Performance: Oakridge's Sophia Wiard
February 9, 2018
Sophia Wiard
Muskegon Oakridge junior – Basketball
Wiard, a 5-foot-9 guard and three-year varsity player, went over 1,000 points scored for her career with 27 against rival Shelby on Feb. 1, earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” as he team extended what is now a 76-game winning streak in West Michigan Conference play. Oakridge has clinched a share of the league title – its ninth over the last decade – with two league games to play.
Wiard also has been part of two of the team’s six District titles over the last eight seasons, and she has a career record of 54-9 entering tonight’s game against Ravenna. This winter, she’s averaging 22.3 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals per game – and by going over 1,000 career points, joined her sister Keyara in achieving that milestone. Keyara Wiard graduated from Oakridge in 2013 with the program record of 1,353 points and last winter finished her career at Grand Valley State University. That record has since been broken, and Sophia Wiard is chasing 2017 graduate Hannah Reinbold's milestone of more than 1,500 points, which she hopes to eclipse next season.
Oakridge fell to Hamilton in a Regional Semifinal last season and to Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Regional Final in 2015-16. If Wiard can lead her team to a Regional title, it would be the program’s first since her mom Renee (Burns) Wiard was a senior on the team in 1991. Sophia also will join her sister as a college athlete, already having committed to sign with University of Toledo this fall. A strong student, she is interested in studying chemical engineering or pharmacy. Wiard also joined Oakridge's softball varsity as a freshman and helped the team make last season's Division 2 Regional Finals.
Coach Terry DeJonge said: "Sophie is the epitome of being a student-athlete. Her 3.965 grade-point average and her Division I basketball skills make her a role model for all young females to follow. She has been not only our floor leader, but also the locker room and classroom leader. Pursuing and landing Sophie makes Toledo one of the smartest colleges in the country, as far as I am concerned."
Performance Point: “(The 1,000th point) is one step, one part of the process. It’s one goal that’s been met. It’s one of the first that I’ve been focusing on. Now it’s time to look even farther past that. … What’s next hopefully this season is to win the District, Regional and state championship.”
Born scorers: “I think (my sister and I) both put in the time, and I think in girls basketball if you put in the time, you will find success. We were raised playing basketball, so it was natural instinct to play basketball – and that’s what we did. I think that really just helped lead to scoring and stuff like that, when we’ve both just always been surrounded by good players to help us do that.”
Thanks Mom, thanks Sis: “My mom’s always been a kind-hearted person, which (taught me) be kind to everyone. And on the basketball court, it’s work hard, but make sure you’re having fun – stuff like that. It’s not just the game of basketball, it’s life. Just the simple things. She’s never been one to force me to do anything. She’s just been riding the roller coaster with me. … (From Keyara, I learned) work hard. Do the dirty things, like she was very scrappy. She did all the little things. (She was the) most athletic player to come through Oakridge, for sure. She just was the go-to player to make the shot but you could trust her to make the stop her team needed. She was always capable of doing the things others wouldn’t do.”
This can be the team: “Over the years we’ve always been really close. I’ve always been really close with my teammates. This year, the group of girls, everybody clicks really well. We all mesh really well. We’re all very close. We count on each other in school, out of school, on the basketball court, anywhere really. Our bench helps support us. Just little things like that. We’re all in it together. … Since I was watching my sister, when I was the manager, and they were always so close to winning Regionals, I was just getting hungry for that. I wanted to live that. I wanted to get that trophy at the end of the game. … I’m really hungry, and I really want to win.”
Finding the formula: “Science and mathematics, those are my two favorite subjects, and if I follow the path of chemical engineering I can do both. … I just think finding new ways to do things, (like) if it’s more environmentally-friendly, just being able to solve the little things to make it better – to improve things is what interests me the most.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Oakridge's Sophia Wiard works to get up a shot against Shelby last week. (Middle) Wiard breaks between two Muskegon defenders earlier this season. (Photos by Sherry Wahr.)
Newaygo Finds Way Past Country Day, Back to Finals
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – To make a long story short, the Newaygo girls basketball team is headed to the MHSAA Finals for the first time in almost 40 years.
The Lions leaned on the Long sisters to earn their spot after pulling away in the fourth quarter to knock off Detroit Country Day 55-39 in Wednesday’s first Division 2 Semifinal at Van Andel Arena.
Senior Jaylee Long and junior Jaxi Long combined for 23 points, eight assists, seven steals and six rebounds to help lift Newaygo to the victory. The Lions were led by junior Emmerson Goodin, who had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Newaygo (21-1) will play Portland in Friday’s 5:30 p.m. Final at Breslin Center.
“I love playing with my sister, especially because this is my last year, and so playing with her and going to the state championship game is pretty amazing,” said Jaylee Long, who recorded 11 points, five assists and four steals.
“I’m going to miss playing with her, and I will try to convince her to go to Cornerstone with me, but it is definitely going to be fun for our last game.”
Jaylee Long said a majority of the players on the team have played together since third and fourth grade.
“We’ve all played together since we were younger.” she said. “We played together on AYBT teams and just all the way up. It’s been fun.”
Newaygo hasn’t been to the Finals since 1985, when it won the second of back-to-back Class C championships.
“It’s really a cool experience, and it is really a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Jaxi Long, who added 12 points. “It’s not like you get to come here every year, and I really love this team. This is a great team, and we love to hang out with each other.”
Jaylee Long is one of three seniors along with Anna Brummel and Lily Ruehmeier, who both hit shots in the second half.
“This is definitely the way to go out,” Jaylee Long said. “I’m really happy about this opportunity since last year we weren’t able to finish. It’s been kind of crazy, but to see our community come out to support us has been pretty amazing. They love us and want us to do well, and hopefully we can finish it off and get it.”
The Lions needed a fourth-quarter surge to stave off the youthful Yellowjackets (15-3), whose roster was primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores.
Detroit Country Day scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to pull within one (39-38); however, Newaygo went on a 16-0 run and held the Yellowjackets scoreless for more than six minutes.
“It was just a championship moment,” Lions coach Nate Thomasma said. “Someone makes a run on you, and how are you going to respond? They responded, and they tightened up defensively and we hit some big shots.
“That’s what you have to do in this tournament, because there’s always highs and lows. You have to keep playing hard, and we got the job done. Hopefully we can do that one more game, and I’m just really proud of these girls.”
Detroit Country Day was unable to withstand the Lions’ run and struggled to score throughout the fourth quarter.
The Yellowjackets were 0 for 7 from 3-point range in the final quarter and a dismal 4-22 (18 percent) from beyond the arc for the game.
“They took us out of what we wanted to do,” first-year Country Day coach Jerica Williams said. “We are a three-point shooting team and we didn’t get off that many in the first half, and they took us out of our identity. They are a tough team top to bottom.”
Freshman Emma Arico led Country Day with a team-high 18 points. Chelsea Abulu, the Yellowjackets’ lone senior, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and finished with 18 total. She also had four blocked shots.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day's Victoria Miller (0) works to wall off Newaygo's attack during Thursday's Division 2 Semifinal at Van Andel Arena. (Middle) Newaygo's Jaylee Long pushes the pace during Thursday's win. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)