P-W Wins OT to Earn Historic Opportunity
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Pewamo-Westphalia has played in three MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals. Three more teams have ended seasons in the Semifinals. Four more teams on top of those reached Quarterfinals and were done.
Total, that’s 10 teams that had made the final week of the season before this one. And now the Pirates have earned another opportunity to celebrate for all of them.
P-W will play for its first championship thanks to a 37-33 overtime win over Ypsilanti Arbor Prep on Thursday that also set the record for the lowest-scoring Semifinal in MHSAA girls basketball history.
Despite scoring six or fewer points during the second, third and fourth quarters, the Pirates outscored Arbor Prep 7-3 in the extra period to reach their second Final in three seasons.
“We’ve been here so many times before, and it’s frustrating when you just miss it by such a short amount,” P-W junior guard Ellie Droste said. “So this year being able to make it to the Finals again, and hopefully we can come out with the win … at practice every single day we work for these moments. We work on defense, we work on offense, we work on pressure situations. And that’s what got us here.”
The Pirates (26-1) will take on Flint Hamady in Saturday’s 4 p.m. Division 3 championship game at Calvin College.
Droste and Hannah Spitzley were freshmen on the P-W team that fell 46-44 to Detroit Edison in the 2017 Class C Final. Rachel Huhn was a sophomore sub on that team and then played 20 minutes as a junior in last season’s Semifinal loss to the Pioneers.
But the program’s drive for this opportunity goes back much farther than the last few years. The 1983 and 1984 teams both lost in Class C Finals – the 1983 Pirates to Hamady.
Arbor Prep (19-7) was last season’s Class C runner-up and playing in its fifth straight Semifinal.
“I was a 10-year-old boy back in 1984, 85, watching Carol Bogard Rademacher take teams to Western Michigan back at that time and fall short with great teams and great kids that were extremely well-coached,” Pirates coach Steve Eklund said. “It’s that hurdle we just haven’t been able to get over. So I’m excited for these kids, I’m excited for our community, I’m excited for all of these girls basketball teams we’ve had over the last 30 years that have been there and just not gotten over the hurdle. It just burns inside of me to go get that win Saturday, and we’re going to do everything in our power to go get that win for all of the teams from the past.”
To earn the opportunity, P-W had to hop a few hurdles Thursday. Arbor Prep featured one of the top freshmen in the state in guard Mya Petticord and 2018 all-state honorable mention Mahri Petree. And both teams struggled to get the ball through the hoop – P-W made 33 percent of its shot from the floor and Arbor Prep checked in at 29 percent, and combined they connected on just 7-of-33 3-point shots.
The Pirates ended the first quarter up 14-7. Arbor Prep stormed back to make it 18-18 at the break. For the game, the score was tied five times and the lead changed seven.
Droste scored to give P-W the first lead of overtime 28 seconds in, and she made two free throws to make the advantage 34-30 with 1:28 to play. Senior Karli Waddell came up with a huge 3-pointer for Arbor Prep to cut the lead to one with 33 seconds left on the clock. But Spitzley made 3-of-4 free-throw tries over the final 12 seconds, and Arbor Prep got off only one shot after Waddell’s 3-pointer.
“I think we lost to the state champion,” Arbor Prep coach Scott Stine said. “(I’m) disappointed we couldn’t score a few more points, questioning whether we should’ve been more aggressive defensively. That’s a coaching call … we’ll look at after today and decide if we should’ve been more aggressive, should’ve pushed the tempo.
“If you’d told me the score would be 34-30, I would’ve said it was 50/50 who would win the game. If you’d told me someone got to 50 points, I’d have said Arbor Prep would’ve won.”
Petticord led Arbor Prep with 14 points, and senior Kashyra Jackson had 10 and eight rebounds. Spitzley scored 16 to lead P-W, while Droste had 15 points and four assists. Junior Addison Bauer didn’t score a point and attempted just one shot, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
“My players made adjustments. Defensively after the first quarter, I thought they were extremely solid,” Stine said. “I thought we made things tough on them, just the same way they made things tough on us.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Ellie Droste makes a move toward the basket during Thursday’s second Division 3 Semifinal. (Middle) Arbor Prep’s Alaya Mack seeks an opening.
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 10, 2022
Breslin Bound is returning this week just as league play is picking up serious steam across Michigan.
Whittling down to five “Can't-Miss Contests” this week started with a group of 15, including three contests featuring pairs of undefeated teams squaring off as we move toward midseason and the most local-focused part of most schedules.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Lansing 49, DeWitt 44 The Lansing area is loaded again in Division 1, with this victory possibly signaling the Trojans (5-2) as the early leader; they travel to DeWitt (7-1) for the rematch Feb. 10.
2. DeWitt 24, Haslett 22 The week was a highly-competitive one for the Panthers, and they started it by handing Haslett (7-1) its first defeat. Haslett had previously downed East Lansing.
3. Hudsonville 79, Grass Lake 51 After doubling up Grand Haven on Friday, reigning Division 1 champ Hudsonville (5-2) made it two wins in two days with this one Saturday over last season’s Division 3 winner Grass Lake (3-3).
4. Farmington Hills Mercy 35, Bloomfield Hills Marian 29 These two have decided the Detroit Catholic League Central the last five seasons, and Mercy (6-1) is a step ahead this time after this win over the reigning champ Mustangs (5-2).
5. Benton Harbor 44, Niles Brandywine 42 After starting 0-2 this winter, Benton Harbor (4-3) has won four of its last five games and handed Brandywine (7-1) its first defeat.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Traverse City Central (6-1) The Trojans opened with a loss to Grand Haven, but are undefeated since and began Big North Conference play with a 32-26 victory over reigning champion Cadillac on Friday. And this start is worth a lot more than just an impressive record: Central finished 2-15 last year and is seeking its first winning season since 2016-17. The Trojans also started last week with a 49-40 win over Traverse City St. Francis (6-2).
West Bloomfield (8-1) The Lakers are on schedule to be in the mix at the top of Division 1, where they sit No. 8 heading into this week. That lone loss came in the season opener to No. 4 Dexter, and West Bloomfield immediately followed up by handing South Lyon East what remains the Cougars’ only defeat. The run is made even more impressive in that six of the Lakers’ seven in-state opponents are .500 or better.
Division 2
Edwardsburg (6-0) The Eddies regularly are among the best from the southwest, and that hasn’t been any different this winter coming off last season’s run to 12-4 and a Regional Final. Edwardsburg is winning by an average of 45 points per game and avenged a last-year loss to Three Rivers. Undefeated Otsego (9-0) will provide a major opportunity Tuesday.
Marine City (7-1) The Mariners are another team that got started with a loss but haven’t experienced another. After falling 42-38 to Clawson (6-1), Marine City has won seven straight including over St. Clair Shores South Lake (7-2) and most recently 60-51 in overtime over St. Clair to avenge a loss from last season. The team got in only nine games last season and has already eclipsed its six 2021 wins.
Division 3
Calumet (5-0) After reaching the Division 3 Semifinals last season, Calumet again is surging among a strong Western Peninsula Athletic Conference and particularly powerful northern tip of the Upper Peninsula. The Copper Kings have handed Hancock its only defeat and came back a week later to edge Negaunee by a point in another important win. Undefeated Ishpeming Westwood and Houghton are on the slate over the next two weeks as Calumet looks to continue building on a 31-game regular-season winning streak.
Sandusky (7-0) Longtime coach Al DeMott is up to 774 wins, just 23 from tying the state coaching record in girls basketball, and he’s bound to finish this season much closer to doing so after another great start. Sandusky handed Deckerville one of its two losses and Bad Axe its lone defeat, 32-30 on Dec. 9. DeMott recently received a John Wooden Legacy Award – as part of the inaugural class for high school coaches – from the National High School Basketball Coaches Association.
Division 4
Athens (7-1) After also opening this season with a defeat, to Adrian Lenawee Christian, Athens has run together seven straight wins with only one by single digits. That came last week, 45-43 in overtime over Bronson, a possible contender in the Big 8 Conference. Athens is following up last season’s 17-2 finish and has won two straight Southern Central Athletic Association West titles.
Gaylord St. Mary (5-0) The Snowbirds’ quick ascension to the top of the Ski Valley Conference, where they are tied with Johannesburg-Lewiston, has included a 54-38 win over reigning Division 4 runner-up Bellaire (avenging three losses from last season) and a one-point victory over Charlevoix. St. Mary finished 13-4 a year ago and tied for the league title before falling to the Eagles in a Regional Semifinal. The Snowbirds host Johannesburg-Lewiston on Friday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Montague (5-1) at Hart (5-1) – Montague’s West Michigan Conference title last season came in part with seven and 17-point wins over the eventual runner-up Pirates.
Tuesday – Holt (5-0) at East Lansing (5-2) – The Rams can show they belong in the Lansing-area elite group referenced above with this Capital Area Activities Conference Blue faceoff for first.
Tuesday – Farmington Hills Mercy (6-1) at Dearborn Divine Child (7-0) – The Falcons also own an early win over Marian and are looking to take the next step in the Detroit Catholic League Central race after finishing third the last four seasons.
Thursday – Buchanan (7-0) at Niles Brandywine (7-1) – The only loss between them was Brandywine’s also referenced above, and Buchanan is seeking to repeat as Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red champion after Brandywine won in 2019-20.
Friday – Portland (6-0) at Lansing Catholic (9-0) – The reigning Division 2 champion Raiders won the CAAC White last season with 10 and 21-point wins over the Cougars, who can show how much ground they’ve made up.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Alma and Essexville Garber, here facing off last month, are among hopefuls in the Tri-Valley Conference 8 this winter. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)