Seniors Come Up Big Again as Arbor Prep Clinches 1st Title since 2016

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

March 19, 2022

EAST LANSING – Kent City never lost hope Saturday that it could come back and knock off Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in the Division 3 Girls Basketball Final. 

With less than a minute to play, the Eagles’ hope turned into a legitimate chance to do just that, as they had the ball and trailed by just four.

But Kari Woods took it all away.

The Arbor Prep senior guard stole a pass near midcourt and raced for a layup to extend her team’s lead to six points with 30 seconds to play, ending Kent City’s last, best chance, and sealing what ended up a 54-50 win for the Gators.

“I knew the game was tight, and we had been practicing up the line, all day, every day, every practice,” Woods said. “I knew I was there. I saw it and went for it.”

It was the second title for Arbor Prep, which also won in 2016 before finishing as runner-up each of the next two years. 

Arbor Prep/Kent City basketballThis was the Gators’ first trip back to the season’s final day since 2018, and they made sure to make the most of it.

“It’s difficult to get here,” Arbor Prep coach Scott Stine said. “Six years ago, we won on March 19, 2016, the same day. Six years ago, you would have never told me it was going to take six years to get another one. It is difficult. COVID has played a part in that. For our kids coming back, we just have to keep getting better. They know what it takes.”

That group learned from a small but vital senior class that included Woods, Texas A&M-bound Mya Petticord and forward Jazmin Chupp.

“(Kent City) is a great program,” Stine said. “They’re going to be back here again next year. Our goal for the rest of the girls in that locker room is to get good enough to improve enough that we can play them again next year. But I’m just happy. The seniors, all three of these girls at some point made plays to put us where we’re at. Mya, offensively, did what we know she’s capable of. Jazmin made some plays on both ends of the court. Kari Woods made arguably the most important defensive play of the game when she blew up that handoff and took it for a layup. That was a huge play. That’s what she does. Proud of all three of these girls.”

Petticord led the Gators (25-2) with 27 points. She had 20 points at halftime after connecting on seven of her first nine shots, and each of her first three 3-point attempts. 

“It was really all about my focus,” Petticord said. “My nerves didn’t get the best of me today. Knowing this was my last high school basketball game, I just had to end it off with a lot of focus. Knowing it was my state championship game for the team – yeah, I was just focused.”

Woods added nine points and four steals, including the big one at the end. She played airtight defense all game against dangerous Kent City guard Lexie Bowers, who finished with nine points and nine rebounds. Bowers came into the Final averaging 17 points per game. Stine credited Woods, calling her the best perimeter defender in the state.

Arbor Prep/Kent City basketball“I think they play really tight, so (Bowers) had a hard time getting herself open off of that,” Kent City coach Aleah Holcomb said. 

Arbor Prep’s tight defense frustrated Kent City (26-1) throughout the game, and the team that averages 26 3-point attempts per game could get off only 11 on Saturday. The Gators also forced 15 turnovers.

“I thought we had a difficult time handling their pressure,” Holcomb said. “They really made it difficult for us to get into our offense.”

Arbor Prep led by as many as 11 points late in the second quarter, and held at least a two-possession lead for nearly the entire second half.

But the Eagles never let the Gators fully get away, and cut the lead to as few as three when Madelyn Geers, who totaled a team-high 27 points, scored with 2:15 to play.

They never got the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, however.

It was the second-straight runner-up finish for Kent City, which lost 52-50 against Grass Lake in last year’s Final.

“It’s frustrating, but I think we worked our butts off this season,” Kent City senior Taryn Preston said. “Obviously God got us here for a reason. I think he’s gifted every single person on the team, and we worked hard to get the best that we can out of our abilities. That’s just something that’s really, really cool to see as a member of the team. So, yeah, it’s frustrating at times, but I know that we worked our butts off to get here.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep’s Karianna Woods (3) drives with Kent City’s Lexie Bowers defending. (Middle) The Gators’ Mya Petticord (1) prepares to make her next move. (Below) Stacy Utomi (24) defends against Bowers. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Spring Can Wait as Standfest, Elk Rapids Eager to Add to This Winter's Success

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

February 16, 2024

Winter weather has been rather mild in Northern Michigan this basketball season.

Northern Lower PeninsulaMany are thinking spring, and those who play soccer are already thinking about the upcoming season.  

Make no mistake. Elk Rapids’ Kendall Standfest is not one of them.

Standfest has all kinds of unfinished business ahead of her before she starts thinking about what used to be her favorite sport. The high-scoring senior point guard is focused on capturing at least a share of the Lake Michigan Conference championship and a long postseason run in March.

Onlookers in Northern Michigan wouldn’t be surprised if she has March 23 circled on her calendar – the date of the Division 3 Final at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Among the most prolific scorers in Elk Rapids history, Standfest has become quite familiar with postseason success in both basketball and soccer – and as a team leader for both.

She shares the basketball leadership role with senior and long-time teammate Morgan Bergquist. Standfest is averaging better than 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks a game. And Bergquist contributes nearly 15 points per contest.

“I have referred to them as ‘Batman and Robin,’” coach Mike Brown said. “We need both of them at all times because come playoff time, people are going to try to take away their game and make other people step up.”

Elk Rapids is 16-2 overall and 9-1 in league play. Two wins came in overtime. The lone league loss was to Harbor Springs, the team sharing the conference lead. The Elks will host league foes Boyne City tonight and Kalkaska next week. Road games at East Jordan and Kingsley will finish regular season. Then the fun starts again.

Postseason will begin with the District at Johannesburg-Lewiston. Other possible opponents are Charlevoix, East Jordan, Mancelona and Traverse City St. Francis. By playoff time, Elk Rapids will have seen all but the host Cardinals.

The Elks reached the Quarterfinals last year before losing to eventual Division 3 champion Hemlock 52-37.

Standfest directs the offense during another game.“Hemlock was a really good team – they could do it all,” Brown said. “Our goal ever since that game has been to get back to the Breslin Center.”

Standfest, too, is excited about the Elks’ potential and looks forward to seeing how far they go this year.

“Our team is coming together and playing really well,” she said. “The ultimate goal is definitely to get to the Breslin, but first Districts obviously and Regionals.”

Standfest also has enjoyed tremendous success on the soccer pitch and as a top-notch cross-country runner. She’s headed to Michigan Tech to play basketball next season, and took this past fall off from high school sports to focus on hoops, now her “definite” favorite sport. “It used to be soccer, but that stopped a while ago and it has been basketball ever since,” Standfest said.

Standfest has been a key player and big scorer for the Elks soccer team, which also has enjoyed great postseason runs reaching Division 3 Semifinals the last two years. They lost to eventual champion Hudsonville Unity Christian in both.

Standfest, who has a chance to reach second on the school’s all-time scoring list, always draws the opposing team’s best defender — if not best overall player. She relishes the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with such challengers.

She already has battled Manton’s Lauren Wilder, Lake City’s MacKenzie Bisballe and Harbor Springs’ Olivia Flynn.

“I enjoy playing against better competition because I think honestly I play better most of the time,” said Standfest, known as Kenny to her team. “It gives me a sense of pride to beat ’em or do something good against them.”

Brown, who took over the Elks program in 2018 after heading up the freshman and JV teams for six years, enjoys watching those battles.

“Kendall played AAU and a lot of those girls did too, so it is fun to watch them go at each other,” he said. “Kendall is always guarding their best player.”

But Brown knows it takes more than his two senior leaders to win consistently.

“It is a team sport,” Brown pointed out. “Everybody has to fill their role.

“We’ve got some up-and-coming sophomores,” he continued.  “We are kind of peaking and playing well as a team.”

Should opponents key in on the Elks’ dynamic duo, those likely to step up are sophomores Brooke Fluty, Rylnn Skrocki and Anna Pray, along with junior Hunter Schellenberger.

Brown also notes he’s enjoyed watching the Elks grow into strong contenders and really loves the individual improvement.

“It is really nice when you see these kids get it, and they improve and they’re having fun,” Brown said. “These kids made basketball coaching rewarding.”

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) The Elk Rapids girls basketball team celebrates Kendall Standfest’s 1,000th career point; she’s holding the basketball. (Middle) Standfest directs the offense during another game. (Top photo by Abby Porter; middle photo courtesy of the Traverse City Record-Eagle.)