P-W Earns Shot to Add to Title Collection
March 16, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Pewamo-Westphalia is enjoying a championship-caliber school year.
And now the Pirates girls basketball team wants its piece of MHSAA title success.
P-W can claim its third Finals title of 2016-17 on Saturday, thanks to the hoops team's 64-51 win over Maple City Glen Lake in Thursday’s second Class C Semifinal.
The Pirates girls can join the football and boys cross country teams as champions when they take on Detroit Edison Public School Academy in the 4 p.m. championship game. The Semifinal was P-W’s first since 2002, and the title game appearance will be the program’s first since finishing Class C runners-up in 1983 and 1984 – making it seem like all of this recent winning might be contagious.
“I think it’s just the community. Our community is so supportive, as you can see at any game and any championships – our community is there,” said P-W senior guard Brenna Wirth, herself a main cog on the school’s girls track & field Division 3 title winner in 2015. “I think we feed off that, and it keeps us going.
“I’ve been playing basketball for several years now, longer than I’ve been running, and basketball is really important to me and the community.”
How much it means to Wirth and her teammates came out especially over Thursday’s final 19 minutes.
Glen Lake (23-4) entered the regular season unranked but had already eliminated No. 2 Traverse City St. Francis and No. 7 St. Ignace before taking the floor against the No. 6 Pirates. The Lakers didn’t waste time going after another giant, taking as much as a nine-point lead into the final three minutes of the first half.
“Throughout the season, we tend to say the same thing over and over – you never win the game in the first four minutes,” P-W coach Steve Eklund said. “They were outhustling us; I’d say for the first 8 to 10 minutes they were outhustling us. Sometimes you have to adjust to your opponent. I think it took us a little time tonight to settle into the environment.”
“Obviously we had to fight back every little run they had,” junior forward Emily Spitzley added. “We just had in our minds to keep fighting. It’s just about confidence.”
If the all-state second-teamer was lacking any, she found it as the comeback began.
Spitzley scored 20 of her game-high 24 points and grabbed eight of her 12 rebounds – and also blocked three shots – as the Pirates forced a 22-point swing.
P-W (24-2) closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 25-24 of Glen Lake by halftime. The Pirates then opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead.
Glen Lake got the advantage back twice with just under four minutes left in the third quarter, and after the Pirates rebuilt an eight-point lead got the deficit down to one again with 6:33 to play. But another P-W 8-0 run over the next three minutes finally put the game out of reach.
“We’ve had a lot of games where we had slow starts, but we’ve worked hard on coming out (strong) in the third quarter,” Glen Lake coach Jason Bradford said. “We just came out kinda slow on our heels and got away from what we usually do – pushing the ball, kicking it out. We were spinning our heels a little bit, and we got a little shell-shocked when the score started going the other way.”
Wirth added 13 points, and junior forward Kate Hengesbach added nine points, 12 rebounds and six steals off the bench in 20 minutes of play.
Junior guard Allie Bonzelet led three Lakers scoring in double figures with 14 points, and junior forward Jennifer LaCross had 13 and seven rebounds. Senior guard Kelly Bunek added 11 points and senior forward Sarah Carney finished her career grabbing nine rebounds.
P-W fans had about a 30-minute drive to fill their side of the Breslin stands Thursday, but Glen Lake had nearly as many fans – including three spectator bus loads – make a nearly four-hour trek.
“It’s just great to be able to put our name out there and show people all the hard work we’ve been putting in,” Carney said. “To just see the community come out and support us … it’s very rewarding to see the support we have.”
The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) P-W’s Emily Spitzley drives to the basket during Thursday’s Class C Semifinal win. (Middle) Glen Lake’s Savannah Peplinski (24) works to get past the Pirates’ Ellie Droste.
Baraga Returns, Avenges & Books Another History-Making Opportunity
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2023
EAST LANSING — At first, Baraga thought its last chance to win its Division 4 Semifinal against Fowler on Thursday had slipped away.
But suddenly it was restored, and Vikings’ senior Corina Jahfetson took advantage.
Jahfetson connected on two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining for what turned out to be the winning points in a 46-44 Baraga victory that advanced the Vikings to their first championship game while avenging last season’s six-point Semifinal loss to the Eagles.
Jahfetson’s successful shots also ensured there will be a new Division 4 champion, as the Vikings’ win ended Fowler’s hopes of extending its two-year title reign to three.
“I had to put these in,” Jahfetson said of her mindset at that key moment. “I knew this was going to be our last chance to get shots up.”
With the game tied 44-44 during the final minute, Baraga tried to hold for a final shot, but was called for an illegal screen to give the ball to Fowler with 9.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, Fowler tried to get the ball inbounds, and after a scramble eventually a foul was called that sent Jahfetson to the line.
She then did what Baraga hadn’t during the rest of the final 2:30 — make consecutive free throws — to give her team the lead. Up until that point, Baraga had gone 5-of-11 from the line over that closing span.
Following the free throws, Fowler (20-7) had one last chance to win, but a long 3-point attempt missed the rim and fell out of bounds as time expired.
“Incredible game against an incredible program,” Baraga head coach Tyler Larson said. “That’s the standard that has been set in this division. We had 364 days since we played them, if my math is correct. These kids have been putting in countless hours over the past year. Not the best basketball we’ve played, but it was good enough.”
Makenna Hendrickson scored 17 points, Kylie Michaelson had 10 and Jahfetson added nine points to lead Baraga (22-5).
Senior Emma Riley finished a stellar Fowler career by scoring 21 points to lead all scorers.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Fowler head coach Nathan George said. “I thought we worked hard in the second half and battled. I thought we executed pretty well. But give them credit. Their role players made shots, and they made free throws down the stretch. We just couldn’t capitalize.
“I’m proud of the girls. They have worked hard and done so much, especially the seniors. They’ve done so much for this program the last four years. I can’t thank them enough, and they have a lot to be proud of.”
Trailing 43-39 with 50.5 seconds left, Fowler cut its deficit to 43-42 with 41.9 seconds remaining after a three-point play by Riley.
Hendrickson was fouled and made a free throw to put the Vikings up 44-42 with 39.6 seconds left, but Fowler then tied the game at 44-44 with 28 seconds remaining on a layup by Taylor Weber.
The reigning champion jumped out to a 15-10 advantage with 5:10 left in the second quarter. But the Vikings held Fowler scoreless for the rest of the second quarter and took a 17-15 lead into halftime.
Fowler appeared to gain some separation late in the third quarter when it scored six straight points to take a 25-19 lead with 1:15 left in that period, but Baraga countered with a 7-0 run to take a 26-25 lead going into the fourth.
PHOTOS (Top) Baraga players begin to celebrate their team’s 46-44 win over Fowler on Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Baraga’s Corina Jahfetson (22) works to get past Fowler’s Grace O’Hare.