GP South Set for Saturday Rematch
March 15, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – The last time Grosse Pointe South visited the Breslin Center, it came within 12 seconds of winning its first MHSAA girls basketball championship.
And there’s no hiding that the Blue Devils players and coaches have been planning for this weekend since just about the time they left East Lansing after falling by a point to Grand Haven in last season's Class A Final.
Grosse Pointe South earned a rematch with the Buccaneers by downing Dexter 48-29 in Friday’s second Semifinal. They’ll meet in the championship game at noon Saturday.
“Definitely, we have some really painful memories,” Devils senior Claire DeBoer said. “Just getting that taste last year, (having it go) down to 10 seconds left, we want it even more this year.”
It’s appeared that way from the start. After falling to Chicago Whitney Young in its first game this winter, South has won 25 straight and entered the tournament ranked No. 2 behind Detroit Martin Luther King – which lost in a Quarterfinal.
Like the Devils last season, Dexter (23-4) was playing Friday for its first championship game berth. But with sophomore guard Cierra Rice leading the South attack, the Dreadnaughts never got much footing while falling behind 27-10 by halftime.
“We haven’t faced a team that has that many quality players all season long, and it took us out of some things that we tried to do,” Dexter coach Mike Bavineau said. “We wanted to attack as much as we could against their pressure. Sometimes when a team speeds you up and makes you play a little bit faster than you’re used to, you tend to revert back to things you were able to do against a team not of this caliber. I think that made it difficult for us.”
DeBoer and Rice were South’s leading scorers in last season’s Final, and Rice scored 21 points Friday. The third player Bavineau referred to was junior guard Bre’nae Andrews, who followed with 16 points.
Andrews also has had her sights set on getting back to Breslin – as a member of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett last year, she was unable to play in the Class C Semifinal or Final after suffering an injury earlier in that tournament run.
Senior forward Emma Kill led the Dreadnaughts with 12 points and five rebounds. This season’s run included Dexter’s first Regional title since 1998 and first District championship since 2004.
Rice did most of her damage Thursday driving the lane and made 9 of her 13 shots. She admitted she might have a tougher time against Grand Haven’s 6-foot-5 Abby Cole – but is prepared to adjust.
“My strongest ability is to go to the basket. I probably won’t do it the same way (Saturday); I’ll probably try to shoot a lot more jumpers (because) it’s harder to go up against Cole,” Rice said. “I’ve got to change up my game a little bit, but that’s not a problem for me. I try to work on that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grosse Pointe South defenders trap the ball during Friday's Class A Semifinal. (Middle) South's Aliezza Brown had five points and three rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photo.)
Edison Claims Rematch, Chance to Repeat
March 15, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – All nine Detroit Edison players who saw the floor in last season’s Class C championship win over Pewamo-Westphalia were back for Thursday’s Semifinal at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena.
But there was a clear difference in the rematch after the Pioneers won last year’s meeting by two points.
Edison freshman guard Damiya Hagemann might not have been the only reason her team advanced this time with a 50-39 victory. But there’s no question she brings another dimension to a roster that includes one of the state’s best juniors in Rickea Jackson, a top sophomore in Gabrielle Elliott and a number of other contributors who have helped the Pioneers become known as arguably the best team in the state, regardless of class.
Hagemann had 13 points, three assists, two steals and only two turnovers – providing a noticeable boost to go with Jackson’s 25 points and seven rebounds.
“She adds everything – an ability to attack the rim, she brings the mental toughness, physical toughness,” Jackson said. “Overall, she’s a really great guard. And the chemistry we have together, it makes the game easier.”
Edison (23-1) will face Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
The Pioneers never outscored P-W (25-1) by more than four points in a quarter Thursday. But overall, the Pirates’ 39 points were their second-fewest this season. P-W entered the game outscoring its opponents by nearly 41 points per game.
“It’s tough to lose in the Finals and Semifinals, but what a great story to play a team that’s going to go down with probably one of the best four-year runs in Michigan state basketball (history),” P-W coach Steve Eklund said. “And we’re going to be able to say we battled with them twice. Three of those girls are going to play Big Ten basketball or play in the WNBA someday, and we’ll say we played them one day and we were right there with them.”
Elliott also grabbed 10 rebounds as Edison as a team outrebounded P-W 35-23. Sophomore guard Shaulana Wagner – the player who moved to the bench with Hagemann’s arrival this season – grabbed seven more in 18 minutes as the most active of the team’s subs.
“She’s a wonderful kid. She told me when Damiya came it didn’t mater if she started or not,” Edison coach Monique Brown said. “We talked heavily about starting roles. … Their job and role was to come in and change the magnitude of game, and they accepted that role. Although she’s not starting, she plays starting minutes. She’s out there at the end of the game, every time we have a close game.”
There have been only a few. P-W played the Pioneers closer than all but four opponents this season – especially impressive considering Edison’s schedule included five games against teams playing at Calvin this weekend in Class A, B or C.
But the Pirates had a hard time coming closer, in part because they struggled with usually reliable 3-point shooting. P-W made only 4 of 19 long-range shots Thursday, as opposed to about 40 percent coming into the game.
Emily Spitzley, one of only two seniors on the team, led with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Ellie Droste added 11 points.
After falling in its District opener in 2015, P-W went on to win its District in 2016 before launching the two straight runs to Finals weekend.
“Just thinking back on the four years I’ve had playing with this team, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Spitzley said. “From where we were freshman year to now, it’s totally flip-flopped. We got so much better and really built a name for ourselves, being a top team in the state and playing with the best teams out there.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Edison's Rickea Jackson applies defensive pressure during Thursday's first Class C Semifinal. (Middle) P-W's Ellie Droste (40) and Edison's Shaulana Wagner get in position for a possible rebound.