West Bloomfield Hangs On to Edge Rockford, Reach 1st Final since 1989
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 18, 2022
EAST LANSING – West Bloomfield girls basketball coach Darrin McAllister said his team has played all sorts of opponents and their varying styles this season, but he admitted he hadn’t seen a team like Rockford.
And that included Detroit Edison, a squad that hadn’t lost to a Michigan school since 2017-18 before West Bloomfield won their February matchup.
“We have not faced a team that shoots that amount of threes and has the ability to make them,” McAllister said of Rockford.
Indeed, in Friday’s first Division 1 Semifinal at Michigan State’s Breslin Center, West Bloomfield saw Rockford attempt a whopping 37 shots from 3-point range against the Lakers’ zone, making 13 of them.
In contrast, West Bloomfield made only three shots from behind the 3-point line.
“I do play a lot of different zones, but I was definitely searching for something,” McAllister said.
Despite the barrage of 3-pointers and 30-point disadvantage from behind the 3-point line, McAllister saw his young team overcome and find a way, as West Bloomfield made the winning plays at the end to earn a 66-63 win over Rockford.
The Lakers (24-1) advanced to the championship game for the first time since 1989, when it finished runner-up to Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.
“I’m happy that we won, but if I had hair I’d probably have pulled it out by now,” McAllister joked.
The big reason why West Bloomfield was able to survive was its sophomore forward duo, Indya Davis and Summer Davis.
Indya Davis had 24 points and eight rebounds, while Summer Davis had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Senior Myonna Hooper added 14 points, and junior Sydney Hendrix had 10 points and 10 rebounds as well for the Lakers.
“I didn’t take it upon myself,” Indya Davis said of her performance. “I took it upon the whole team and doing it for the team.”
With the game tied at 58-58 with 1:02 remaining, West Bloomfield took a 60-58 lead after two free throws by Hooper.
Following a turnover by Rockford, West Bloomfield extended the lead to 61-58 when sophomore Destiny Washington hit the first of two free throws with 40 seconds to go.
Washington missed the second free throw, but Summer Davis got the offensive rebound and passed the ball back to Hooper, who was fouled and drained both free throws to give West Bloomfield a 63-58 advantage with 36.6 seconds remaining.
On Rockford’s next possession, a 3-point attempt by Gabrielle Irwin rimmed out and was rebounded by Indya Davis, who got the ball up to Washington.
After being fouled, Washington split a pair of free throws with 14.1 seconds remaining to give West Bloomfield a 64-58 lead and all but seal the game.
The teams then traded two free throws each before Rockford hit a 3-pointer right at the buzzer to account for the final score.
Rockford saw six different players connect on 3-pointers, led by sophomore Grace Lyons, who drilled five en route to a team-high 21 points.
Rockford coach Brad Wilson admitted his team usually doesn’t shoot that many 3-pointers in a game.
“That’s more than normal, but we are fully capable of doing that,” Wilson said. “Sometimes, you take what the defense gives you. We believe in our kids. It’s a little bit unusual, but all five players on the court have the green light at all times. We just believe in them. We attack gaps and pass where the help comes from. We rep that out all year, so we have confidence that it’s going to go in.”
Rockford was making its first appearance as a program in a Semifinal, and the community certainly followed with a good portion of Breslin Center covered in orange.
“I am so proud of our community and the support they gave,” Wilson said. “Just to be a part of something like that, a sea of orange, was just so much fun.”
Rockford held a 31-26 lead at halftime and was up 36-30 in the third quarter before West Bloomfield went on a 9-0 run to take a 39-36 lead with 5:52 left in the period.
Rockford then got hot from the perimeter again, hitting three more 3-pointers before the quarter ended to take a 49-48 lead into the fourth.
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield celebrates its Division 1 Semifinal win over Rockford on Friday. (Middle) The Lakers’ Sydney Hendrix (5) gets a shot up over a pair of Rams defenders. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Countdown to Calvin: Girls Report Week 9
January 29, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As we embark on the final month of this girls basketball season, the first league championships are being clinched and the first conference tournament brackets are filling in.
And on cue, potential MHSAA title contenders continue to rise.
A matchup of two champions from a year ago and the continued surge by the reigning Class A winner are among subjects of today’s report. Countdown to Calvin is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. To offer corrections or help us fill in missing scores, email me at [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Edison Public School Academy 62, Detroit Country Day 46 – Reigning Class C champion DEPSA has bounced quickly back from its lone loss earlier this month, to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, with this win especially impressive over the reigning Class B title winner.
2. Pittsford 56, Bellevue 40 – The undefeated Wildcats have won 67 straight games, tied for the fifth-longest winning streak in MHSAA history, and this one over the two-loss Broncos was the 66th in a row and one of most impressive this winter.
3. Bloomfield Hills Marian 34, Farmington Hills Mercy 25 – They could meet again in the Catholic League A-B Tournament in two weeks, but Marian gladly will take in a regular-season sweep of its rival, which could end up cementing the Catholic League Central title.
4. Harper Woods Chandler Park 59, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 35 – Chandler Park looks ready to make a move in Class B, with this the most recent of intriguing results against tough competition.
5. Freeland 71, Hemlock 35 – Freeland has put together another strong run, improving to 11-2 with the latest this victory over previously-undefeated Hemlock in a crossover of first-place teams in the Tri-Valley Conference Central and West, respectively.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Flushing (11-2) – With a group of key seniors to replace and a couple of tough opponents to start this winter, Flushing fell out of the Class A conversation for a bit. But the reigning champ Raiders are back in with 11 straight wins since those opening losses to Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Midland Dow. They’ve opened up a nice lead in the Flint Metro League, but a Feb. 6 matchup with Goodrich will be telling.
Grosse Pointe North (9-2) – The Norsemen, 12-11 a season ago, are on a five-game winning streak that has included avenging this season’s losses to Macomb Dakota and Warren Cousino. That run has put North just a half-game behind Dakota in the Macomb Area Conference Red standings, but with a couple of tough matchups with Port Huron Northern coming up over the next two weeks.
CLASS B
Clawson (12-1) – The Trojans clinched the MAC Bronze championship outright last week and have won every league game by at least 14 points. They can finish a second straight perfect run through the league schedule Thursday at New Haven and soon could equal last season’s 16 wins as well – the only loss was by five to Madison Heights Bishop Foley (now 8-5) at the beginning of December.
Detroit Mumford (10-3) – The Mustangs are perfect in 2018, enjoying a six-game winning streak capped by last week’s 74-66 victory over league rival Detroit Renaissance. Mumford ended 2017 with three straight losses to Class A powers Detroit Martin Luther King, Clarkston and DeWitt, but should be tough in the Detroit Public School League and Class B tournaments.
CLASS C
Flint Hamady (9-4) – A string of four losses in five games quieted talk about the usually dominant Hawks, but it’s important to keep those defeats in context – they came to Chandler Park, Goodrich, Flint Beecher and Country Day. Hamady, a Class C semifinalist last season, avenged the Goodrich loss with 49-44 win Friday and gets Beecher this Friday.
St. Ignace (12-0) – The Saints have been a level above even the best teams on their side of the Upper Peninsula and below the bridge. The latest evidence was last week’s 68-21 win over Cedarville, which is leading the Eastern U.P. Athletic Conference and is 12-2 overall – the Trojans also lost to St. Ignace at the start of December. Circle a Feb. 10 game against Class B Goodrich and Feb. 17 against Detroit Edison among the most intriguing matchups in the state the rest of the way.
CLASS D
Morenci (10-2) – Losses to Pioneer North Central (Ohio) and undefeated Class C Pittsford are all that’s kept Morenci from perfection as it’s looked to build on last season’s 13-9 finish. The Bulldogs finished second in the Tri-County Conference last year but lead it today coming off a two-point win over reigning league champion Adrian Madison last Thursday. Morenci still has both games with second-place Ottawa Lake Whiteford coming up as the first was postponed two weeks ago.
St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran (11-1) – Aside from an early six-point loss to Watervliet (now 8-3), the Titans have been perfect. They have a commanding lead in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White and have played only one other game where the margin has been fewer than 17 points – a three-point win over Class B Buchanan (now 7-4).
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – East Lansing (13-0) at Williamston (14-0) – The Hornets have continued their perfect run despite losing top guard Maddie Watters to a season-ending injury two weeks ago; East Lansing is a Class A contender and should be the toughest test before playoffs begin.
Thursday – Clarkston (11-2) at Southfield Arts & Technology (9-4) – The Wolves are undefeated in the Oakland Activities Association Red with a 55-50 win over Southfield A&T on Dec. 22 remaining the Warriors’ only league loss.
Thursday – Macomb Dakota (10-3) at Port Huron Northern (10-4) – This matchup might have the best chance to mixing up what’s becoming a mashed-up MAC Red race; these two are among four teams at the top with either two or three league losses.
Friday – East Kentwood (14-0) at Grand Haven (10-3) – The Falcons finished the first half of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red schedule undefeated, but their closest win in or out of league this season was a four-pointer over Grand Haven in the first meeting Jan. 5.
Friday – DeWitt (12-1) at St. Johns (8-3) – The Panthers lead the Capital Area Activities Conference Red by two wins on St. Johns, but the Redwings are 5-1 since falling to DeWitt by 12 in mid-December.
PHOTO: A Freeland ball handler navigates the Hemlock defense during last week’s meeting of first-place teams in the Tri-Valley Conference. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)