Lenawee Christian's Title Time Arrives
March 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – As daughter of the coach and sister of the star, sophomore Dani Salenbien was in unique position to forecast the success of this season’s Adrian Lenawee Christian girls basketball team.
She knew one thing for sure.
“I know we can do anything when we play together,” Salenbien said. “We’re fighters and we haven’t stopped fighting this whole season, so I’m proud of every single one of them.”
Two days after freshman sister Bree sank a last-second overtime shot to send their team to the championship game, Lenawee Christian won it. The Cougars caught fire during Saturday’s second half to claim their first MHSAA girls basketball title with a 57-36 win over Chassell at Van Noord Arena.
Lenawee Christian previously had finished Class D runner-up in 2010 and was making its first trip to Finals weekend since that title game run. The Cougars capped a season that saw them finish 26-1, with their only loss by one point to Class A Monroe.
They had only one senior on the roster, and 51 of their points Saturday were scored by Bree Salenbien or sophomores.
“Three or four weeks ago, we started hitting our stride a bit,” said Lenawee Christian coach Jamie Salenbien, who’s also Bree and Dani’s father. “And I told Coach, ‘Wow, something good is happening.’ They’re jelling well, the chemistry’s good, they’re sacrificing for each other, and to boot we were getting a lot of progress as far as the skill level goes – shooting, ball handling and passing. It all got crisper.
“And we peaked at the right time, so we’re just really thankful for that.”
Leading by a point at the break Saturday, Lenawee Christian went on a 19-7 run over the final 7½ minutes of the third quarter to build a 13-point lead. The Cougars then held Chassell to only four points – on 20 percent shooting – during the fourth quarter.
Bree Salenbien, the team’s leading scorer this winter at more than 21 points per game, left the floor briefly during the first half after twisting an ankle. The 6-foot-2 guard finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds – and despite hitting only 7 of 21 shots from the floor. She disrupted Chassell’s defense just by being out there and opening up space for teammates.
Sophomore Libby Miller added 11 points, while Dani Salenbien and sophomore Caitlin Anderson both scored 10. Salenbien had six assists and five steals, and Anderson grabbed seven rebounds.
“We kinda let her control a little bit of the second half. I felt like we scrambled a little bit, over-helping and not getting back where we needed to be – we had too much help and not enough on-the-ball defense,” Chassell coach Brandi Hainault said.
“I felt we had momentum from the first half into the second half. They hit some big shots, and we weren’t hitting ours, and eventually you dig yourself a hole.”
Senior center Sydney Danison led Chassell (26-2) with 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, showing sharp post moves especially early on. Senior guard Milly Allen, also a Semifinal star Thursday, added 10 points.
Chassell was making its first MHSAA championship game appearance in girls basketball and first in either girls or boys since 1958.
“They’ve done something no other Chassell team had done,” Hainault said. “They’re a team that deserves to be here, and I couldn’t be prouder of what they’ve done.
“The first time being here, it’s a great thing. I couldn’t ask for anything more, except maybe the win. It’s a hard thing – these girls played with a lot of heart, played with a lot of hustle and did the right things. A lot of our mistakes just cost us the game today.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Lenawee Christian celebrates its first MHSAA girls basketball championship after claiming Saturday's Class D Final. (Middle) Chassell’s Sydney Danison and Lenawee Christian’s Brooke Brinning battle for possession.
Will Carleton Hoops Creates '1 Big Family'
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 8, 2021
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
HILLSDALE – The Thielen siblings, with oldest daughter Lizzy and three younger brothers, are getting to do something few families in Michigan have had the opportunity to experience – playing high school basketball together on the same team.
When there weren’t enough girls out for the girls basketball team this winter at Will Carleton Academy in Hillsdale, basketball coach Jason Coward decided to add the girls who would have played for the Cougars to his team.
One of them was Thielen, who has moved back and forth between the junior varsity and varsity boys team – giving her the opportunity to play with all three brothers, sometimes on the same night.
“I would be so sad if I wasn’t able to play basketball this season,” Thielen said. “I really enjoy the opportunity to play with my brothers. Not a lot of girls get to say they did that. I’m thankful I can.”
Will Carleton Academy, with just 50 students, has one of the smallest enrollments of any school in the Michigan High School Athletic Association. They normally have enough players for JV and varsity girls and boys teams and participate annually in the MHSAA postseason.
This year, however, for a variety of reasons including the effects of COVID-19, Coward said only four or five girls were with the program when the season was launched in February.
“Frankly, some of the girls found other things to do,” he said. “It was a long wait to decide if there would even be a season. They grew tired of waiting. We didn’t know. They didn’t know. Some of the girls that we thought were going to play made other plans.”
Coward was familiar with some of the Cougars girls because he coached them in middle school.
“I knew they were good competitors who could play,” he said.
So, instead of putting the girls team on the shelf for the year, he did the next best thing – he put them on the boys team. Thielen, Sophia Crites and Clemmie Gadwood are all regular contributors at the varsity level. Gadwood has started most of the Cougars’ games this season while Thielen and Crites come off the bench and have also split time between the JV and varsity, something that is allowed this season with an MHSAA rule change that allows players to play in five quarters a night.
Coward said there was no hesitation in the girls being part of the team.
“I don’t treat them any differently,” he said. “They are just part of the team. They do everything I ask. They are great teammates and great to have on the team. They run the drills and have gotten so much better.”
Thielen said the transition from the girls game to the boys game wasn’t always easy. Opponents are often bigger, the game somewhat more physical and the boys use a bigger basketball. Still, in the end, it's all just basketball.
Will Carleton Academy is off to a 6-4 start. The Cougars had a four-game winning streak earlier this season, beating Jackson Homeschoolers, Battle Creek Calhoun Christian, Coldwater Pansophia Academy and Litchfield. They’ve beaten Litchfield and Pansophia Academy a second time as well.
In the second win over Litchfield, Gadwood, a sophomore, made four first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
Gadwood and Thielen have brothers on the team. Gabe Gadwood, a senior, averages around 20 points a game and is the team’s top scorer.
Thielen said it helps having brothers on the team.
“We are all one big family,” she said. “We go home at night and talk about our games or practices together.”
On Friday, the Cougars played Britton Deerfield. BD head coach Darren Shiels was impressed with the play of WCA.
“It should really help their girls program,” said Shiels, who has coached at Britton and Britton Deerfield for more than 15 seasons. “Playing against tougher competition always makes you better.”
Will Carleton will conclude its regular season March 19. Before then they have two games with Jackson Prep along with dates with North Adams-Jerome and Waldron. The Cougars are grouped in a Division 4 District at Pittsford that includes undefeated Hillsdale Academy.
The Cougars are not the only school in southeast Michigan to have girls play as part of the boys team. Vandercook Lake is not fielding a girls team this winter. Earlier this year, Shelby Moore knocked down a 3-pointer in a Jayhawks game against East Jackson. She did so on an assist from her brother.
Coward said the school had discussions during the preseason about becoming a co-op with another Hillsdale County school for girls basketball but decided it would be better to incorporate the girls into the Cougars boys team instead.
The girls coach, Lakyn Sattison, became an assistant coach for the boys team – and Coward said the girls and boys varsity teams could practice together next season. For another month they’ll continue to play together as one – thankful for the opportunity to take the floor every night, proudly wearing school colors.
“It’s definitely a different game,” Thielen said. “The game is pretty quick, but it’s a lot of fun. I’ve had to improve my skills. It’s helped me improve my skills. It’s just a different level of competition.
“Sure, I wanted to play with my classmates and other girls in my school, but I’m getting to play. And that’s all that matters.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Will Carleton Academy’s Clemmie Gadwood (12) positions for a possible 3-pointer this season. (Middle) WCA coach Jason Coward huddles with his team. (Photos by Joe Flaherty, Hillsdale Daily News.)