Western Wins Big as Emert Shows Way
January 16, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
WALLED LAKE – The past two holiday seasons, there has been more trash-talking than usual among Steve Emert and his family.
Two years ago, Emert was offered and accepted the girls basketball head coaching job at Walled Lake Western. But there was one intriguing family twist to that decision.
His granddaughter, Olivia Emert, was a varsity basketball player at rival Walled Lake Central.
For that reason, cue the trash talking around the thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables, although it was obviously good-natured.
“Just a little trash talking back and forth,” Emert said with a laugh. “The trash talking takes place more with my sons. But that’s OK. It’s all in jest and fun.”
Truth be told, if it wasn’t for Olivia, Steve wouldn’t be coaching at Western – where as of Jan. 16, he had amassed a 31-2 record over the last 1½ seasons.
Now a senior at Central, Olivia wasn’t shy about lending her opinion when Steve told her he had been approached about the job at rival Western.
“I sat down with her and told her I had been approached to coach another team,” Steve Emert recalls. “But if you said, ‘Grandpa, I want you at my games,’ then I’m going to be at your games. I’m not going to coach. She said, ‘Grandpa, go do what your passion is. Go coach.’ So that’s what I did.”
As a result, Emert, his family and the entire Walled Lake community got to celebrate a significant milestone Dec. 20.
That night, Western beat Milford, 68-39, to give Emert his 400th career win.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Emert said. “It’s nice to have, but as I tell a lot of people, it just means I’m getting old and I’ve been around a long time. But I’m proud of it and I’m proud of the fact I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many good student-athletes and parents.”
He started his coaching career in the Walled Lake school district in 1979, with the highlight of his time on the bench coming in 1995 when he helped lead Walled Lake Central to the Class A championship game. Central was defeated by Flint Northern, 59-40.
A few years later, Emert gave up coaching to take on an administration role in the Walled Lake district, which prohibited administrators from being coaches. He did, however, serve as coach of the Oakland Community College women’s team from 1999-2001.
>Emert retired as an administrator in 2009, but got back into coaching less than three years later when he was offered and accepted the varsity girls basketball coaching job at Oxford.
“When I retired, basically my wife said, ‘You’ve got to get out of the house. You’re driving me crazy,’” Emert said.
Emert quickly turned around the Oxford program, leading the Wildcats to an Oakland Activities Association White title in 2014-15 before resigning the following season after five years on the job.
The big motivation leaving Oxford was spending more time watching Olivia, who at the time was a part-time starter for Central.
Now a senior for the Vikings, Olivia gave her grandfather her blessing to take over at the rival school, and Western has become one of the top teams in the Detroit area with a 9-0 record. Western went 22-2 last season.
Led by senior guard Kailee Ford (20 ppg), junior forward Jenna Galecki (18 ppg) and senior forward Sarah Rachiele (16 ppg), the Warriors are thriving in the up-tempo system that Emert employs, which includes constant trapping on defense and running at every offensive opportunity.
Rachiele, who was a member of the varsity team before Emert arrived, said the difference in philosophy has been like night and day since he took over.
“Our two coaches were old-fashioned, pull-it-back out, and they were perfectly fine winning a game 24-23,” Rachiele said. “Although we were winning games, I don’t feel any girls on the team were enjoying it. It was an adjustment at first (to become fast-paced), but I think all of us knew that is what was best for us as a team and we adapted to it pretty quickly.”
There will be plenty more time for trash-talk between the Emerts, since Central and Western still have to play twice during the regular season in Lakes Valley Conference play and have drawn each other in the first round of District play March 4.
But no matter what happens, the community is certainly happy that Emert is continuing to add to his coaching legacy in Walled Lake – and on the state’s landscape as well.
“He is such a humble guy, and he really doesn’t want to own up to all the accomplishments he has,” Rachiele said. “We know now what an impact he’s had on high school basketball.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Walled Lake Western girls basketball coach Steve Emert huddles with his players during a break. (Middle) Emert and his team celebrate his 400th career victory Dec. 20. (Photos courtesy of the Walled Lake Western girls basketball program.
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 1
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 11, 2023
Another girls basketball season is underway, and the best from 2022-23 are wasting no time seeing how they match up this winter.
Every Monday through the MHSAA Finals in March we’ll look back at the previous week’s results that were most attention-grabbing across the state, highlight a few programs in every division on the rise and glance at some of the games coming up that pop off the page most. One week in, and we’ve already had our share of headline-grabbers with more immediately on the way – read on for details.
“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:
2. Detroit Renaissance 53, Lansing Catholic 46 The Phoenix (2-0), a Division 1 semifinalist last season, earned the headliner for opening week by edging the reigning Division 2 champion Cougars (0-1).
2. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep 45, Maple City Glen Lake 38 The Irish (3-0) reached the Division 4 Quarterfinals last season, and highlighted the first week of this one with this win over the reigning champion Lakers (2-1).
3. Lake Linden-Hubbell 48, Baraga 45 The Lakes (2-0) went a combined 1-2 against Baraga (1-1) last season – with a District Final loss as the Vikings went on to finish Division 4 runners-up.
4. Howell 60, Farmington Hills Mercy 59 Gabby Piepho scored 34 points to lead Howell (2-0) past Mercy (0-1), a Division 1 Regional finalist last season.
5. Frankenmuth 53, Freeland 51 On a night when Frankenmuth honored late star Keri Frahm, a 2016 grad who died in a car crash in October, the Eagles (2-0) held on for what no doubt will be a key league win over the Falcons (1-1).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills Marian (2-0) A rough start last season turned into a 10-14 finish for Marian, but the Mustangs did win six of their last seven games and picked right back up with a 2-0 start last week. Marian opened with a 57-44 win over Imlay City, avenging a six-point loss from last winter, and then defeated Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest.
Milford (2-0) The Mavericks are off to a quick start under new coach Tim Olszewski, who came to Milford after a successful run at Howell. They edged Fowlerville 27-23 and then defeated Waterford Mott, after ending last season with a District Semifinal loss to Olszewski’s Highlanders.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Country Day (2-0) Past star Amber Deane’s first season as coach ended impressively with a 17-7 record and triple-overtime loss to Goodrich in a Regional Final, and she has Country Day off to a fast start. The Yellowjackets doubled up Birmingham Groves to open and defeated Tecumseh 66-52 at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep’s Ice Breaker Classic; Tecumseh finished 20-5 last season.
Shepherd (2-0) After building from seven wins two seasons ago to a 10-13 finish last winter, Shepherd may be on the verge of another advance. The BlueJays opened by edging Beal City 42-40 – Beal City won 14 games last season – and then defeated Gladwin 55-50 in double overtime.
DIVISION 3
Evart (2-0) The Wildcats’ matchups with Lake City last season had Highland Conference and statewide implications – Evart won the first, but Lake City won the next two to claim league and District titles. Evart has the early upper hand again, following up last week’s 20-point win over Reed City with a 42-41 victory over the Trojans.
Perry (2-0) The Ramblers have improved from zero to four to six wins over the last three seasons, respectively, and are well on their way to increasing that total again. Perry opened with a 38-37 win over Morrice (after losing to the Orioles last season) and 44-27 victory over Byron, and have another fresh start moving to the Central Michigan Athletic Conference this winter.
DIVISION 4
Colon (2-0) The Magi finished 21-5 last season, reaching the Division 4 Regional Finals before falling to Hackett (highlighted above). Colon began this one with a 52-33 win over Adrian Lenawee Christian, which made the Semifinals last winter, before defeating Battle Creek St. Philip big to finish the week.
Lutheran Westland (2-0) The Warriors are another team quickly pursuing an improvement over last season, when they finished 10-14. They opened with a 44-24 win over Ann Arbor Greenhills, then defeated Whitmore Lake 28-19 – Whitmore Lake downed Westland twice last season on the way to winning the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red title.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Kingston (2-0) at Goodrich (2-0) – These two finished a combined 49-6 last winter, with Kingston reaching the Division 4 Quarterfinals and Goodrich playing in the Division 2 Semifinals.
Thursday – Salem (2-0) at West Bloomfield (0-0) – This is a rematch from last season’s Division 1 Semifinals, won by West Bloomfield, and headlines the Kensington Lakes Activities Association/Oakland Activities Association Challenge.
Friday – Rockford (2-0) at Muskegon (1-1) – The reigning Division 1 champion Rams travel to take on the Big Reds, who are looking to avenge last season’s 19-point loss after which they went 15-5 to finish the winter.
Saturday – Detroit Edison (0-0) vs. Detroit Country Day (2-0) at Belleville – This is arguably the most intriguing matchup from the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic and matches teams with high aspirations in Division 2.
Saturday – Midland Dow (1-1) vs. Salem (2-0) at Belleville – This Best of Michigan game matches a Dow program that’s regularly among Division 1 contenders with a Salem team that joined the elite last season.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. 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 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as 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) Flint Powers Catholic and Davison face off in a season opener, won by the Chargers 73-41. (Middle) An Otsego player puts up a shot during her team's 44-35 loss to Portage Central. (Top photo by Terry Lyons; middle photo by Gary Shook.)