Kent City Finds Shooting Touch to Reach 1st Final
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
EAST LANSING – Kent City has overcome every obstacle this season, and Friday the undefeated Eagles will play Grass Lake for the Division 3 girls basketball championship after defeating Calumet 59-53 in a Semifinal on Wednesday at the Breslin Center.
Grass Lake (19-1) advanced to Friday’s championship game when Hemlock opted out of the tournament Wednesday morning. Both Kent City and Grass Lake will be playing in a Final for the first time.
The Eagles (21-0) opened up an 11-point lead to start the fourth quarter Wednesday and held on despite the Copper Kings getting to within 54-50.
Kent City had a balanced offensive attack with Jenna Harrison scoring 15 points, Madelyn Geers 14, Kenzie Bowers 13, and sister Lexie Bowers 10.
“We just had to take a deep breath and relax,’’ said Harrison. “We knew eventually the shots would start falling.’’
Elli Djerf led the Copper Kings (20-1) with 22 points.
“She kept us in the game; she played her heart out,’’ said Calumet coach Matt Laho. “We needed to have a couple more players go with her, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.
“We had some defensive breakdowns in the third quarter, some bad rotations. It’s easy to make shots when you’re wide open.’’
Kent City pressured Calumet from the start as both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter. Both teams were under 25-percent shooting over those first eight minutes as the teams managed just 14 points for a 7-7 tie.
Geers, who scored four points in the first quarter, picked up her second foul with 9.8 seconds left in the period. Calumet then went on an 8-3 run to start the second quarter, using a triple from Djerf to take a 15-10 lead and force Kent City coach Scott Carlson to call a timeout.
Consecutive 3-pointers from Lexie Bowers got the Eagles back to within two of the lead, 17-15, as the offenses heated up.
A 10-0 run including consecutive threes from Bowers gave the Eagles a 24-19 advantage. But Djerf scored the last three points of the quarter to get the Copper Kings to within 24-22 at halftime.
“We knew eventually we’d make shots,’’ said Carlson.
Strom and Djerf scored the first six points of the third quarter to give Calumet a 28-24 lead, but Kent City’s offense, led by Geers, responded with a 20-9 run to take a 44-37 lead on a triple and floater by Kenzie Bowers.
Harrison finished the frantic quarter with a triple to give Kent City a 49-41 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
When Geers scored to start the fourth quarter, the Eagles had their largest lead of the game, 51-41.
Up 11, 52-41, Kent City went to its delay game, forcing the Copper Kings to foul.
“We have enough ball-handlers to run clock for five minutes.’’ said Carlson. “They were tired, and playing defense that long wears you out.’’
Lexie Bowers led Kent City with 10 points while Marybeth Halonen had seven for the Copper Kings.
“We’re living the dream right now on the big stage,” Carlson said. “I think it’s a huge advantage for us having played today (while Grass Lake didn’t).’’
PHOTOS: (Top) Kent City's Jenna Harrison (4) makes her way around a Calumet defender Wednesday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Madelyn Geers (24) defends as Calumet's Jana Loukus looks for an opening. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Baraga Returns, Avenges & Books Another History-Making Opportunity
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2023
EAST LANSING — At first, Baraga thought its last chance to win its Division 4 Semifinal against Fowler on Thursday had slipped away.
But suddenly it was restored, and Vikings’ senior Corina Jahfetson took advantage.
Jahfetson connected on two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining for what turned out to be the winning points in a 46-44 Baraga victory that advanced the Vikings to their first championship game while avenging last season’s six-point Semifinal loss to the Eagles.
Jahfetson’s successful shots also ensured there will be a new Division 4 champion, as the Vikings’ win ended Fowler’s hopes of extending its two-year title reign to three.
“I had to put these in,” Jahfetson said of her mindset at that key moment. “I knew this was going to be our last chance to get shots up.”
With the game tied 44-44 during the final minute, Baraga tried to hold for a final shot, but was called for an illegal screen to give the ball to Fowler with 9.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, Fowler tried to get the ball inbounds, and after a scramble eventually a foul was called that sent Jahfetson to the line.
She then did what Baraga hadn’t during the rest of the final 2:30 — make consecutive free throws — to give her team the lead. Up until that point, Baraga had gone 5-of-11 from the line over that closing span.
Following the free throws, Fowler (20-7) had one last chance to win, but a long 3-point attempt missed the rim and fell out of bounds as time expired.
“Incredible game against an incredible program,” Baraga head coach Tyler Larson said. “That’s the standard that has been set in this division. We had 364 days since we played them, if my math is correct. These kids have been putting in countless hours over the past year. Not the best basketball we’ve played, but it was good enough.”
Makenna Hendrickson scored 17 points, Kylie Michaelson had 10 and Jahfetson added nine points to lead Baraga (22-5).
Senior Emma Riley finished a stellar Fowler career by scoring 21 points to lead all scorers.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Fowler head coach Nathan George said. “I thought we worked hard in the second half and battled. I thought we executed pretty well. But give them credit. Their role players made shots, and they made free throws down the stretch. We just couldn’t capitalize.
“I’m proud of the girls. They have worked hard and done so much, especially the seniors. They’ve done so much for this program the last four years. I can’t thank them enough, and they have a lot to be proud of.”
Trailing 43-39 with 50.5 seconds left, Fowler cut its deficit to 43-42 with 41.9 seconds remaining after a three-point play by Riley.
Hendrickson was fouled and made a free throw to put the Vikings up 44-42 with 39.6 seconds left, but Fowler then tied the game at 44-44 with 28 seconds remaining on a layup by Taylor Weber.
The reigning champion jumped out to a 15-10 advantage with 5:10 left in the second quarter. But the Vikings held Fowler scoreless for the rest of the second quarter and took a 17-15 lead into halftime.
Fowler appeared to gain some separation late in the third quarter when it scored six straight points to take a 25-19 lead with 1:15 left in that period, but Baraga countered with a 7-0 run to take a 26-25 lead going into the fourth.
PHOTOS (Top) Baraga players begin to celebrate their team’s 46-44 win over Fowler on Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Baraga’s Corina Jahfetson (22) works to get past Fowler’s Grace O’Hare.