With Lead Scorer Sidelined, West Catholic Finds Way to Saturday

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com

March 18, 2022

EAST LANSING – Abbey Kimball, Michigan State University recruit and Grand Rapids West Catholic star, was right at home Friday during her team’s Division 2 Semifinal against Detroit Country Day – until a collision while trying for a steal with 4 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half sent her to the locker room after silencing the Breslin Center crowd.

The outcome was well in hand as the Falcons (25-1) were up nearly 20 points on the way to advancing to the Final with a 62-42 victory, but Kimball being at full strength for Saturday’s championship game suddenly was in doubt.

Kimball was the only senior starter on the floor for either side. Her day was done with six points. She sat on the bench in the second half with an ice pack over her blackened right eye.

“Yes, I will be ready to go tomorrow,” Kimball said after. The Falcons will play in their first Final at 6:15 p.m. Saturday since finishing runner-up in Class B in 1995.

She had future MSU teammates in the arena cheering her on.

“They supported me throughout my high school and AAU career,’’ added Kimball. “It was great to be able to play at my future home. COVID affected us the last two years. We just kept working with the goal of getting a championship.’’

Four Falcons scored in double figures with Anna Ignatoski dropping in 15 points, Reese Polega 13, Emma Tuttle 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and Cadence Dykstra scoring 10.

Country Day/West Catholic basketball“You hate to see your best player go down. Your heart goes in your throat,” West Catholic coach Jill VanderEnde said. “We had our athletic trainer (Ryan Vogel) take her through the proper procedures. I thought our other players stepped up.’’

West Catholic’s defense forced 17 turnovers in the first half and shot 51.6 percent from the field in building a 45-25 lead. For the game, Country Day was stifled shooting 28.6 percent from the field while totaling 24 turnovers.

The Falcons length and athleticism caused problems for the young Yellowjackets at both ends.

“We had a hard time getting into any rhythm,’’ said Country Day coach Jerica Williams. “You can credit their defense for that. We had a lot of turnovers. If we had been able to protect the ball … . They are a very good team. We hope they win it all.‘’

West Catholic shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point land during the first quarter and took a commanding 21-5 lead as the Yellowjackets had more turnovers (seven) than points.

The Falcons scored the first five points of the second quarter to assume a 26-5 lead. Standout sub Ignatoski (12) and Polega (11) combined for 23 points during the first half.

Kimball took a wicked shot trying to get a steal from Aysia Yokely, who led the Yellowjackets with 21 points.

Sophomore Jaidyn Elam added 17 points for Country Day (14-8), which was appearing in the Division 2 Semifinals for the second straight season.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) West Catholic’s Ellie Bies (11) reaches to grab a loose ball above a pair of Country Day players during her team's Semifinal win Friday. (Middle) The Yellowjackets' Aysia Yokely (21) looks for an open teammate, with Abbey Kimball defending. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Coach's All-Nighter Helps Brandywine Net 1st Trip to Championship Day

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 21, 2024

EAST LANSING — Niles Brandywine girls basketball head coach Josh Hood said following Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Grand Rapids Covenant Christian, he pulled his “first all-nighter since college.”

Hood said he was up until 5 a.m. Wednesday scouting what was going to be a taller Lake City opponent for Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal. He decided to come up with something on the fly to try and slow down the Trojans’ frontcourt duo of seniors MacKenzie Bisballe and Alison Bisballe, the tallest players on the floor. 

“We knew it would take an army to defend them, and I thought our kids did a phenomenal job,” Hood said. “In one day, we instituted a triangle-and-2 defense. They executed it to perfection.” 

Brandywine certainly did, holding the Bisballe cousins in check and using its superior 3-point shooting to earn a 52-39 win. 

Members of Brandywine’s team were in the stands last week watching the Bobcats boys team win their program's first Finals championship, and the roles will be reversed Saturday as the boys watch the girls attempt to claim a state title for the first time. 

“Watching the boys last (weekend) really helped,” Hood said. “That helped calm all of us. When you walk into the Breslin, you are in awe.”

MacKenzie Bisballe, a 6-foot-1 forward, finished with 13 points for Lake City. Alison Bisballe, a 6-foot-4 forward who has signed with Wisconsin, finished with 10 points, which was what Brandywine (26-1) hoped for when it designed its new defense.

Ellie Knapp works to find space with Lake City’s MacKenzie Bisballe defending. Lake City head coach Bill Tisron said his team had seen other opponents play a triangle-and-2 defense on the Bisballes this year, but Brandywine was effective with its execution of it.

“It wasn’t completely brand new, but they ran it really well,” Tisron said. “Their starting five has very athletic girls. They executed it well, and we just couldn’t get shots to fall early.”

Meanwhile, Brandywine’s edge on the perimeter played out, as the Bobcats went 10 of 23 from 3-point range. 

Junior Miley Young scored 16 points, and senior Kadence Brumitt added 11 to lead Brandywine to the Final. 

“I can’t wait,” Brumitt said. “We have been working all year for this, and we knew from the beginning that this was the year.”

Lake City finished its season at 25-3. 

“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but it was fun,” Tisron said. “I thought Brandywine shot lights out. I thought we did a good job of challenging those threes, but they were falling.”

Leading 27-13 at halftime, Brandywine didn’t let up in the third quarter, going on an 8-2 run to take a 35-15 lead with 3:22 left in the period. 

From there, Lake City went on a surge, first cutting its deficit to 36-21 going into the fourth. 

The Trojans then made it a 10-point game at 39-29 with 5:46 remaining on a steal and layup by MacKenzie Bisballe and a free throw by Alison Bisballe. 

But Young hit a big 3-pointer from the wing to extend Brandywine’s lead to 42-29 with 4:49 left. The Trojans couldn’t cut their deficit below double digits the rest of the way.

Brandywine got off to a great start, taking a 13-4 lead during the first quarter and increasing the advantage to 27-13 by halftime.

The Bobcats went 6 of 12 from 3-point range and held an 18-10 rebounding advantage in the first half. 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) gets a hand on Payton Hogan’s shot during the Bobcats’ Division 3 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) Ellie Knapp works to find space with Lake City’s MacKenzie Bisballe defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)