GPN's Braker Moving Full Speed Ahead on College Coaching Trail
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 11, 2023
Ariel Braker has never forgotten being a part of Grosse Pointe North’s Class A girls basketball championship team in 2008, but a couple of happenings in recent months have made her reflect even more on that title.
The first came in March, when Braker was hired as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program at the University of
Minnesota. That brought a stark reminder of an oopsie when she was on a recruiting visit to Minnesota after the championship and while she was still in high school. having helped the Norse to the title as a sophomore.
“I left my (state championship) ring in the hotel here in Minnesota,” Braker said. “So I needed a new one.”
The second came in June, when Grosse Pointe North won the Division 2 girls soccer title.
Those Norse were coached by Olivia Dallaire, a teammate of Braker’s on the 2008 girls basketball title team.
“It was an interesting full circle moment of 'Wow, it really was that long ago,'” Braker said. “You have someone on your team now leading the school to a state championship in a different sport. It was pretty cool.”
A 6-foot-1 dynamo who could play every position on the court in 2008, Braker had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocked shots in a 58-46 win over East Lansing in the championship game.
That followed a 23-point, 20-rebound performance in a Semifinal win over North Farmington.
Braker was more than just a standout basketball player for North, however.
She was also a member of the volleyball team and an all-state high jumper for the track & field team, and being a three-sport athlete made her high school experience even better.
“It let me take a break from basketball, use other muscles and take my mind off of it,” Braker said. “The ability to be with different people, make different friends, and do different things was very helpful.”
During her senior year in 2010, Braker finished third in the state's Miss Basketball Award voting.
Braker signed to play college basketball at Notre Dame, where she played for legendary head coach Muffet McGraw.
During her tenure with the Fighting Irish, Braker was a part of three teams that won Atlantic Coast Conference championships and advanced to the 2014 national championship game.
After college, Braker decided she wanted to give coaching a try and landed at Western Texas College, a community college in Snyder, Texas.
It was there that the coaching bug really hit her hard.
“Those kids needed a lot of instruction and teaching,” Braker said. “You have to be willing to be patient and teach the game in different ways so it touches everyone. It was a growing year for me, but I was like, ‘I can do this.’ That gave me confidence.”
From there, Braker has gone on to assistant jobs at Lehigh, Oakland, South Dakota and West Virginia before being hired on to first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s staff at Minnesota this past March.
Braker said that at all of her coaching stops so far, she’s tried to follow Michigan youth teams on the recruiting trail given her familiarity with the state.
She obviously hopes that familiarity will pay dividends in her new role at Minnesota if she needs to mine for talent in Michigan.
“There are some younger kids who are up-and-coming who could help,” she said. “I’m excited to get back home and be able to recruit them.”
When she does come back to recruit, it’ll likely join the lost championship ring in Minnesota and soccer success this spring as reminders of that magical ride to a basketball title with the Norse 15 years ago.
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Braker plays in the 2008 Class A championship game, and at right Braker coaches at University of Minnesota. (Below) Braker drives to the basket; she scored 15 points in the 2008 championship game against East Lansing. (Photos courtesy of the Detroit News and University of Minnesota athletics.)
Eagle Provides Decisive Lift as Ishpeming Lands 1st Finals Championship
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 23, 2024
EAST LANSING — This gave new definition to soaring to new heights on the wings of an eagle.
Through the first 15 minutes of Saturday’s Division 4 championship game against Kingston, Ishpeming sophomore and leading scorer Jenessa Eagle had just two points.
From that point on, nobody on the floor flew higher.
Eagle scored 25 points over the final two quarters plus a minute of the second, finishing with a game-high 27 points to help lead Ishpeming to its first Finals title with a 73-54 win over a Kingston team that also was playing in its first championship game.
“I was really getting into wanting to win,” Eagle said. “I was wanting to do it for my team. I wasn’t really thinking that much. I was just going out and doing what I practiced.”
Ishpeming became the first girls basketball team from the Upper Peninsula to win a Finals championship since Calumet and St. Ignace did so in 2015.
Despite what the final score said, Ishpeming had to navigate some first-half adversity.
Kingston used a 16-2 run late in the first quarter to take a 22-11 lead going into the second. A critical juncture came with 2:34 remaining in the second quarter, when Ishpeming senior Jenna Maki had to leave the game with her third foul.
Kingston held a 26-21 lead at that point, with Maki having scored 16 of the Hematites’ points. But Ishpeming rallied with Maki on the bench, outscoring Kingston 10-4 the rest of the quarter to take a 31-30 lead into halftime.
Eagle and senior Kaitlyn Van Deuren each sank 3-pointers to start the rally, and then Eagle and senior Payton Manninen both added 2-point baskets for the Hematites.
“We have a very trusted bench,” Ishpeming head coach Ryan Reichel said. “Our girls all come in knowing that they have a role where they can compete and do some big things for us. Even when Jenna was out, we knew we had girls who could still put the ball in the basket.”
Ishpeming continued that momentum during the third quarter, forcing six turnovers over the first 1:39 of the frame to build a 39-30 lead. Eagle then caught fire from the outside, draining a couple of deep 3-pointers to give Ishpeming a 47-34 lead with 3:35 to go in the period.
Ishpeming ultimately took a 58-46 lead into the fourth quarter, with Eagle scoring 15 of the team’s 27 points during the third. The Hematites kept up the pressure from there, going on a 10-0 run to take a 73-50 lead with 3:21 remaining and essentially start the celebration.
Maki, the school’s all-time leading scorer, finished a terrific career by adding 24 points to her total and pulling down eight rebounds. She and the rest of Ishpeming’s seniors fulfilled an ambition they have had since they started playing together in kindergarten.
The Hematites won just five games four seasons ago, but skyrocketed quickly and are now on top of the state.
“It really does feel great,” Maki said. “Just like this experience, it feels surreal right now. It’s amazing to see all the fans and all our community who made it down here. It’s a great feeling.”
Senior Abbey Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Molly Walker scored 14 points for Kingston, which finished a historic season of its own at 27-2.
“This was a great day for Kingston girls basketball,“ Kingston head coach Jay Green said. “There was a huge crowd here supporting us, and we played an outstanding team. The girls gave it all they got. I told their coach after the game that they can make the final four in Division 1, 2, 3 or 4. That team is outstanding. Everybody knows that.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming players raise their championship trophy Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Hematites’ Jenessa Eagle gets up a shot with Kingston’s Keria McGarvie (24) and Molly Walker defending. (Below) Jenna Maki (1) launches a 3-point attempt. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)