St. John's Potent All-Around Game Includes Abilities To Direct, Dazzle

By Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com

February 25, 2022

HOWELL — Maeve St. John is, as an opposing coach described her, “the straw that stirs the drink” on the Howell girls basketball team.

And, at first glance, the evidence backs that assertion.

She is the team’s captain, leading scorer, one of its top rebounders, the school record-holder for assists and she also paces the Highlanders in charges taken, steals and blocked shots.

But, she said, her teammates keep her in line and focused, and that has made the difference in a Howell team that has beaten Division 1 powers Hartland and Wayne Memorial this season, with a possible rematch with Hartland in next week’s District tournament.

The difference?

“I accept criticism a lot better,” St. John says. “Last year, I was definitely more hard-headed. I feel I’m taking so much more advice from my teammates, and they hold me much more accountable. They can help me be better.”

What she’s been good at this season is helping her teammates be better, finding an open teammate, which in turn opens up more shots for herself.

Asked if she prefers scoring to feeding her teammates, St. John is quick with an answer.

“Assists are way better,” she said. “It's fun watching your teammates score, going in and getting a bucket and hitting shots. That’s exciting.”

St. John is averaging 15 points per game, with a robust 7.2 assists per contest and nearly three steals per as well.

“She’s better at harnessing her energy, and not feeling she has to be the one who does it all,” Howell coach Tim Olszewski said. “Maybe it’s an increased trust in her teammates, but she’s understanding that if she can draw an extra defender to her, then one of her teammates is open.”

St. John also occasionally makes a flashy move for no other reason than she can, sometimes looking over at the Howell bench with a smirk on her face.

“If you’re not trying to have fun out there, you’re not going to have fun,” she said. “I’m always looking to have fun out there. I’m always competing, trying new moves. Sometimes, they work. Sometimes they don’t, and I’m on the bench. Either way, it’s fun to try new things, to see what you’re capable of.”

That keeps opposing coaches, and her teammates, on alert, especially when St. John sees an opening and whips the ball to a teammate that may or may not be anticipating the pass.

“That happens a lot,” teammate Molly Duerloo said, chuckling. “But we capitalize on that. Her (on-court) vision has become better.”

Make no mistake about it: St. John has that rare combination of talent, curiosity, and joy one doesn’t often see in a top player.

“Boy, can she play this game,” Olszewski said. “She’s one of those special, special players. She just is. I don’t know how else to say it. She’s got the ability and the head about herself, and it’s going to be wonderful to watch her for four years at Northwood, because I think she’s going to excel there.”

Brighton coach Paul Ash, after watching her in a game in mid-February, also was impressed.

“I love watching that kid,” he said. “I’d pay money to watch that kid play. She’s a real, real competitor. She’s a fun kid to watch.”

St. John has little regret when it comes to sending up long-distance shots (she routinely launches 3-point tries from well beyond the arc), but also has no qualms about driving the lane or going after rebounds.

“She just plays at a high level,” Hartland coach Don Palmer said. “She’s exciting, she’s aggressive, and those kids just follow along,”

In addition to leading her team in most statistical categories, she also works closely with teammates in practice and even during games.

“She holds everyone accountable in practice,” Duerloo said. “She pushes everyone to be the best player they can be. She picks me up during a game if I’m not going good. She’ll say, ‘Hey you’ve got this. Next play. Believe in yourself.’”

The support, St. John said, goes both ways.

“They hold me accountable,” she said. “There are definitely some looks, some cussing out, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ That kind of thing. It’s a mutual respect. I think this group is something special. We’re all so close. We have all these inside jokes. Bus rides are fun. We feel so confident when we’re with each other.

“My teammates fuel me,” she added. “You look at someone going 110 percent, if you’re telling them to do something and you’re only going 80 percent, you’re not going to get any respect or anything done.”

St. John has signed with Northwood University, where she is considering majoring in personal finance or sports management.

“I love a lot of business-related things,” she said.

Right now, her increased understanding of her role as point guard and the possibilities it presents is a key reason why the Highlanders have won 14 of their last 15 games after a 1-3 start.

“She’s understanding the bigger picture,” Olszewski said. “There’s a reason why that particular shot or action, even though it might seem small or trite right now, how it could have a massive effect on the outcome of a game. And I think she’s excelled in that this year, understanding those situations.”

And, he said, St. John has been much more communicative with her teammates in helping them understand.

“Maeve’s always had an excellent basketball IQ and could always read situations,” Olszewski said. “When we talk about her being a leader, it’s about calming things down as opposed to throwing kerosene on the fire. I’ve also noticed an increase in her keeping herself accountable. Many times this year, she’s said, ‘That’s on me, team.’ She’s stepped to the forefront, which is what leaders do. She’s done a great job harnessing that energy and knowing when to unleash it and when to bring it back in a little bit.”

For St. John, it’s not so much being the straw that stirs the drink as being the leader of a pack of Highlanders willing to follow her for as long as possible.

But not without a little whimsy. Late in that mid-February game against Brighton, she drove the lane into a group of Bulldogs and somehow drew a foul on a shot that was off the mark. As she emerged, she looked at Olszewski and grinned.

“It was a forced shot, more like, ‘Oooh I got lucky on that play,’” she said. “I felt like I got bailed out on that play, and I looked at him and we chuckled.”

Howell had the game well in hand at that point. What if the game had been close?

“He wouldn't have been smiling,” St. John said, then added with a grin, “I probably would have still done it.”

PHOTOS Howell’s Maeve St. John has shown she can do it all – drive to the basket, shoot from the perimeter and find the open teammate. (Photos by Dan Zeppa.)

Young Bedford Emerges with Quarterfinal Run

March 18, 2019

By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half

TEMPERANCE – The timing of girls basketball season in Michigan was about to change, and Temperance-Bedford boys and girls basketball coach Bill Ryan knew he had a difficult choice.

It was about that time that 10 girls walked into his Bedford High School classroom and asked him to remain their basketball coach. It was a slam dunk decision.

“I have no regrets about that,” said Ryan, who will coach the Mules in Tuesday’s Division 1 Quarterfinal against Wayne Memorial after winning his second Regional championship last week. “None.”

Ryan has had a string of success coaching the Bedford girls, including a 25-1 team in 2008-09 and this year’s team that turned some heads in southeast Michigan by going 20-5 and reaching the Quarterfinals despite carrying just two seniors on its roster and being led in scoring and rebounding by freshmen.

“I knew we would be okay,” said Ryan. “But the Southeastern Conference is so strong. Saline had a real solid team, and Ann Arbor Pioneer is loaded. I knew we would be good, but I didn’t know what the wins and losses would look like.”

This is Ryan’s fourth run into the Quarterfinals. He was an assistant coach on two Bedford girls teams that made consecutive trips to the Class A Quarterfinals in the early 2000s. He was the Bedford boys varsity basketball coach from 2001 to 2007.

He spent three seasons coaching both varsity teams. When the seasons shifted beginning with 2007-08, however, that was no longer possible. That’s when the girls came to his classroom and said they wanted him to remain their coach and keep the program rolling.

Ryan, who played basketball at Bedford, is 244-101 as the Mules girls varsity coach. Combined with 72 victories in his seven boys seasons, he now has 316 wins at his alma mater.

“They just said, ‘Let’s stay together,’” Ryan said. “Several of the girls were sophomores at the time. They were a coach’s dream. If I was having an open gym or something all I would have to do is call one girl and they would all be there. It ended up being a good move for me.”

Ryan has made all the right moves from the sidelines of this Kicking Mules team. In addition to its tough SEC schedule, Ryan piled onto its slate a handful of high-quality teams from northwest Ohio to help the Mules get ready for not only the conference battles but the MHSAA Tournament. That is paying dividends now as Bedford has won 13 of its past 14 games.

“We had two really good games in the Region to advance,” Ryan said. “I think our District got us ready for those games.”

Bedford started the season blazing hot, winning its first five games, including two to claim the Southgate Holiday Tournament championship. That’s when the Mules hit a rough patch – dropping four of six games, including three SEC Red games. The Jan. 18 loss to Monroe was a turning point, Ryan said.

“We let a 10-point lead evaporate in the fourth quarter,” Ryan said. “Monroe is a big rival for us. That didn’t sit well with a lot of girls. There were no team meetings or anything like that, but they were aware.”

By then Ryan had also turned to 6-foot-2 freshman Sophia Gray and his 5-11 freshmen daughter, Grace Ryan, for more productivity. They responded in a big way. Grace leads the team in scoring at about 9.5 points a game. It’s a typical Ryan-coached team, however, where the girls seemingly take turns leading the team in scoring and several average around the 7-10 point mark.

“They could start for us, but I like the way things have worked out,” he said. “They come in about the 4-minute mark, sometimes the 2-minute mark, and they give us an immediate spark. Once they learned the nuances of our defense, I had no inhibitions about leaving them out there at key points of the game.”

Ryan and Gray both came into the season ready to play.

“They are friends, and they have played together all along,” Ryan said. “They have played some AAU and travel ball. They’ve played a lot of basketball, competitive basketball, against a lot of good competition. When they get to the varsity, they’ve played against a lot of great players already. They are not in awe of anyone. They were ready for the rigors of varsity basketball.”

The team has been balanced all season, but during the tournament run that sharing of the scoring wealth seems to have taken on even greater meaning.

In the Regional Semifinal win over Detroit Cass Tech, 6-1 sophomore Molly Koviak scored 14 points and Ryan 12. In the Regional Final win over Dearborn Heights Crestwood, junior Aubrie Zeunen and Savannah Killinen shared the team lead with 12 points each while junior Madison Norton and Ryan each scored 10 points.

Bedford’s two seniors are Selena Sandoval and Sarah Koviak, and both play important roles on the team. Killinen is a talented 5-7 sophomore.

“She has some swag about her that we really like,” Ryan said.

After the Regional championship, Killinen didn’t seem fazed by the fact the Mules were headed to the elite eight.

“It feels good, especially since we are a really young team,” she said. “This is what we’ve dreamed of – to see it come true is awesome,” she said.

The Kicking Mules will get its toughest test to date Tuesday against 23-2 Wayne Memorial, a team loaded with college signees and next-level prospects.

“It’s a win-win game for us,” Ryan said. “I wanted them to get a deep run into the tournament to get that experience. To win a Regional is just the cherry on top. But I wouldn’t put anything past our girls. They don’t cower to anyone, and I know they’ll be fighting to the end. We wear the underdog role pretty well.”

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.

PHOTO: Temperance Bedford girls basketball coach Bill Ryan talks things over with his players during a game this season. (Photo by Vanessa Ray.)