Marshall Leaves No Room for Regrets
March 19, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — Sal Konkle couldn't hold back the tears as she watched her Marshall basketball players celebrate the fulfillment of a dream that appeared to vanish 35 years ago.
Konkle was a star senior on the only other Marshall team to play for an MHSAA championship, but she was on the losing end of a 64-52 decision to Okemos in the 1981 Class B title game.
In almost every case, that's where the dream ends. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes and goes. High school athletes move on with the rest of their lives, but can have lingering regrets about the championship that got away.
The first step toward redemption for Konkle occurred back in 1999 when she became Marshall's head coach and won her first 23 games. But 11 District championship teams in her first 15 seasons couldn't take it all the way.
Her 16th season proved to be the sweetest, as Marshall beat Grand Rapids South Christian, 51-42, in the Class B championship game Saturday night at the Breslin Center.
"I got numerous texts from former teammates saying we can do it," Konkle said. "One is in the stands. She called me this morning. She said to me, 'Hey, I know you're busy, and I'll be there, but not a lot of people get do-overs in life, and you got a do-over. So, can you just make this happen?' I got a text from coach (Tom) Duffey, who was my coach at the time. He said, 'Second time's a charm; you've got this.'"
Making the championship even more special for Konkle is she was able to achieve it with her 14 daughters — her actual flesh and blood, junior guard Jill Konkle, and 13 other girls she regards as adopted children.
"They're kind of all my girls," coach Konkle said. "When you grow up in a small town, these kids are over at your house. Jill hangs out with them. They go to proms. They do everything together. That's what makes it so special for us. These kids are close. This is something they're going to remember the rest of their lives. I remember doing it with my best friends. It's just very, very special."
Jill Konkle said her mother doesn't bring up tales of her glory days or the opportunity that got away in 1981 often, but the topic came to the forefront more in recent weeks as the current group of Marshall players chased that elusive championship. This year's team and the 1981 squad are the only ones from Marshall to get past the MHSAA Quarterfinals.
"Only because we got this far did we talk about it more," said Jill Konkle, who scored a team-high 13 points against South Christian. "Other than that, not as much. She did bring it up with the team a bit. We talked about it the last couple of weeks quite a bit. I was always telling her, 'I'm gonna get it. I'm gonna beat you,' and I did."
Marshall won the Class B title with a group of girls who have played together since their early elementary school years. It was back in those formative years that they became acquainted with the woman who would coach them to a championship as teenagers.
"We all have this respect for her," said Emily Delmotte, the only senior on the team. "I've had it since I was little, watching her teams since I can remember. She's always been a presence. It's not like the kind of coach that as soon as you get into high school is the first time you meet her. In basketball, the first time I met her was in first or second grade. She makes herself present. She's a part of the program, no matter what age you are."
Coach Konkle's pregame message to her team hinted at the lingering pain of that 1981 loss.
"I told them, 'You can do anything for 32 minutes,'" she said. "'If you do this for 32 minutes, you're going to be state champions. If you don't do it for 32 minutes, you're going to regret that for the rest of your life.' Every timeout, every quarter, I'm telling them, 'Eight more minutes, eight more minutes, you've got this. Or 3:20, you've got this.' They're a resilient group. They're a hard-working group — and they got this."
With the largest cheering section of the weekend in their corner, the Redhawks took the lead with 2:01 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. Marshall built a 12-point lead late in the first half before taking a 25-15 advantage into the break.
When Nicole Tucker scored on the fast break with 4:24 left in the third quarter, Marshall had its biggest lead of the night at 33-19.
South Christian, which had three seniors who played on the 2014 MHSAA runner-up team, battled back. A basket by Mariel Bruxvoort with 6:44 left in the game cut Marshall's lead to 37-32.
The Redhawks responded with a 5-0 run, all from the free throw line, to go up 42-32. What could have been a key moment for the Sailors came when Markayla Vander made a free throw and missed the second one, only to have Bruxvoort score off an offensive rebound and get fouled. When Bruxvoort made the free throw, South Christian had four points in a one-second span to get within 42-36 with 3:38 left.
The Sailors didn't get a chance to build on that momentum, as Taryn Long made a 3-point play with 3:10 left to put Marshall up 45-36. South Christian couldn't put together consecutive scores the rest of the game.
"It took us a little while to get into an offensive flow," South Christian coach Kim Legge said. "Actually, I'm not really sure we did get into an offensive flow. Marshall did a good job with their defense on us. Obviously, they had scouted well. We've been behind before and usually can make runs, but they did an excellent job of stopping that. The momentum never did swing to our favor."
Taryn Long finished with 10 points and Carlee Long had five assists for Marshall (26-1), which won its final 26 games after a season-opening 40-33 loss to Williamston.
Vander had 16 points and Jennifer DeBoer 13 for the Sailors (25-3), who had only four players score. Vander, DeBoer and Sydney DeYoung were the only holdovers from the 2014 South Christian team that went into the Class B title game with a 26-0 record before losing to Eaton Rapids.
"It's definitely been a fun four years," DeBoer said. "I've enjoyed every second of the experience. I think the thing I'm going to miss the most are my teammates and all the memories we made. I'll never get these experiences back, so I'm just really thankful for them."
The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marshall players storm the floor while coach Sal Konkle, far left, covers her face for a moment after her team had clinched the Class B title. (Middle) Jill Konkle works to hold onto the ball with South Christian’s Jennifer DeBoer (4) trying to gain possession.
Performance: White Pigeon's Claycee West
January 16, 2020
Claycee West
White Pigeon senior – Basketball
The 5-foot-8 senior guard scored a school-record 41 points during a 58-39 win over Marcellus on Jan. 7, breaking her previous single-game school record of 38 points scored as a sophomore to earn the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.” West also became her school’s all-time leading scorer Dec. 17 against Bangor, breaking her coach Brooke McClure’s career points record of 1,224, and West is since up to 1,308 after eight games this winter.
For the season, West is averaging 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 2.9 assists and a blocked shot per game. She has led White Pigeon to a 6-3 start after the Chiefs finished 8-13 in 2018-19 – after which West was named to The Associated Press’ Division 3 all-state team. She was an all-region selection as an outside and middle hitter in volleyball this fall, and a league, county and Regional champion as a track sprinter last spring. She also ran cross country during her sophomore year, when she was featured on Second Half for her multi-sport success. West will continue to play basketball after high school for Taylor (Ind.) University, which made the NAIA Division II national quarterfinals a year ago.
West fills her time outside athletics as well. She carries a 4.0 grade-point average and is tied for first academically in her graduating class – and will bring 32 college credits with her to Taylor. She also serves as her White Pigeon class president. West plans to study kinesiology at Taylor, in preparation for becoming a physical therapist.
Coach Brooke McClure said: “I have had the honor of coaching Claycee since she was a freshman. She has had a huge impact on our basketball program and not only that, but on me as a coach. Her work ethic and desire to become a better ball player has also inspired me to put more work into the game and become a better coach for her and her teammates. In small schools like White Pigeon, it is rare to have an athlete as dedicated and as hard-working, along with (having) tremendous athletic ability, to play for our school. She is so smooth and makes the game fun to watch. Sometimes she still surprises me when she does a certain move or makes a difficult shot. … She is such a good example on how to be a great leader. Even when things haven't gone her way, she has adapted and overcome any adversities she has encountered. We are truly lucky to have her be a part of our basketball program and our community, and I am so proud of the young lady she has become.”
Performance Point: “In the third quarter, I just shot the 3 a ton, and I couldn't miss,” West said of her 41-point performance. “I was just on target that game. It was close the whole time, so it didn't really feel like I was doing that much. I didn't notice I had that many until I hit 39 at the end of the third quarter. ... Coming in freshman year even, this was my goal, to break the (career scoring) record. I had a solid sophomore year, and then junior year too, so I knew coming into my senior year that it was going to happen. And so I wasn't really stressing about it, because the chances of it not happening were almost at zero. So this year I'm more focused on getting the team better, getting the team ready for when I leave. I've had a couple of big games this season, but that wasn't the focus. Just to break these records and be leading my team at the same time, that's the best thing ever ... to be able to accomplish my goals and accomplish team goals at the same time.”
‘When I leave,’ what I hope to leave: “I want (my teammates) to take the game into their own hands. For a while, they didn't know how to do that. They're so young, and someone's gotta step up and lead. I have a pretty competitive nature, and I want that to stir in them that they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to. Because they're an athletic group; they can play ball, but someone's gotta be leading that. And that's what I'm trying to instill. ... I'm a pretty vocal leader. When I see something, I say it. When it's time to be intense in practice, I let them know that's the time to be (their) best. In sprints, I'm trying to be the first one, and (I'm) coaching everyone to do their best. And just really being intense on the court, during games, during practice, building myself and others to our fullest potential. I think this year, it's starting to click.”
Play them all: “I think it's just the fact that (playing multiple sports) keeps me from getting burnt out on a single sport, and playing volleyball makes me better at basketball, and basketball does the same (for volleyball) in different aspects. It makes me all-around such a better athlete and just makes me compete at a higher level, I think. ... I'm very sad that these next four years I won't be playing volleyball. Track's a little different – it's not my favorite thing. But if I could, I'd play both (basketball and volleyball).”
I love to compete: “I love to win. Just to compete ... I've been raised all my life to be competitive. I get it from my mom. She's a very competitive person. She's instilled it just throughout life. I strive to be the best in anything I can be in at all, whether that be in school, in sports or life in general. My mom really pushes me to be that person. She's my volleyball coach now, and at a young age she was my coach too. I don't know if it was just her doing that or her interaction with me. She just holds me to a high standard and doesn't let me slack, and I appreciate that. She's always been a big part of volleyball and basketball for me; both of my parents have. … Not being able to play volleyball (in college) will be hard. But not being able to play with her is going to be even harder.”
President West: “I started off doing student council in middle school. And just leading – I love to lead. I love to make sure everything is done right. … It keeps me busy. It keeps me doing something active. I get to learn everybody's names. I get to know everyone, be part of everyone's life. I just really like to be that influencer, I guess.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Jan. 10: Seth Lause, Livonia Stevenson hockey - Report
Dec. 5: Mareyohn Hrabowski, River Rouge football - Report
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) White Pigeon's Claycee West prepares to shoot a free throw against Bangor. (Middle) West pulls up for a shot just inside the 3-point arc. (Photos courtesy of the White Pigeon athletic department.)