Ansel On Target for Record Book Rise
April 23, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Comstock junior Daisy Ansel will be one of the seniors to watch in Michigan next girls basketball season after she joined the state’s top shooters of all-time already as a junior this past winter.
Ansel is tied for 24th for career 3-pointers with 181, with that total recently added to the MHSAA record book. She’s made 38 percent of her long-range tries over the last three seasons, and also was added to the records for connecting on 86.5 percent of her free-throw attempts (64 of 74) over 21 games in 2017-18 as the Colts finished 19-2.
Below are more recent record book additions in girls basketball and boys soccer. Click the sport headings to view those record books in full.
Girls Basketball
Traverse City Central senior Margot Woughter earned a spot in the record book with 15 free throws on 19 attempts in a Jan. 19 game against Alpena. She finished with 40 points total in the 62-55 win. Woughter will continue her career at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Former Posen star center Korynn Hincka ranks among the all-time best in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She was added for 2,198 points, 1,224 rebounds (eighth-most) and 360 blocks (10th) over 98 games from 2011-14, along with a number of single-season entries and a single-game 19 free throws against Fairview during 2012-13. Younger sister Jenna Hincka was added for 170 steals as a senior during the 2015-16 season, which rank eighth. Korynn went on to play at Grand Valley State, and Jenna played a season of softball at Alpena Community College.
Ishpeming set an MHSAA record this winter making 77.6 percent of its free-throw attempts on the way to a 20-4 finish. The Hematites made 274 of 353 tries, led by senior Madigan Johns with 115 makes in 131 attempts. She was added to the individual list for highest free-throw percentage in a season at 87.8 and for her career at 82.2 over the last three seasons.
Coldwater junior Malorie Rzepka made the list for most free throws in a game with 15 in 16 tries against Kalamazoo Central in a 69-63 overtime win Dec. 19. Rzepka’s free throws all came during the second half and overtime.
Westland Universal Learning Academy then-freshman Zahraa Cherkaoui scored all but two of her team’s points Feb. 1, 2017, in a 49-23 win over Hope of Detroit. Her 47-point performance included seven 3-pointers.
Niles Brandywine’s run to the Class C Regional Finals and a 22-3 record included some record 3-point shooting. The Bobcats connected on 153 3-pointers in 639 attempts, making record book lists in both categories. They also made the single-game list with 14 3-pointers against Saugatuck in a 73-37 win on Dec. 5.
Kent City made the Class C Quarterfinals and finished 22-4 also on the strength of 3-point shooting. The Eagles made 198 3-pointers – fourth most in MHSAA history – on the third-most attempts, 737. Kent City made at least 13 3-pointers in three games, with a high of 16 against Hesperia on Jan. 19.
Boys Soccer
As reported last fall on Second Half, Lincoln Alcona senior keeper Conner McCoy broke the national saves record in late September – and finished his high school career with 1,280 over four seasons. His 365 last fall rank fifth for one season after he set the record as both a sophomore and junior. He will continue his career at Finlandia University.
Ryan Wiesniewski capped his four-year Gladwin varsity career in the fall tied for 10th all-time with 144 goals and eighth with 202 career points. He also made the career assists list with 58 and with highs of 46 goals and 64 points as a junior in 2016. He made the single-game goals list with a school record six against Houghton Lake last September.
PHOTO: Comstock’s Daisy Ansel lines up to attempt a free throw during the 2016-17 season. (Photo courtesy of the Comstock athletic department.)
Jahfetson Makes History from 3-Point Range in Taking Baraga to 2023 Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 23, 2024
Baraga’s Corina Jahfetson graduated in 2023 as one of the most accomplished 3-point shooters in MHSAA history and coming off one of the most impressive single seasons from beyond the arc.
Her 103 3-pointers as a senior over 29 games were the second-most for one season and included eight in a Quarterfinal win over Mackinaw City – the second-most in an MHSAA Quarterfinal, Semifinal or Final.
She finished with 236 3-pointers over 96 games and four seasons, ranking 12th on that career list, and Baraga finished the season as Division 4 runner-up. She’s continuing her career at Northern Michigan.
See below for more recent additions to the MHSAA girls basketball record book, and click the heading to view the record book in full.
Girls Basketball
Alma junior Bailey Walkington earned her school’s first single-season individual record book entry for girls basketball in 2022-23. She made the steals list with 143 over 23 games.
Dalton DeBoer became the latest Midland Dow long-range shooting ace to make the records after she drained 70 of 206 3-point attempts over 24 games in 2022-23. DeBoer is a junior this school year.
Durand senior Jordyn Lawrence earned her school’s first girls basketball individual record book entry with 15 steals in her team’s 44-31 win over Flint Kearsley on Dec. 2, 2022. She’s continuing at Mid-Michigan College.
Leah French finished her Engadine career in 2023 with a series of game, season and career record book entries detailing her scoring and defensive skills. She earned single-game listings for 54 points and 19 free throws against St. Ignace on Feb. 6, 2023, and nine 3-pointers against Manistique that Jan. 9. She made the single-season list with 81 3-pointers, 177 free throws and 168 steals over 25 games as a senior. And she made the career lists with 171 3-pointers, 354 free throws and 405 steals over 85 games and four seasons. She’s continuing her career at Aquinas College.
Arieonna Ware earned Battle Creek Central's first girls basketball record book entry with 51 points in a Feb. 11, 2020, win over Portage Northern. She actually finished with a triple-double, adding 12 rebounds and 12 steals. Ware also was added for 47 points in a March 6, 2019, District game against Sturgis.
Mesick senior Kayla McCoy made the MHSAA record in 2022-23 as a junior, totaling 144 steals over 23 games. It was Mesick’s first individual entry in the girls basketball record book.
Coldwater’s Carlee Crabtree made a career-high 52 3-pointers during her senior season of 2019-20 on the way to making the MHSAA career list for long-distance shots with 163, in 469 attempts, over four seasons and 88 games total. She went on to play at Central Michigan and Hope College.
Battle Creek Pennfield’s Kaylee Glidden capped her three-year varsity career in 2023 among the most accurate free-throw shooters in MHSAA history – and also among top 3-point aces. She made 90.6 percent of her free-throw attempts as a senior, good for fifth-highest percentage all-time for one season, and her 84.4-percent success rate ranks fourth on the career list. She also made the single-season 3-pointers list with 67 that winter and the career list with 168. She continued at Kellogg Community College and has committed to Great Lakes Christian College.
Larissa Huffman made a pair of career lists upon completing her four-year varsity career in 2023 at Mackinaw City. She was added for 468 assists and 411 steals, both over 92 games, and she’s continuing her career at St. Norbert (Wis.). Additionally, Mackinaw City was added to the single-game field goals list as a team for making at least 39 in a game six times over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, with a high of 45.
Lansing Christian earned a listing on the team 3-pointers list when it sank 14 on 32 attempts against Webberville on Jan. 20, 2023. Seven players drained at least one of the long-distance shots.
Grayling’s 66-49 win over Houghton Lake on Dec. 19 included one of the most impressive defensive performances of all-time as senior Makayla Watkins had 19 steals – tying for third-most in one game.
Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Zoandria Bamm grabbed 28 rebounds during a Feb. 14, 2023, game against Clinton to make the single-game list in that category and on the way to finishing her senior season with 380 rebounds over 25 games – tying for 13th most on that list. She’s playing at Jackson College.
Riley Abney became the first player to be listed for points scored in a quarter of a girls basketball game when she sank 21 of her 36 total during the fourth quarter of a 64-47 loss to Linden on Jan. 16. The Ortonville Brandon senior has committed to be a preferred walk-on at Oakland.
A pair of Paw Paw standouts earned single-game accomplishments within three days of each other in January. On Jan. 26 against Sturgis, junior AJ Rickli grabbed 31 rebounds, tied for seventh-most for one game. On Jan. 29 against Three Rivers, sophomore Stella Shaefer made the single-game assists list with 14.
Keira Maki joined the single-game points list on Feb. 22 when she scored 47 in Escanaba’s 64-49 win over Sault Ste. Marie. The senior will continue at Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
PHOTO Baraga’s Corina Jahfetson (22) brings the ball upcourt during the 2023 Division 4 Final against Glen Lake at Breslin Center.