests a shot by Maggie Napont of Traverse City St. Francis during the Lakers' 51-45 win over the Gladiators last week. (Top photo by Click by Christine McCallister. Middle photo by Rick Sack/TC Rick Photo.)