Hamilton Wins League, Eyes Historic Run
February 22, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
HAMILTON – The Hamilton girls basketball team had high expectations this season after the loss of only one senior from last year’s District championship squad.
So far, the Hawkeyes are living up to those lofty goals.
Hamilton entered the week ranked No. 7 in Class B while boasting a sparkling 17-1 record, and improved it to 18-1 with a 61-33 win over Zeeland East on Tuesday. It already has clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title outright.
“I knew we could have a good team,” said 14th-year head coach Dan VanHekken. “We didn’t win conference last year, but won Districts, so we had a little postseason experience with the kids we had coming back.
“They definitely wanted to win conference, which we feel good about and they should be proud of that for sure, and this has been a pretty challenging league year in and year out.”
The lone loss on Hamilton’s resume occurred in December against Hudsonville, which reached the MHSAA Class A Semifinals a year ago.
The Hawkeyes have gone unscathed in conference play, and have one remaining game against Zeeland West in their attempt for an unbeaten conference season.
“Winning conference was one of our goals, so it was cool to achieve that,” senior Brooklyn Groenheide said. “We worked really hard in the offseason and set some high goals. So far we’re doing pretty good in achieving those goals, and we just have to keep it going. We have to take it one game at a time.”
District play for girls basketball begins next week, and Hamilton is looking toward capturing another crown.
That road will be complicated, though. The Hawkeyes open with conference rival Hudsonville Unity Christian (10-8) and with the possibility of a third meeting with another conference foe, Holland Christian (15-4), in the District Final.
“Unity played us tough the first time, and we won by one at their place,” VanHekken said. “We got them good the second time, but they are playing some good basketball and the third time is never easy. We have a tough District with Holland Christian on the other side.”
Hamilton has never gone beyond the Regional Semifinals, but hopes to set a new standard this time around.
Three years ago, the Hawkeyes posted a school record with 21 wins.
“We’re hoping to make it through Districts, and getting past the first round of Regionals would be a huge goal for us,” senior guard Joslyn Bronkhorst said. “It would be awesome for us to win Regionals, but we will see. Having to beat a team three teams (in Districts) can be tricky, but I think we can do it.”
VanHekken has relied heavily on Bronkhorst and Groenheide. Both have been staples in the program as four-year varsity players.
“We rely on them every day in practice and in the offseason being in the gym,” VanHekken said. “They stay after and shoot, and they are an extension of my voice to the girls. They know expectations, and they deliver.”
A total of six seniors are on the roster. Other main contributors to this year’s success have been seniors Franesha Robinson and Annaka Ediger, junior Ashlyn Wolfran and sophomore Bria Schrotenboer.
“I think on any given night we can compete with some of the better teams,” VanHekken said. “We haven’t seen many teams from the other side of the state, but we feel good about what we have done this year and I think we’ve made a name for ourselves as a team to beat.”
Hamilton, which features an up-tempo offense and pressure defense, doesn’t have a high-scoring superstar on the team.
Instead, it’s a balanced group that shares in the scoring load.
“I have maybe one girl averaging 12 points a game, but I have four or five kids averaging between 8 and 10 points,” VanHekken said. “I love coaching that type of team. I don’t like running a particular set for one kid. I just love running a motion game that is pretty equal for everybody. They can play team basketball, and it’s just fun to play that way.”
Defense has been a main emphasis, according to VanHekken. The Hawkeyes have held opponents to 30 or fewer points eight times.
“They’ve bought in, and they’re enjoying it,” he said. “They understand that deflections can lead to steals, and steals to points.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hamilton's Bria Schrotenboer maintains possession against Byron Center this season. (Middle) Senior Franesha Robinson handles the ball in the post against Hudsonville Unity Christian. (Photos courtesy of Covering Hawkeye Sports.)
Lyons Delivers Forever Shot to Clinch Unforgettable Rockford Finish
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 18, 2023
EAST LANSING – Brad Wilson had preached to his Rockford girls basketball team the importance of focusing on the next play. Not worrying about what had just happened, but moving forward and making the next play to help your team.
Apparently, he did a good job of drilling it home.
After hitting the biggest shot in program history and giving the Rams a final-minute lead in the MHSAA Division 1 Final against West Bloomfield, junior guard Grace Lyons’ mind immediately went to heeding her coaches instructions.
“It was amazing, but I knew we had to get back on defense and finish it out,” Lyons said.
Lyons and her Rockford teammates did finish it out, making her go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining the deciding bucket in a 40-36 win over West Bloomfield at the Breslin Center to capture the first Finals title in program history.
“Greatness is about the journey – it’s about the effort that gets put in each and every day,” Wilson said. “In my opinion, these girls were great before we even played this game. They were great before there was a single play in this game. But we had an opportunity to be the greatest in our school history today. Our mantra was, ‘Next play.’ (West Bloomfield) had a couple of runs where some teams would have folded, but our girls didn’t flinch. They steadied the storm, and when girls had opportunities to make plays, they did.”
The win avenged a Semifinal loss from a year ago, when the Lakers ended Rockford’s first trip to the Final Four.
“It’s an indescribable feeling,” Rockford senior guard Alyssa Wypych said. “I went light-headed. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening.’ It’s something I’ve worked my whole life for. It’s been a dream forever. To finally get it done is just amazing.”
Getting it done took surviving a tight, physical game with the reigning Division 1 champion. Both offenses struggled to get anything going against the other’s stellar defense, and the teams headed into the fourth quarter with West Bloomfield leading 23-22.
Neither team led by more than three points during the fourth quarter until Lyons hit a pair of free throws to ice the game with one-tenth of a second left on the clock.
“They are a really tough team,” Wypych said. “Especially since we had experience playing a majority of their players last year, we knew we were going to have another good game.”
West Bloomfield led 36-35 with under 2 minutes to play, but Lyons came up with a steal with 1:12 remaining to start her game-ending heroics.
Not long after, she found herself open near the top of the 3-point line and didn’t hesitate to let a shot fly, giving Rockford a 38-36 lead with 40 seconds to play. It was her first basket of the day.
“I wasn’t going to stop shooting just because I missed a few,” Lyons said. “I knew I was a good shooter, and at least one of them had to go in. When Anna drove in and just kicked me the ball, there wasn’t anyone around me so I just let it fly and it went in.”
Wilson said it’s a shot that will probably be talked about forever in Rockford.
“It’s a sports town,” he said. “High education, high standards. Our community loves our teams. Anywhere you go, you can’t get away from it. I’d expect the rest of my lifetime – I’m a Rockford Ram forever, raising my family here and I’m a teacher at the school – so I’m assuming we’re going to have conversations about this for the rest of my life. There’s nothing more I’d rather talk about. So, pretty awesome.”
West Bloomfield (26-3) had two chances to tie the game, but turned the ball over on its first, and missed a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining on its second.
The Rams (28-1) still had to avoid a turnover against West Bloomfield’s incredibly effective press, but they managed, with Lyons inbounding the ball and getting a return pass before being fouled.
While Lyons was the hero down the stretch, Rockford was in the game thanks in large part to the efforts of sophomore Anna Wypych. She finished the game with 20 points and eight rebounds.
“She puts in more time than most people on the planet,” Wilson said. “She’s a gym rat. We do so much as a program, and (when) we’re not doing stuff, she’s doing stuff on her own. When she came here, there were some things she had to learn. Over the course of these last two years, just her evolution in her game, whether it be offense, whether it be defense, whether it’s attacking the basket, knocking down 3s and really just being a big player in big moments, it’s astonishing. I couldn’t be more proud of this one here.”
While West Bloomfield’s pressure defense was giving Rockford trouble, the Rams’ defense was doing the same to the Lakers. West Bloomfield was just 14 of 42 from the field, and star twins Summer and Indya Davis were held to 12 points, with Indya scoring eight.
Junior Kendall Hendrix led West Bloomfield with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior Sydney Hendrix had 10 points.
“They came here for a reason, and they came here to beat us, because they had nothing to lose and we had everything to lose,” Kendall Hendrix said. “So, next year, we have nothing to lose. I think next year gives us more motivation.”
Another rematch isn’t far-fetched, as both teams bring back the majority of their rosters.
When asked if they expected it, Rockford’s players didn’t hesitate to answer in the affirmative.
“That’s the plan,” Wilson said.
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford’s Grace Lyons (11) shoots the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play Saturday in the Division 1 Final. (Middle) The Rams’ Anna Wypych (2) drives to the basket with West Bloomfield’s Sydney Hendrix (5) defending. (Below) Kayla MacLaren (14) is presented the championship trophy while her teammates celebrate.