Stifling D, Board Domination Earns Fowler Full Repeat Celebration
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2022
EAST LANSING – Carly Andros could have simply gotten back on defense.
The Fowler junior missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with less than two minutes to play Saturday in a game her team had essentially already wrapped up.
But Andros did what Fowler had done throughout its 61-46 Division 4 Girls Basketball Final victory against Plymouth Christian Academy – crashed the boards, secured the offensive rebound and turned an empty possession into a layup.
Fowler dominated the glass on its way to a second-straight Finals title, out-rebounding Plymouth Christian 42-20, including a 15-2 edge on the offensive boards. Fowler turned that into 14 second-chance points, continually turning Plymouth Christian defensive stops into backbreaking scoring plays.
“We’re not the most imposing team, but they just work so hard and they’re always going at the glass,” Fowler coach Nathan Goerge said. “We talk about taking away second-chance opportunities for the other team, and because we’re willing to attack the offensive glass, we have so many second-chance opportunities. So it’s just a huge opportunity for us.”
It was the third title for the Fowler program, which had three Finals appearances during the 1990s, including the Class D win in 1991.
Winning a second straight would have been special on its own, but being able to celebrate with a large contingent of fellow students and fans – which was missing last year because of COVID-19 protocols – added to the experience.
“We are so blessed to have had both of these opportunities,” Fowler senior Mia Riley said. “Even last year when the fans couldn’t come. It was, not really downplayed, but people couldn’t be there and it wasn’t the same environment. To be able to have it this year and to be able to get everything (that was missing) last year just made everything so worth it. It was such a great experience, and I’m so glad to go through it with this group of girls.”
Riley led Fowler with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while her younger sister, Emma, had 14 points. Emma Riley scored her 1,000th career point early in the third quarter.
Grace Epkey added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Fowler. Taylor Weber had nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, and Andros had seven rebounds.
“Understandably so, (the Riley sisters) get so much attention because they’re such fantastic players,” Goerge said. “I kind of said it before, this game was going to come down to our role players, if you will, and all of them stepped up huge. It was a total team win for us tonight. I couldn’t be happier for the girls.”
Senior Anna Fernandez scored 23 points to lead Plymouth Christian in her final high school game. Junior Morganne Houk added 17 points.
“Our kids came to win,” Plymouth Christian coach Rod Windle said. “There was a little bit of disappointment at the end in terms of what they dreamed for, what they hoped for. Certainly, in reflection when the day is done there will be some rejoicing about the season we had. I’m really proud of the effort these players gave. They’re competitors, they dream big and they got after it tonight.”
Plymouth Christian was within four midway through the second quarter, but a 9-0 Fowler run over the final 2:21 of the half blew the game open.
Weber started it with a 3-pointer, and Mia Riley and Epkey ended it, working for a pair of layups in the final minute to put their team up 27-14 at the break.
Plymouth Christian, meanwhile, went scoreless over the final 4:25 of the half.
Fowler didn’t shoot well during the first half (10 of 30), but grabbed nine offensive rebounds and had seven second-chance points. Epkey had five offensive boards herself in the half.
Fowler also moved the ball effectively and had eight assists on 10 first-half field goals. While piling up twice as many assists as turnovers (four), their defense forced seven first-half turnovers of Plymouth Christian.
That, combined with 5 of 20 shooting, made offense difficult for Plymouth Christian.
“Plymouth Christian is a fantastic team with exceptional guard play, so the challenge was to contain (Fernandez and Houk) and kind of run them off the 3-point line as best we could,” Goerge said. “I’m sure those two had some high-scoring totals, but I thought overall the girls did an amazing job defensively.”
Plymouth Christian got as close as eight points in the third quarter, but each time it did, Fowler had an answer. That included a pair of 3s from Madison Wirth and another from Weber late in the third, with each directly countering big plays from Houk and Fernandez and giving Fowler an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We made some runs that I thought might roll into us coming back, but we got denied by their own runs,” Windle said. “They were able to run back and continue to maintain their lead tonight.”
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler celebrates its repeat Division 4 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Eagles’ Mia Riley (25) dips into the lane among Plymouth Christian’s defenders including Grace Fernandes (4) and Sophia Arlen-Olsen (12). (Below) Carly Andros (4) gets up a shot as Morganne Houk (2) defends. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 15, 2024
We’re nearly halfway through this girls basketball season, and with every week that passes the Michigan Power Ratings become a more accurate picture of what the state’s teams have accomplished this season – and a forecaster of which two will be seeded first and second and on opposite sides of District brackets in March.
MPR is based on results against other MHSAA Tournament opponents during the regular season. Several lists, showing all teams together, separately by division or broken down even further by District, can be found on the MPR page. A “snapshot in time” look of the top 20 in each division will be provided every Monday on the Girls Basketball Rankings page, and MPR also helps determine which games and teams are highlighted in every week’s “Breslin Bound” report.
“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. Ishpeming 57, Negaunee 53 The Hematites (6-0) handed the Miners (9-1) their only loss, and also the first in this series since Feb. 26, 2015, as Negaunee had won the last 17 meetings between the rivals.
2. Rockford 55, Grand Haven 38 The Rams (9-0) also won a matchup of undefeated teams, staying atop the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red with East Kentwood and with the Buccaneers (8-1) one of three teams one game back.
3. Lansing Catholic 62, Portland 34 The reigning Class B champion Cougars (4-3) pushed back past .500 by handing the Raiders (8-1) their lone loss this winter.
4. St. Charles 45, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 27 St. Charles (7-1) extended its winning streak to seven and moved into first alone in the Mid-State Activities Conference by handing the Irish (8-1) their lone defeat.
5. Bath 35, Dansville 17 The Bees (7-0) continued their perfect start coming off last season’s 7-15 finish, handing this loss to the reigning Central Michigan Athletic Conference champion after losing to the Aggies (5-2) by 10 a year ago.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Jackson Northwest (6-1) The Mounties have been formidable for several years, but last season’s shared Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title was their first since winning it outright in 2017-18. They’re working toward a much quicker repeat, and perhaps more. Northwest defeated the other reigning co-champ Coldwater 43-35 last week and also have a 52-47 win over Haslett, avenging two of their losses from last season’s 21-3 run. Coming up Tuesday is the first of two games with Marshall, the only other team undefeated in I8AC play this winter.
West Bloomfield (7-0) Last season’s Division 1 runner-up opened this season by again defeating Salem, its Semifinal opponent a year ago, and hasn’t been slowed while winning all its games by at least 18 points. Four starters are back, including Georgia-bound twins Indya and Summer Davis and Loyola-Chicago signee Kendall Hendrix. Last week’s wins over Detroit Country Day and Southfield Arts & Technology made for an impressive week, and undefeated Lake Orion is next up Tuesday to start Oakland Activities Association Red play.
DIVISION 2
Chelsea (7-2) Few have played a stronger schedule, as Chelsea’s opponents have a .710 winning percentage, and yet the Bulldogs have losses only to Rockford and Dexter as they look to build on last year’s 25-2 campaign. They’re the only team to defeat Jackson Northwest, 57-47, and an early 26-point win over Clarkston also pops off the page. Freeland (7-1) is up Tuesday before the start of Southeastern Conference White play, and a Dexter rematch is scheduled for Feb. 23.
Grand Rapids West Catholic (7-1) The Falcons are another contender to have lost to Rockford, but that’s it as they’ve moved to a combined 67-5 over the last four seasons and after making the Division 2 Semifinals a year ago before falling to eventual champion Lansing Catholic. West Catholic’s opponents have won nearly 70 percent of their games as well, with a key O-K Blue matchup coming up Friday in one-loss Spring Lake.
DIVISION 3
Michigan Center (10-0) The Cardinals already have surpassed last season’s 8-13 finish, and Thursday’s 59-54 overtime win over Grass Lake and December win over East Jackson gave Michigan Center victories over two of last season’s three co-champions in the Cascades Conference. Napoleon was the third champ last winter, and all three join Michigan Center in the new Cascades’ East division.
Niles Brandywine (7-0) The Bobcats are undefeated through the first half of the Lakeland Conference schedule after finishing second to rival Buchanan and 21-3 overall last winter. All three of those losses last season were to the Bucks, and Brandywine won their first meeting this time 38-27 with the rematch set for Feb. 1. Even more notably, the Bobcats handed reigning Division 3 runner-up Blissfield its only loss, 45-43 on Dec. 27 at the Michigan Hardwood Classic.
DIVISION 4
Bloomfield Hills Roeper (7-0) The Roughriders have bounded back into the Division 4 conversation over the last two seasons, finishing 16-6 a year ago and launching this start. Roeper handed Sterling Heights Parkway Christian its only defeat in the Roughriders’ Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red opener Jan. 5 and as they seek to move up from tied for second place last year – with reigning champion Whitmore Lake in the MIAC Blue this season.
Kingston (8-1) The Cardinals are a combined 64-10 over the last four seasons and reached the Division 4 Quarterfinals a year ago. After taking a 45-35 loss against undefeated Division 2 contender Goodrich on Dec. 13, Kingston bounced back to hand Harbor Beach its only loss, 69-33. The Cardinals have held four opponents to fewer than 20 points and two more to fewer than 30, a main reason all eight wins are by at least 27 points.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Macomb Dakota (9-1) at Grosse Pointe North (7-1) – Dakota has an early one-game lead in the Macomb Area Conference Red on reigning champion GPN after North’s loss to Port Huron last week; Dakota sees Port Huron on Friday.
Thursday – Mendon (8-1) at Colon (7-0) – These two sit atop the Southern Central Athletic Association West standings after Colon won the West and Mendon was runner-up in the Southwest 10 Conference South last season.
Thursday – Stevensville Lakeshore (8-0) at Portage Central (7-0) – This is the first of their two meetings after Lakeshore was first and Central tied for second in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West last season.
Thursday – Mio (8-0) at Alcona (6-0) – The Thunderbolts look likely to make a run at the North Star League Big Dipper title, and a win over one of last year’s three co-champions certainly would provide a spark.
Friday – Rockford (9-0) at East Kentwood (8-1) – First place in the O-K Red is on the line, as is the Rams’ 32-game winning streak going back to December 2022.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). 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 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.
PHOTOS (Top) A 45-37 win over Williamston on Dec. 21 was part of DeWitt’s 8-1 start. (Middle) Coleman and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart players work for possession during last month’s 32-22 Irish win. (Top photo by Terry Lyons, middle photo by High School Sports Scene.)