Kent City Shooting for Long Tourney Run
March 7, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
RAVENNA – As Zara Weber explains it, part of growing up in Kent City is learning how to properly shoot the basketball.
“They start us young at camps, working on our form and things like that,” said Weber, one of two senior starters for Kent City (18-4), which rolled over Holton 55-13 on Wednesday and into Friday’s Division 3 District Final against Muskegon Western Michigan Christian at Ravenna.
“They get us started, and then it’s up to all of us to put in the time. We spend a lot of time in the gym. A few of us made it our goal to shoot 10,000 3-pointers over the summer.”
So, for Weber, the 3-pointer that she made late in the first quarter on Wednesday was just another shot – but it was also the shot that tied the team state record for most 3-pointers made in a season.
It was fitting that the record-breaking trey, which came less than a minute later, was made by a reserve, senior Janelle Krueger – because all of these Eagles can shoot.
“Almost every girl on the team can shoot it,” said 10th-year Kent City coach Scott Carlson, who knows something about scoring as the all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,263 career points. “I don’t think the record really mattered. We knew we were getting close. I just have a great shooting team.”
Kent City, which was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press Division 3 poll, finished with eight 3-pointers on Wednesday, pushing its season total to 244 – and breaking the old record of 237 triples by Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central set in 2005.
The boys state record is 356 by Whitmore Lake in 2009-2010.
Carlson did not make a big deal about the state record. The game was not stopped after Krueger’s record-setting shot, and no announcement was made; in fact, most of the Eagles did not know until after the game.
Earlier this year, Kent City broke the state record for 3-pointers in a single game, making 25 in a home win over Holton. Kent City had the previous record of 23 in a single game, set during the 2012-2013 season, when current assistant coaches Kendal Carlson and Aleah Holcomb were on the roster.
How do they do it?
The Eagles’ motion offense normally features four players spotted up at different points along the 3-point arc, with players taking turns driving and kicking it back out to one of those players, who are always ready to shoot. KC shoots 32 percent from 3-point range and averages 11 treys per game.
The “big three” for KC all season long has been Weber and sophomore standouts Jenna Harrison and Kenzie Bowers – who have all made more than 50 3-pointers this season. The other starters for the Eagles are sophomore Audrey Dreyer and senior Lauren Freeland, an all-state track and cross country standout who will run at Michigan State next year.
“Shooters got to shoot,” explained Harrison, who led all scorers on Wednesday with 13 points, including two 3-pointers. “We know that we have to shoot if we are open; that’s the way our offense works. If the defense comes out on us, then we have to drive.”
The Eagles know their games will keep getting tougher, starting with Friday’s District championship game against Western Michigan Christian. If the Eagles prevail, it could set up a blockbuster Regional Semifinal matchup at home Monday against top-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia.
“That’s the game everyone in town is talking about, but we’re just taking them one at a time,” Harrison said.
The Eagles’ outstanding season has been a pleasant diversion for Carlson, who has experienced more family tragedies resulting from car crashes than any one man should ever have to endure.
In 1989, his younger brother Todd was paralyzed in a car accident. One year later, his younger sister Shannon was paralyzed and suffered a closed head injury in a car accident. In 2009, his mother, Jane, died in another car accident (Todd lost his right leg in the same accident).
Then last August, Todd – who served as an assistant coach for the Eagles and helped run Kent City’s youth basketball program for 15 years – died in yet another crash at the age of 49.
“It’s been tough because he was such a big part of this team,” said Carlson. “I’ve learned you just have to keep going forward. Basketball is something we have always had to focus on and work on.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kent City’s Jenna Harrison lines up to shoot a 3-pointer against Cedar Springs during a Feb. 19 win. (Middle) Mikayla Loew (21) looks for an opening around the perimeter. (Photos courtesy of the Kent City athletic department/Sue Harrison.)
Southfield Leads Fast, Holds On to Lead Last
March 22, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Give Muskegon a ton of credit. After 11 minutes Thursday, it’s Division 1 Semifinal at Van Noord Arena was all but over.
And Southfield Arts & Technology knew the feeling.
Two years ago, the Warriors found themselves down 20 points in the third quarter of their Semifinal against East Kentwood. They pulled all the way back to within two of the lead before ultimately losing to the Falcons by four.
This time, Southfield A&T got up 18 points three minutes into the second quarter at Van Noord Arena. But while Muskegon charged back to within two of the lead with 53 seconds to play, the Warriors prevailed 54-50 to earn their first championship game berth.
“Being (at the Semifinals) before, it helped me keep my composure and mentally stay in it. Because two years ago, we were down by a lot at the half, and we had to come back with the same fight that Muskegon tried to put against us,” A&T junior guard Cheyenne McEvans said. “I understand what Muskegon was trying to do, and how East Kentwood held us off is how we had to hold them off from coming back.
“We hung on at the end because we just wanted it, and we all just had to talk to each other and keep each other in the game. I try to take really good pride in keeping my teammates involved mentally, and keep their heads up. So I just told them, the run that they’re going on, we’ve just got to hold it – hold it together to the end of the game.”
The Warriors (24-1) will face Saginaw Heritage in Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. championship game, seeking the first title for the 3-year-old school and also the first for one of the schools that merged to create A&T since Southfield Lathrup’s 2005 Class A win.
Neither team Thursday scored for nearly the first three minutes. But once the Warriors got started, they put up nine straight points over 80 seconds. During the second quarter, they connected on 64 percent of their shots from the floor to carry a 29-13 lead into halftime.
But the Big Reds – making their first Semifinal appearance – began to show signs of revival. They had missed their first 13 shots and 18 of 19 on the way to the 21-3 deficit. But beginning with senior Alyza Winston’s basket with 4:30 to play in the first half, Muskegon made 44 percent of its shots from the floor the rest of the way.
“We’re really a second-half team, if you look at the Regional games, the District games, we came out second half with a whole different energy,” Winston said. “That’s really just us.
“I feel like this game we just needed it more in the first half than we had it, but that’s normal for us.”
A&T still led 44-31 with a quarter to play. Muskegon junior guard De’shonna Day’s basket with seven minutes to play made the deficit single digits again at 44-35. That started a 17-8 run, and a Day 3-pointer pulled the Big Reds to within 52-50 with 53 seconds to play.
Muskegon (21-5) got the ball back on a jumpball. But A&T did hold on – two more times. First junior center Jasmine Worthy blocked off the lane to force a travel as the Big Reds looked to tie. After senior Soleil Barnes made two free throws with six seconds left to push the lead back to four, the Warriors got a steal to end the game.
“Having been to the final four, and won a championship before, I know defense is really going to make a difference,” said A&T coach Michele Marshall, who led the Lathrup title run. “You can score a ton of points, but ultimately you’re going to have to get some stops.
“When we play defense the way we did in that last possession, it becomes very difficult to get easy shots, and all we’re trying to do is make the most difficult shot with our defense.”
Senior forward Alexis Johnson led A&T with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while McEvans and Barnes both finished with 12 points. Sophomore guard Kayiona Willis had five assists.
Winston, a Miss Basketball Award finalist this season, finished with 25 points, and Day had 13 and seven rebounds. Senior center Nia Miskel grabbed 10 rebounds.
Now A&T gets the rare opportunity to avenge its lone defeat. The Warriors fell to Heritage 45-43 on Dec. 8 at the Ypsilanti Arbor Prep Icebreaker Invitational.
“I feel like this is the game we can use to cross out our record, if we can get this win,” Johnson said. “We want to come out with a clean record and we feel we’re number one in the state, and this game will prove it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Arts & Technology’s Alexis Johnson pushes the ball upcourt during Friday’s Division 1 Semifinal win over Muskegon. (Middle) The Big Reds’ De’shonna Day moves the ball around the perimeter.