New Cast Maintaining Marian's Success
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
January 28, 2016
BLOOMFIELD HILLS – When word leaked out last April that sisters Bailey and Samantha Thomas would be moving to Nevada and not returning to Bloomfield Hills Marian for the 2015-16 school year, reporters and basketball fans alike did a quick math equation.
Marian would graduate three seniors who started plus its top reserve and, with this news, would lose its top six players from a team that won the program’s second consecutive Class A title.
Everyone outside of Marian anticipated a changing of the guard. No longer would the Mustangs be the team to beat in the Detroit Catholic League, and any thoughts of a third consecutive title were dismissed.
That’s not all. Senior McKenna Landis, who would have been a three-year varsity player and the starting point guard, suffered a season-ending knee ligament injury in a non-basketball incident.
Mary Cicerone is in her 33rd season as head coach, and she’s uncertain whether she’s entered a season before where experience, and the amount of seniors, was at such a premium.
But as far as assessing coaches, Cicerone is at the top in maintaining a competitive edge, and thus, a positive outlook.
“Most of my players play more than one sport,” Cicerone said. “Many (five) play soccer. Another plays volleyball. For the first time, basketball is second fiddle to most of my players.
“We’re going to show up. I thought we’d be competitive. What are we, 9-3 now? I thought we should be 10-2. I’m competitive. I have some good athletes. We’re figuring out what they’re good at.”
Marian is 9-2 and, at 6-1, in first place in the league’s Central Division. Its lone division loss was at Warren Regina, 35-33, on a shot at the buzzer. Few would have thought this before the season but, at this point, Marian is the favorite to win the league title. Should the Mustangs win the title, it would be Cicerone’s 13th.
If it happens, it’s not a fluke. Like all of Cicerone’s teams, this one plays defense – and few teams, at least in Metro Detroit, play defense with more intensity than Marian.
Take the Regina game as an example. Marian trailed by 11 points late in the third quarter. The Mustangs forced 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter and nearly shocked the Saddlelites.
Maria Hickey and Elizabeth Grobbel are the only seniors on the team and quite possibly Cicerone’s hardest workers.
Hickey said it’s up to her and Grobbel to set an example for the younger players. Last season they earned valuable experience during and more so in practice going against the state’s best.
“We returned four players,” Hickey said. “We didn’t know McKenna would be out. We were very underestimated. We adjusted well. We had a target on our back. Everyone wants to say they beat the defending state champs.
“Defense has to be above the offense. Defense takes up 60, 70 percent of our practices. Maybe more. We press some. Our favorite is the man-to-man, full court. We never play zone. (Cicerone) laughs when we bring it up. We also run the 1-2-2 zone press. We call it the mustang. It’s risky. When it works, it works great. It changes things up.
“Experience? Every player has experience in the program. But not everyone has experience playing this type of defense.”
This team doesn’t have a go-to player. Grobbel, a 6-1 forward, might be the team’s top 3-point shooter. Lauren Montalbano, a 5-5 junior, is one of the best at going to the basket. And at point guard, Olivia Moore is a fine ball handler, but she’s a freshman still gaining varsity experience. Uche Ike, a 5-11 sophomore, is a strong and athletic post player but didn’t start playing basketball until the eighth grade and is still learning the fundamentals.
“I told the kids in the beginning that we’re not going to win because we’re great basketball players,” Cicerone said. “It’s our defense that will carry us. Many of them don’t pick up a basketball until November. I ask them, why shoot? You haven’t touched a basketball in months.”
Cicerone is all for her players to play other sports. And it’s these other sports that are their main ones. But it does try her patience when some compete in travel leagues or AAU events so much so they miss a practice here or there, and a game now and then.
On the other side of the coin, playing the other sports does contribute to their athleticism. For a team like Marian that relies heavily on defense, having good, all-around athletes is a plus.
Cicerone knows her team will have a challenge competing with Class A powers like Saginaw Heritage and Southfield-Lathrup in the MHSAA Tournament. But it’s not a stretch to forecast the Mustangs winning another league title, possibly a District title, and pulling off an upset in the Regionals.
Whatever the opposition, no matter how talented they are, Cicerone refuses to give in. Marian has won six MHSAA titles with her on the bench, and a coach doesn’t win that many by taking anything for granted.
“I’ve had my day in the sun,” Cicerone said. “I go up and down with my team. I don’t expect much on offense. But we can play defense.
“We’re not going to do what we’re not good at. We want them to do the things they are good at."
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marian's Uche Ike works to move the ball upcourt against Farmington Hills Mercy. (Middle) Hannah Redoute works to corral a loose ball. (Below) Elizabeth Grobbel moves to the basket with a pair of Mercy players defending. (Photos courtesy of the Bloomfield Hills Marian athletic department.)
From Underdogs to Top Dogs: Summerfield Wins 1st Regional Title
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
April 2, 2021
PETERSBURG – Mickey Moody is making a habit out of taking Monroe County schools to new heights.
While coaching Jefferson’s softball team in 2006, the Bears reached the MHSAA Finals for the first time in school history. At Dundee, Moody coached the Vikings softball team to its first-ever Finals championship in 2013 and into the Semifinals in 2019.
On Wednesday, Moody coached the Petersburg Summerfield girls basketball team to the first Regional championship in school history and a berth in the Division 4 Quarterfinals.
“The girls are really playing well,” Moody said. “I’m so excited for them. It all starts with the kids. I am an old school coach. I’m pretty strict.”
Moody has changed the mood at Summerfield, and the success on the court shows.
“When we were freshmen four years ago, things were a lot different,” said senior Grace Kalb. “He’s definitely changed the mindset. All the coaches have. They are very encouraging. They never give up on us, they always tell us to give them everything we have, and we listen.
“You could feel it changing last year. This year, we have continued down that path.”
Summerfield won 13 games last season in a big turnaround, improving from just five wins in 2018-19 and only four in Moody’s first season coaching Summerfield in 2016-17. Despite the lack of historical success, Moody did not hesitate to tell the girls how far he thought they could go this season.
“It started at our first practice way back in November,” Kalb said. “He told us that we had an opportunity to win a Regional, which had never been done before at our school. When we got to Districts this year, we had a plan. This is our year.”
Summerfield was unranked during the regular season. The Bulldogs started out 3-3, including a 33-point loss to Sand Creek. A week later, they rebounded to beat the Aggies by three. Summerfield closed the regular season by winning six of its last seven games and finished fourth in the Tri-County Conference.
“I don’t talk about league championships,” Moody said. “I tell the girls the league is a bonus. I want their ultimate goal to be to go as far as you can. Well, as far as you can means the state finals.”
That is still two wins away, but anything is possible.
The Bulldogs beat Britton Deerfield to win the District title and hosted the Regional which ended with wins against Allen Park Inter-City Baptist and Southfield Christian. The school’s first-ever Regional title came after Kalb scored a career-high 21 points. Sophomore Abby Haller, the team’s top scorer, added 17, and the other senior on the roster, Breanna Weston, scored 11.
“It was amazing to win at home,” Weston said. “It’s been dream come true.”
Moody said the difference in Summerfield’s late-season surge has been defense.
“We are playing much more aggressive defensively,” he said. “We have been able to put a lot of pressure on teams. They’ve always played hard, but we are coming together now.”
In addition to the two seniors, Summerfield has two juniors in Sydney Redlinger and Elaney Fisher and two sophomores, Haller and Destanee Smith. Moody has five freshmen on the varsity right now.
“All five girls of our starters are shooting the ball super well,” Moody said. “Everyone thinks Abby is going to be our leading scorer, but all of the girls are shooting well. That helps because teams can’t just key on one girl.”
Kalb and Weston are four-year players.
“Grace is my steady engine,” Moody said. “I know she’s going to play well defensively. She always does. Her leadership on the floor is even more important.”
Weston has upped her game in the postseason as well.
“This is the best she’s shot in her four years,” Moody said. “She averaged about 12 points a game during the regular season but has stepped up in the tournament. She looks to score a lot more right now.
“From the time they were freshmen until now, their knowledge of basketball has improved so much. They’ve gotten better every year.”
Moody said the foundation was set for this year’s tournament run with last year’s loss in the Division 3 District. The Bulldogs lost to a solid Blissfield team.
“We played very well,” he said. “I think with that game, the girls saw what they were capable of. Right then we set the goal of getting out of Districts this year.”
Weston said the Bulldogs believed in Moody because he believed in them.
“It was different before,” she said. “Before, we were the underdogs. Now, we are the top dogs. We have done something that’s never been done before in our school’s history. It has been a surreal moment. We are making our marks now. It’s been a great ride.”
Moody got his start in coaching on the softball diamond, not the basketball floor. He is in his 10th year coaching the Dundee softball team but has not started coaching the Vikings yet this spring. Before Dundee, he coached four seasons at Jefferson.
“My assistant coaches are running things for me,” he said. “I love softball, but my main focus is the basketball team right now.”
The Bulldogs will take on Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes on Monday in St. Clair Shores.
“We’re going to have to come up with a really good scheme,” Moody said. “They are a good team. Our girls are excited about being this far. I am really happy for them. It’s nice to see their hard work pay off.”
Anything is possible at this point of the season. Summerfield is not planning to back down just because the Lakers might have more postseason experience.
“I’ve been blessed,” Moody said. “Once the kids understand what we are trying to do and the goals, things fell into place. Every team I’ve coached, the work ethic has been outstanding. Once they get confidence, they just take off.”
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) Summerfield’s Grace Kalb, left, makes a move to the basket during her team’s District Final win over Britton Deerfield. (Middle) Bulldogs coach Mickey Moody shows off some of the latest hardware won by his program. (Below) Breanna Watson unrolls a layup against the Patriots. (Photos by Mike Doughty.)