Detroit King’s Tia Tedford

After Detroit King’s Micaela Kelly beat the third-quarter buzzer with a half-court heave, one had to wonder if there were any place the Crusaders couldn’t drain one?

Apparently, the short list consists of the balcony, the concession stand and the parking lot. Otherwise, King fired up treys from the baseline, the top of the key, and several steps behind the arc, sinking 11 of them while shocking Southfield-Lathrup, 74-56 in a Class A regional final at Dearborn Fordson.

Not blessed with height or depth, King (24-1) has thrived with the outside shot all winter long. They sunk three triples in a row to take a 29-23 lead with two minutes to play in the first half, and never let up until after they increased their lead to 21 by the time Kelly hit that buzzer-beater a quarter later.

“Since we’re small and we’re guards, we had to do something,” she said. “We know we can’t out-rebound them, we know we just had to box out and make them from the outside.

Girls hoops: Regional finals schedule, semis results

“We practice a lot on our shooting threes because we know we’re strictly good three-point shooters.”

The game was nip-and-tuck for much of the first half until King caught fire.

“It was too close and we knew we had bad turnovers or at least bad mistakes that closed it up, so we just decided to play as a team and not worry about it,” said Kelly, who has signed with DePaul.

“I told them to relax, that was basically all we had to do — relax, and knock them down,” King coach William Winfield said.

Once King got some breathing room, the Crusaders seemed to up their game, while Lathrup lost its edge.

“When the threes start falling (against you), now you wonder what’s going on. You’ve got your starting five out there and they’re knocking down threes,” Winfield said. “We’ve got more than one girl who can shoot those threes. We’ve got five that can shoot the three-ball with some type of consistency, and that was the big difference.”

Tia Tedford hit four on the way to a game-high 20 points, but she wasn’t alone: Kelly (two, 13 points), Jordan Lewis (one, 11 points), Alicia Norman (one, 9 points) and Erica Whitley-Jackson (two, 6 points), all lit it up from long-range.

“Once we got down by 10, it was just a rain shower of shots coming,” Lathrup coach Michele Marshall said. “They shoot a lot of threes. Teenagers can get in the habit of wanting to answer those threes, instead of being patient with it. We committed mental errors because of fatigue, and that made a difference.”

King was 11 of 17 beyond the arc, while Lathrup was just 2 of 9.

The Chargers got 18 points from Deja Church, 17 from Antoinette Miller and 13 from Taiye Bello, but only five players scored.

These five high school girls led their basketball team to regional championships and a spot in Tuesday’s quarterfinals:

Kierra Fletcher

Kayla Belles, Ithaca: The 6-foot-3 sophomore center had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Yellowjackets to their first Class C regional title in school history with a 68-45 victory over Reese.

Taryn McCutheon, East Lansing: The 5-5 point guard who signed with Michigan State hit nine of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter and scored 30 points to spark East Lansing to a 56-52 Class A regional win over Jackson Northwest.

Kyra Bussell, Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The 6-1 junior center scored 15 of her game-high 25 points in the second half to enable CC to get by Muskegon Oakridge, 56-39, in a Class B regional.

Averi Gamble, Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart: The 6-3 senior center equaled the opposition’s offensive output when she scored 24 points and grabbed 24 rebounds with four blocked shots to help Sacred Heart to a 41-24 Class D regional win over Portland St. Patrick.

Kierra Fletcher, Warren Cousino: The 5-9 junior carried Cousino to the first Class A regional championship in school history by scoring 15 of her game-high 23 points in the second half as Cousino defeated two-time defending state champ Birmingham Marian, 49-39.

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.

McCabe: Status check on boys, girls basketball state tournaments

Benton Harbor’s Kysre Gondrezick has the ball slapped away from behind by Haslett’s Magan Mowid in an MHSAA Class B semifinal on March 19, 2015, in East Lansing.

Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick needed to have a heart-to-heart talk with her youngest daughter, Kysre, as well as her parents, Ruth and Lou Harvey.

“What she told us was that they wouldn’t call the recipient until Sunday,” Kysre said. “If you didn’t get a phone call, you didn’t win.”

The call would come from a Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan official, who would be informing the coach of the winner of the 2016 Miss Basketball award.

Harvey-Gondrezick is the girls basketball coach at Benton Harbor, and her youngest daughter just so happens to be the girl who just set the state record by scoring 72 points in the district opener and was the front-runner for the award.

But everyone gathered Sunday knew that the front-runner doesn’t always win.

“Well, I just got off the phone,” Harvey-Gondrezick said then, “and unfortunately, politics takes place sometimes.”

Kysre knew what her mother was about to say next.

“I thought: ‘OK, I didn’t win,’” she said. “And then I thought: ‘Oh, well, this is not going to stop me from defining my future.’‘’

Her head, as well as her grandparents’ heads, drooped as Harvey-Gondrezick continued.

“Kysre, I just want you to know, we have been so proud of you, though,” she said. “Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but I just want you to know that you are Benton Harbor’s Miss Basketball, you’re my Miss Basketball … and you’re also the state’s Miss Basketball.’’

Say what?

Everyone’s heads perked up. The screaming ensued.

Gondrezick, a 5-foot-9 guard who has signed with Michigan, is the 35th winner of the Miss Basketball award, given annually to the state’s top senior by BCAM, in conjunction with the Free Press.

And Gondrezick won in an absolute rout, more than tripling the first-place votes of runner-up Mardrekia Cook. She totaled 4,887 points, Muskegon’s Cook had 2,900 and third-place finisher Alexis Sevillian of Goodrich had 2,245 points.

The logical explanation for the landslide was Gondrezick’s incredible senior year that saw her become the first girl in state history to top the 40-point-per-game mark, averaging 40.5 points.

She scored 851 points this season, second only to Michigan State redshirt senior Jasmine Hines, who scored 935 points for Central Lake in the 2009-10 season.

Gondrezick’s career total of 2,827 points also is second to Hines (3,034).

She is only the fourth Miss Basketball to sign with U-M — the most recent was U-M senior Madison Ristovski, who played at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.

Word that she won the award initially stunned Gondrezick.

“I was kind of, like, speechless,” she said. “I’m still in the moment in space where it truly hasn’t hit me yet. It is a prestigious honor and award, and I humbly accept it. It’s exciting.”

Gondrezick remembers starting her first game as a freshman, when the Tigers opened the season against Stevensville Lakeshore. Early in the game, she was fouled. Her first point was a free throw.

“I only scored 17 points in my first game,” she said. “But in my second, we played Niles, and I scored 30, and that was a big deal. But compared to what I’m doing now, I look back and think that was nothing.”

Seventeen points does seem like a drop in the bucket compared with the 72 she scored in an 80-78 double-overtime victory over Buchanan in the first game of the state tournament, breaking the record of 69 points that Detroit Mumford’s Debra Walker scored in 1979.

“That still hasn’t hit me yet,” Gondrezick said. “I think when I have the chance to truly settle down, because everything has been going so fast, once when I get that moment, it will finally hit me. A lot of people are telling me that record will probably be around a very long time.”

When speaking to the Free Press shortly after that game, Gondrezick said she thought she scored about 50 points, which was more than her mother estimated her daughter had scored.

“It’s like it didn’t happen that night,” said Harvey-Gondrezick. “Kysre gets in a groove, and she just does that. It’s not something that she tries to do. I did not know she had 72, I thought she had 40 because all you’re looking at is you want to be ahead at the end of the night.”

Benton Harbor won that night and reached the district finals, where it was eliminated from the tournament.

A year ago, Gondrezick and her sister Kalabrya, a freshman at Michigan State, helped the Tigers reach the Class B semifinals.

The 1,507 votes cast were the most in years. A year ago, 1,124 votes were cast. In 2014, only 659 coaches voted.

Gondrezick earned 790 first-place votes while Cook had 281, which led to an easy victory for Gondrezick and a Miss Basketball award for Benton Harbor, where her mother played.

“To bring this back to my community is what’s most important to me,” she said. “This is the least that I can do to give back. You pay $5 to come watch me play, at least I can put on a good performance so you can enjoy it. Give you your money’s worth.”

Benton Harbor’s Kysre Gondrezick is Gatorade Player of Year

Voting results

Here are the results of the 35th annual Miss Basketball award, given by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, in conjunction with the Detroit Free Press. Only BCAM members are permitted to vote. Votes are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.    

1. Kysre Gondrezick, Benton Harbor                              4,887 points

2. Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon                                        2,900 points

3. Alexis Sevillian, Goodrich                                            2,245 points

4. Cassidy Boensch, Bay City Glenn                               2,139 points

5. Siyah Frazier, Detroit Renaissance                             1,392 point

Past winners of the Miss Basketball Award

2015 Tania Davis, Goodrich (Iowa)

2014 Lexi Gussert, Crystal Falls Forrest Park (Michigan State)

2013 Tori Jankoska, Freeland (Michigan State)

2012 Madison Ristovski, G.P. Liggett (Michigan)

2011 Jasmine Hines, Central Lake (Michigan State)

2010 Klarissa Bell, East Lansing (Michigan State)

2009 Jenny Ryan, Saginaw Nouvel (Michigan)

2008 Kellie Watson, Ionia (Notre Dame/Grand Valley)

2007 No winner because of change from fall to winter season

2006 Brenna Banktson, Frankfort (Western Michigan)

2005 Allyssa DeHaan, Grandville (Michigan State)

2004 Tiffanie Shives, Lansing Christian (Michigan State/Gonzaga)

2003 Krista Clement, St. Ignace (Michigan)

2002 Danielle Kamm, Saginaw Nouvel (Marquette)

2001 Liz Shimek, Maple City Glen Lake (Michigan State)

2000 Tabitha Pool, Ann Arbor Huron (Michigan)

1999 Vicki Krapohl, Mt. Pleasant (Duke)

1998 Kristen Koetsier, Grandville (Western Michigan)

1997 Aiysha Smith, Redford Bishop Borgess (St. Johns/LSU)

1996 Deana Nolan, Flint Northern (Georgia)

1995 Maxann Reese, Redford Bishop Borgess (Michigan State)

1994 Kim Knuth, St. Joseph (Toledo)

1993 Sally Sedlar, Manistee (Toledo/Central Michigan)

1992 Erinn Reed, Saginaw (Iowa/Kansas)

1991 Lisa Negri, Flint Powers (Ohio State)

1990 Markita Aldridge, Detroit King (UNC-Charlotte)

1989 Peggy Evans, Country Day (Tennessee/Ohio State)

1988 Jennifer Shasky, Birmingham Marian (George Washington)

1987 Dena Head, Plymouth Salem (Tennessee)

1986 Deadra Charles, Detroit DePorres (Tennessee)

1985 Franthea Price, River Rouge (Iowa)

1984 Emily Wagner, Livonia Ladywood (Stanford)

1983 Michele Kruty, Manistee (Dayton)

1982 Sue Tucker, Okemos (Michigan State)

1981 Julie Plakowski, Leland (Michigan State)

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.

Son of Swami

It is March, which means the Madness is upon us and so is Tom (March) Izzo.

The only person to perform better than the Michigan State men’s basketball coach on a regular basis this month is the Son of Swami.

The All-Knowing One has returned for the girls basketball quarterfinals, and he hopes his crystal ball has been updated to account for teams like Warren Cousino, Dearborn Heights Robichaud and Newberry, which SOS doesn’t remember being center stage at this point in the girls tournament.

Those teams don’t try to prove SOS wrong each and every year like the girls from St. Ignace, who decided to switch classes this season to make sure SOS doesn’t pick them to win from here on out.

So SOS picked up his crystal ball at the pawn shop and is here with the 16 teams that will advance to Michigan State’s Breslin Center for the semifinals this week.

(All games at 7 unless noted.)

Class A

Ann Arbor Huron (20-4) vs. Detroit King (18-1) at Southfield, 5. This will be a contrast in styles. Maybe a conflict in styles, too. King will try to push the pace and fire away from anywhere and everywhere, while Huron will play a more deliberate style, seeking the best shot possible. But both teams love to press, so this could be fun. Ann Arbor Da Doo Ron Ron 62, King of Wishful Thinking 61.

Port Huron Northern (20-4) vs. St. Johns (22-3) at Fenton. What in the world is Port Huron Northern doing here? And how did St. Johns manage to knock off No. 1 Saginaw Heritage? This matchup is quite a shocker. The coin, please. St. Jimmy John’s 57, North of Port Huron 53.

Northville (21-3) vs. Warren Cousino (20-4) at Southfield. This is new territory for both schools, but only Cousino has Kierra Fletcher, one of the top juniors in the state. Warren’s Casino 47, Northville Downs 44.

East Lansing (19-6) vs. Hudsonville (22-3) at Battle Creek Central. SOS never expected to see East Lansing advance this far in the tournament, but then he never expected point guard Taryn McCutcheon’s family to move from West Virginia to East Lansing in the middle of her senior season. East Izzo 52, Ice Cream 47.

Class B

Detroit Mumford (14-4) vs. Birmingham Detroit Country Day (23-1) at Marysville. Congratulations to Mumford for advancing through the district and regional, but in the quarterfinals it is CDT — Country Day Time. Country Dog 59, Eddie Murphy High 48.

Grand Rapids South Christian (23-2) vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud (18-6) at Fowlerville. This is an excellent time for Robichaud to prove it can play with the top teams in the state, and South Christian has been a top team in Class B for decades. David Kool High 56, Tyrone Wheatley High 50.

Bay City Glenn (24-1) vs. Manistee (21-3) at Big Rapids. Glenn has an absolute powerhouse, led by power player deluxe Cassidy Boensch, a Miss Basketball finalist. Manistee features the Kott sisters, but the real secret weapon is their mother, Michelle, the all-knowing assistant coach. Jeff Seidel High 58, Manifest 54.

Marshall (23-1) vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (21-2) at Otsego. It has been an amazing season for Sal Konkle’s Marshall team, but this CC team is one that SOS tabbed for the Class B final four a year ago. He might have been wrong about that one. Catholic in Grand Rapids 48, Win Schuler’s 46.

Class C

Niles Brandywine (23-2) vs. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (18-5) at Portage Northern, 6:30. Point guard Jaleesa Garner’s performance in Brandywine’s regional final win over previously unbeaten Gobles was one for the time capsule. It might take another effort like that to get to the Bres. Elderberry Wine 48, Ark of the Covenant 47.

Traverse City St. Francis (24-1) vs. St. Ignace (23-2) at Gaylord. SOS has been a big fan of both coaches — St. Ignace’s Dorene Ingalls and St. Francis’ Keith Haske. So, does the presence of Stephanie DeNoyelles as Haske’s assistant give the Glads the edge over St. Ignace assistant Doug Ingalls? It might not be close. Majerle City St. Esper 55, St. Clement 54 (OT).

Flint Hamady (22-1) vs. Ithaca (23-2) at Saginaw Heritage. Hamady won’t have anyone who can really match up with Kayla Belles, but the speedy Hamady guards can speed up the tempo and turn this into a track meet to get to the Bres. Ham & Eggs 50, Mythical 46.

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (22-2) vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (20-4) at Michigan Center. SOS is glad to see Liggett junior Nia Ahart will be heading to Seton Hall, where SOSOS, PhD can guarantee her an “A” in his class, but only if she shows up wearing a state championship ring. Maybe next year. Arbor Day 54, Grosse Pointe University Leggings 51.

Class D

Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian (21-4) vs. Pittsford (24-0) at Springport. There is no way SOS is overlooking Pittsford this time. With the inside/outside combination of Jaycee Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford moves on to the semis. Pitt Stop 50, Triumvirate 43.

Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (19-4) vs. Kingston (20-3) at Davison. There is something about March and the girls at Our Lady of the Lakes. Or maybe it is coach Steve (March) Robak. Waterford Our Gal 74, Trio 71.

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart (22-1) vs. Gaylord St. Mary (22-3) at Mason County Central. SOS doesn’t know much, but he knows that Sacred Heart will score more than three points in the first quarter, which is the average teams have been scoring against St. Mary through the regional. This should be quite a matchup between St. Mary’s Bekah Myler and Sacred Heart’s Averi Gamble. Mt. Dismal’s Scared Heart 44, Snowbirds 41.

Newberry (23-1) vs. Stephenson (23-2) at Negaunee. How in the world is SOS expected to pick against the home of legendary Yooper Rob Rubick? Now that St. Ignace is in Class C, Newberry rolls in Class D. Mayberry RFD 42, Steve N Son 40.

Contact with the Son of Swami can be arranged through Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com.

Semifinals and finals

ALL GAMES AT BRESLIN CENTER, EAST LANSING

Thursday’s semifinals

CLASS C

Niles Brandywine/Grand Rapids Covenant Christian vs. Traverse City St. Francis/

St. Ignace, 1 p.m.

Flint Hamady/Ithaca vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep/Grosse Pointe Woods University

Liggett, 2:50

CLASS D

Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian/Pittsford vs. Waterford Our Lady/Kingston, 6

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart/Gaylord St. Mary vs. Newberry/Stephenson, 7:50

Friday’s semifinals

CLASS A

Ann Arbor Huron/Detroit King vs. Port Huron Northern/St. Johns, 1

Northville/Warren Cousino vs. East Lansing/Hudsonville, 2:50

CLASS B

Detroit Mumford/Birmingham Detroit Country Day vs. Grand Rapids South

Christian/Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 6

Bay City Glenn/Manistee vs. Marshall/Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 7:50

Saturday’s finals

Class D, 10 a.m.

Class A, noon

Class C, 4

Class B, 6

Miss Basketball 2016 Kysre Gondrezick brings her grandmother, Ruth Harvey, into the picture with the trophy.

Seven was the lucky number for Benton Harbor High’s quest for a Miss Basketball.

Kysre Gondrezick did something her mother and sister did not do when she won the award Monday, presented by the Free Press and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.

Six other times the school had a finalist for the state’s highest honor: Kysre’s mom and coach, Lisa Harvey (1985), Latecia Morris (1992), Quacy Barnes (1994), Courtney Webb (2008), Destiny Williams (2009) and Kysre’s sister, Kalabrya Gondrezick (2015).

Kalabrya is now a freshman backup at Michigan State.

“It’s definitely a humbling experience for me,” Kysre said Monday. “I’m honored being Miss Basketball in 2016. They (former Benton Harbor finalists) paved the path for me to develop into the player that I am today, and hopefully if I can do the same thing for someone in return coming up I would definitely love to give back. One thing that’s going to stand out to me on the plaque is it’s going to say Kysre, and I’m glad I won it, but it’s going to say Gondrezick. It’s a family affair.”

Lou Harvey watched his daughter, Williams and Kalabrya miss out on the award, so he was overjoyed to see his other granddaughter honored.

“It means a lot,” said Lou Harvey, coach of the 2009 championship team. “This is who we are, and that’s what we’ve been. We’ve always been involved in athletics and sports and academics. It’s just another stepping-stone.

“It makes up for it (Williams not winning). I’m glad you know that. I haven’t had too much to say about that yet, but without any doubt she should have won.

“With Lisa, I kind of felt that way that she should have (won). It’s something that I keep up with a lot, coming from Indiana. It’s a highly prestigious award, Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball. When I came to Michigan, I looked at it the same way. I’m glad that Kysre has a chance to make up for all that. Kalabrya, the whole family, has been involved in things like this.”

Said Lisa Harvey: “Dad is the legend in our program. It wouldn’t have been the same if she had done this in any other school district.”

The 35th honoree finished with 4,887 points, ahead of MSU-bound Mardrekia Cook of Muskegon with 2,900. Goodrich’s Alexis Sevillian was third with 2,245 points. Votes are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis by BCAM members.

Gondrezick, a senior point guard, scored 851 points this season, second in state history. Her 72 points against Buchanan in the district opener was a state record.

She finished her career with 2,827 points, also second in state history. She was the fourth Michigan signee to win the award.

She averaged 40.5 points per game this season and had her scoring average in black marker on her basketball shoes during a photo shoot.

In her acceptance speech, Gondrezick thanked family, media, coaches and teammates.

U-M won out over Baylor for her college choice because “Coach asked me if I wanted to go to a program that’s established, or did I want to come and help build something?” Gondrezick said of Kim Barnes Arico.

Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick said of her daughter: “Kysre’s skill-set provides an arsenal of attack off the dribble, midrange shots and a three-point perimeter threat. Her IQ of the game enhances the showcase of others by her precision passing abilities and court recognition in transition and half-court. She’s an amazing talent to watch.”

Well-rounded on and off the court, Gondrezick has a 4.3 grade-point average, scored an 11 out of 12 on the writing portion of the SAT and has been junior editor of the Benton Spirit paper since she was a freshman.

The voting

Here are the results of the 35th annual Miss Basketball Award, given by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, in conjunction with the Detroit Free Press. Only BCAM members are permitted to vote. Votes are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Recent Winners

2015: Tania Davis, Goodrich (Iowa)

2014: Lexi Gussert, Crystal Falls Forrest Park (MSU)

2013: Tori Jankoska, Freeland (MSU)

2012: Madison Ristovski, G.P.W. University Liggett (U-M)

2011: Jasmine Hines, Central Lake (MSU)

2010: Klarissa Bell, East Lansing (MSU)

2009: Jenny Ryan, Saginaw Nouvel (U-M)

2008: Kellie Watson, Ionia (Notre Dame/Grand Valley)

2007: No winner because of change from fall to winter season

2006: Brenna Banktson, Frankfort (WMU)

2005: Allyssa DeHaan, Grandville (MSU)

2004: Tiffanie Shives, Lansing Christian (MSU/Gonzaga)

2003: Krista Clement, St. Ignace (U-M)

2002: Danielle Kamm, Saginaw Nouvel (Marquette)

2001: Liz Shimek, Maple City Glen Lake (MSU)

Warren Cousino’s Kierra Fletcher goes up for a shot during a 41-29 win over Northville Tuesday at Southfield.

Warren Cousino’s Kierra Fletcher had driven the lane against taller Northville defenders all night, and that appeared to wear on her by the time the Mustangs gained some momentum in the third and fourth quarters.

But Fletcher didn’t back down, continuing to take the ball right into heavy traffic. And when the defenders collapsed on her yet another time with four minutes to play, she whirled around and fired it back to freshman Kate McArthur, who calmly drained it from beyond the arc.

What do you call that? A Patriot missile?

“I wasn’t shooting well, and I don’t know what was up with that, but everyone in the stands said ‘Keep shooting’ and coach knows that I can shoot,” McArthur said. “I’d rather miss all those and hit that one big shot.”

The long bomb pushed Cousino’s lead back up to seven and that appeared to be the dagger, as the Patriots went on to a 41-29 victory and earned their first trip to the state semifinals Friday at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

“She’s a great shooter,” Fletcher said of her younger teammate. “If you come out on her, she can blow past you, but if you try to collapse on me, I can kick it out to Kate, so either way it’s kind of hard to stop the 1-2.”

Girls quarters: Country Day runs over Mumford, 70-41

Fletcher had a game-high 25, including 11 from the free-throw line, while McArthur had the team’s only two treys en route to eight points. Although a playoff run this deep is new territory for Cousino (21-4), neither the 1 nor the 2 said she felt any pressure.

“Coach has always told me to play my game,” Fletcher said. “He doesn’t want me to adapt my game to them; he want the other team to adapt to me, and that’s a big part of it, so when they collapsed on me, I got it out to my shooters and that’s how we kept getting the easy lay-ups or the threes.”

“I don’t really feel any pressure because our defense has been amazing so far. This has been the best defense we’ve played,” McArthur said. “I’ve never been in this type of situation where I get to play in states and all that, and being part of this team is great because just getting this far is amazing.”

While Cousino’s aggressiveness is its calling card, the Patriots really clamped down in the fourth quarter, surrendering just four points to Northville (21-4).

“They trap everywhere,” Mustangs coach Todd Gudith said. “It always feels like there’s two kids on the ball, and it seems like there’s six or seven kids on the floor for them because they fly around everywhere. They try to get you to cough it up under pressure, and if you’re not poised, that’s where they make you pay.”

Northville — which was also making its deepest postseason run — got 12 points from Brook Adams. But Cousino will play on, facing Hudsonville in Friday afternoon’s 2:50 p.m. semifinal.

“It’s an amazing feeling. It was a dream eight months ago and now it’s reality. I can’t wait ’til Friday,” Fletcher said. “Right now the sky’s the limit for us. We don’t care who we’re going against, we’re going to give it our all, and hopefully Saturday we’re coming out state champs.”

Michigan girls basketball quarters, semis and finals

Preps!

Detroit Mumford arrived at Marysville just in time to be eliminated from the girls Class B state tournament Tuesday by defending state champion Birmingham Detroit Country Day, 70-41.

Fifteen minutes before the start of the quarterfinal, the Mustangs were still in the locker room and hadn’t participated in warm-ups after arriving after 6:30.

They finally hit the floor 13 minutes before tip-off.

Early or late, it probably wouldn’t have mattered, because the Yellowjackets were too much in improving to 24-1.

Country Day makes a return trip to the Breslin to face Grand Rapids South Christian on Friday.

The regular-season meeting between these two was a little closer. On Dec. 19, the Yellowjackets beat Mumford, 52-42, at Renaissance after posting a 41-20 lead after three quarters. Country Day’s Destiny Pitts scored only seven points, while Mumford senior Deanna Fletcher had 13 of her 22 in the final 8 minutes. Fletcher also scored 22 points in her final high school game.

“I think it helped us having played them before because their quickness, we didn’t handle it well,” Country Day coach Frank Orlando said. “They’re athletic, and they play hard. They are well-coached, and they play the game the way they think they should play it.”

On Tuesday, Pitts led a balanced scoring attack with 19 points, followed by Kaela Webb with 11 and Tylar Bennett with 10.

“We got off to a good start, and that has been our problem this season,” Pitts said. “A lot of times we’ve played from behind, but I think the tough schedule we played helped us.”

This time, the Yellowjackets jumped out to a 21-11 lead after one quarter, with the 6-foot-4 Bennett registering four blocked shots despite Fletcher scoring eight for the Mustangs.

“I thought Tylar set the tone,” said Webb, a sophomore. “We had to come out here and be motivated. We were prepared because any team can beat you.”

With Pitts on the bench with two fouls, the Yellowjackets extended their lead to 29-15 on a block by Bennett that led to a fast-break basket by Webb.

Fletcher picked up her third foul with 3:27 left in the second quarter, seriously thwarting any attempts for a Mumford comeback.

Country Day scored the first 10 points of the second half, with Bennett scoring six as the lead swelled to 49-18 and 61-27 after three.

Michigan girls basketball quarters, semis and finals

Bloomfield Hills Marian players celebrate for the TV camera’s with the championship trophy after their 51-37 win over Dewitt in Class A girls basketball final on March 21, 2015, in East Lansing.

Tuesday’s quarterfinals

Class A

Hudsonville 40, East Lansing 32

Detroit King 58, Ann Arbor Huron 54

Warren Cousino 41, Northville 29

St, Johns 48, Port Huron Northern 35

Class B

Marshall 41, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 30

Grand Rapids South Christian 67, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 51

Birmingham Detroit Country Day 70, Detroit Mumford 41

Bay City Glenn 55, Manistee 47

Class C

Niles Brandywine 40, Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 24

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 60, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 22

Ithaca 51, Flint Hamady 43

Traverse City St. Francis 48, St. Ignace 44

Class D

Pittsford 71, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 30

Waterford Our Lady 51, Kingston 43

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart 27, Gaylord St. Mary 26

Stephenson 60, Newberry 35

Semifinals and finals 

ALL GAMES AT BRESLIN CENTER, EAST LANSING

Thursday’s semifinals

CLASS C

Niles Brandywine vs. Traverse City St. Francis, 1 p.m.

Ithaca vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, 2:50

CLASS D

Pittsford vs. Waterford Our Lady, 6

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart vs. Stephenson, 7:50

Friday’s semifinals

CLASS A

Detroit King vs. St. Johns, 1

Cousino vs. Hudsonville, 2:50

CLASS B

Birmingham Detroit Country Day vs. Grand Rapids South Christian, 6

Bay City Glenn vs. Marshall, 7:50

Saturday’s finals

Class D: 10 a.m.

Class A: noon

Class C: 4

Class B: 6

Detroit King’s Jordan Lewis, left, and Ann Arbor Huron’s Shamim Wambere go up for a rebound on Tuesday.

Jordan Lewis finally figured it out.

For the first 30 minutes of Detroit King’s Class A quarterfinal game against Ann Arbor Huron at Southfield, the Crusaders launched three-point bomb after three-point bomb.

And Huron was ready to move on to the semifinals and the Breslin Center.

But suddenly the lightbulb went on above Lewis’ head.

“Usually we’re a three-point-shooting team,” Lewis said. “But I could see the whole game our ‘threes’ weren’t falling, so I put in my head: ‘penetrate, penetrate and kick. Like, don’t force it. If somebody stops me, then kick the ball out.”

Lewis’ penetrating move to the basket tied the score with 1 second left in regulation Tuesday, and her two drives to the hoop tied the score in overtime and opened the door for the Crusaders to pull out a 58-54 victory.

The win sends King into Friday’s 1 p.m. semifinal against St. Johns. King coach William Winfield, who has five state titles and is a six-time runner-up, believes this will be King’s 14th trip to the final four.

Huron (20-5) had this game won several times in regulation, as well as in overtime, when it took a 54-50 lead with less than 3 minutes left, but failed to score on its final six possessions.

After Lewis’ back-to-back drives tied the game, freshman Del’Janae Williams gave King (22-1) the lead for good with a runner in the lane.

“I felt I had to step up more and help the team, so I went down and made a floater,” Williams said. “We work on it all practice. It was open and I felt like I needed to take it.”

While most of her teammates spent the evening launching three-point attempts that often didn’t come within shouting range of the rim, Williams decided to change her approach.

“I knew if I attacked more,” she said, “I’d have a better chance of getting an and-one instead of shooting (threes) all game.”

But she did attempt two crucial threes late in the fourth quarter and missed both. But she was allegedly fouled on both attempts.

“No, not on both,” she said, then admitted she took a dive: “On the second one.”

Asked why she decided to fall down, Williams said of her defender: “She was too close. She was going to hit me.”

But did she really get hit?

“Just a little bit,” she said, laughing.

Both times Williams made two of the three free-throw attempts, the final two with 31 seconds left in regulation.

The River Rats had enough other mistakes to blame for their loss, like missing four consecutive free throws in overtime when they had a chance to possibly build an insurmountable lead.

“Free throws killed us,” Huron coach Steve Vinson said. “I know we missed a couple of lay-ups. We just didn’t get stops. They made some big baskets when they needed to.”

Cheah Rael-Whitsitt, who battled foul trouble, scored a game-high 18 points for Huron, and Micaela Kelly and Lewis each scored 16 for King. It was an especially memorable performance for Lewis, a sophomore.

“This is really big for me because I’m a transfer,” she said. “I transferred from Romulus, and we lost to King in this game last year. So now I’m going to The Bres.”

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.

Williamston boys hoops, coach Jason Bauer live to fight another day

Warren Cousino’s Kierra Fletcher (3/G) chases down a loose ball during the Girls’ Basketball Quarter Finals on Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2016 at Southfield High School in Southfield.

The Son of Swami has never believed in luck, but that is changing.

Today the All-Knowing One is reaching out for the Luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, because SOS is in dire need of something heading into today’s girls basketball semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

After a subpar 11-5 performance in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, SOS is hoping the Irish blood, not to mention Diet Coke mixed with some Cherry Coke, running through his veins will help him correctly predict the winners of all eight semifinal games below.

Son of Swami

Class A

Detroit King (22-1) vs. St. Johns (23-3), 1 p.m. Friday. SOS can’t figure out how St. Johns got this far without a Rehmann girl on the roster. He also can’t wait to see if King’s Del’Janae Williams will be adding to her credentials for Best Actress award after taking a dive or two following errant three-point attempts in the quarterfinals. St. Rehmann 49, King of Wishful Thinking 48.

Warren Cousino (21-4) vs. Hudsonville (23-3), 2:50 Friday. Well, they do play girls basketball in Macomb County after all. Kierra Fletcher is proving that, but Cousino is going to have to play much better that it did in the quarterfinals to get to the finals. Warren’s Casino 43, Ice Cream 41.

Class B

Birmingham Detroit Country Day (24-1) vs. Grand Rapids South Christian (24-2), 6 p.m. Friday. South Christian has had a wonderful season and Jennifer DeBoer has been tremendous, but Country Day is the real deal and is going to repeat as state champ. Country Dog 68, David Kool High 61.

Bay City Glenn (25-1) vs. Marshall (24-1), 7:50 Friday. SOS doesn’t want to suggest that Marshall coach Sal Konkle is old — at least she’s younger than SOS, but then who isn’t? — but SOS’s first memory of her was as a terrific player who led Marshall to the 1981 state championship game. SOS thinks Glenn will make sure Marshall doesn’t get quite that far this time. Jeff Seidel High 54, Win Schuler’s 52.

Class C

Niles Brandywine (24-2) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (25-1), 1 p.m. Thursday. SOS has been waiting for Brandywine coach Josh Hood to show up at The Bres with his team and here they are. Its press will have to be very effective to rattle the Glads. Elderberry Wine 46, Majerle City St. Esper 41.

Ithaca (24-2) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (23-2), 2:50 Thursday. SOS wants to make sure everyone realizes Ithaca football coach Terry Hessbrook is not coaching the girls basketball team, but there is a rumor he’s been working with Kayla Belles on her post moves. It could be a false rumor. But there is nothing false about Belles … or the No. 1 ranked Arbor Prep team. Arbor Day 63, Mythical 54.

Class D

Pittsford (25-0) vs. Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (20-4), 6 p.m. Thursday. This may be March and Lakes coach Steve (March) Robak is best at this time of year, but so are Maddie Clark and Jaycie Burger. Pittsford doesn’t stop here. Pitt Stop 64, Waterford Our Gal 59.

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart (23-1) vs. Stephenson (24-2), 7:50 Thursday. Did Sacred Heart really score only 27 points in the quarterfinals? SOS figured Averi Gamble would score more than that by herself. Maybe in the semis. Mt. Dismal Scared Heart 52, Steve ‘N’ Son 49.

Contact with the Son of Swami can be arranged through Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1

Michigan girls basketball quarters, semis and finals

State finals

When: Saturday.

Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing.

Schedule: Class D — 10 a.m., Class A — noon, Class C — 4, Class B — 6.

Tickets: $10.

Ypsilanti Arbor Prep’s head coach Rod Wells gives instructions to Nastassja Chambers (4) during Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 72-44 win in Girls Basketball Class C Semifinal on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI.

EAST LANSING – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep coach Rod Wells turned in his ink pen for a clipboard.

Wells was a sports writer at the Grand Rapids Press for a couple of years. Then he decided to switch gears and get into coaching and teaching.

The results have been positive. The Gators are 102-17 under Wells and are vying for their first state title in Saturday’s Class C championship game.

“I think we’ll be good again next year,” he said.

He’s losing senior All-Stater Nastassja Chambers, who scored 24 points in Thursday’s 72-44 blowout victory over Ithaca at the Breslin Center, but most of the crew is back.

“We had two returning starters from last year,” said Wells. “We’re an independent and we play an independent schedule. We come for 32 minutes.”

Said Chambers: “We’ve been talking about unfinished business all year. Every game that we scheduled this year was to prepare us for now. We made our schedule even harder than last year so we’d be ready for this year. I feel like we’re more prepared this year. We’ve been here before and we’re not nervous.”

TWO-SPORT STAR: Amid the air-balls, missed jump shots, off-target three-pointers, turnovers and erratic play stood Traverse City St. Francis’ Juliana Philips.

The 6-foot-4 junior was a rim protector, outlet against the Niles Brandywine press, and the most efficient scorer on the floor as the Gladiators disposed of the Bobcats, 53-40.

Any drives to the basket by Brandywine were with Phillips in mind. Even if she didn’t block the shot, just knowing she was there seemed to creep in the minds of the Bobcats.

After next season, it’ll be strictly volleyball for Phillips. She has already committed to St. Louis University in the sport.

“It’s a funny story; St. Louis’ basketball coaches were recruiting me and I said I wanted to play volleyball,” said Phillips, whose mother, Lori, played college basketball at Colorado State and Central Michigan. “The basketball coaches told the volleyball coaches about me, so the volleyball coaches saw me and started recruiting me.

“I love both sports. My mom was a little sad when I chose volleyball, but it’s really an exciting sport to me. I just love it so much.”

The Bobcats (24-3) probably wished the sports were played at the same time of the year so she might not have been available.

Phillips finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“In the second half we did a great job of getting the ball to J (Juliana) and I thought her height was a big difference,” said first-year head coach Keith Haske, who has been a part of five runner-up state finishes, boys and girls combined.

“I’m due,” he said. “But there are two good teams in the next game.”

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Pittsford fans cheer during the Wildcats’ 62-43 win in a Class D semifinal Thursday at the Breslin Center. And one fan is supporting Pittsford coach Chris Hodos for President.

Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes may have lost by 19 points to undefeated Pittsford in Thursday’s Class D semifinal, but the Lakers did break through for 43 points — the most allowed by the Wildcats this season.

In fact, Pittsford’s defensive stats are pretty gaudy overall. In 13 games this winter, the Wildcats have held opponents to half that total, or less, including five contests where foes didn’t even crack double figures.

“I think it’s the defense as a whole on our team,” junior forward Maddie Clark said. “We really work on it, in gaps. Coach (Chris) Hodos is always griping on us to fill in your gaps.”

“I think it just shows that we are a really hard-working team,” classmate Jaycie Burger added. “We’ve also played teams like Belleville, Manchester, Grass Lake. We beat Manchester by 20, they’re a good Class C team; we beat Belleville, they’re a Class A team that won a district and they were 18-2. We hustle a lot more than other teams we play and that has a lot to do with it.”

Clark said Pittsford doesn’t approach games with a certain defensive point total as a goal. “We just make sure we’re the team on top,” she said.

Re-run: The Pittsford-Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes semifinal was a repeat match-up from a year ago. Pittsford won that game as well, 57-26, but Lakers coach Steve Robak was more pleased with this year’s experience.

“I don’t have any doubt that we’ve made progress,” he said. “If we had a day where we could have converted on the lay-ups where we got good looks, that changes everything.

“It would be a five-point game, we wouldn’t have to foul, they would have had pressure to score in the half-court. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, it didn’t happen, but certainly we made progress.”

Family affair: The Lakers have made six trips to the final four in the past seven seasons and won three championships from 2010-12. There are hints that the run may not end soon, as younger sisters of several key players are poised to join the squad in upcoming seasons.

Sophomore Tiffany Senerius, who led the team with 20 points Thursday, will team up next year with her sister Macy, currently an eighth-grader. Another sophomore, Lucille Kline, also has an eighth-grade sister, Isabel. And Robak himself has a seventh-grade niece, Brooklyn, who is the daughter of Paul Robak, the Laker boys coach.

Will to win: Likewise, Pittsford could be around the state finals for awhile. The Wildcats are 90-8 in Hodos’ four years at the helm — 73-2 with Clark and Berger in the line-up. But the Pittsford junior varsity has not lost a game in four years, either.

“It’s coaching, and it’s our mindset,” Clark said. “We’ve been taught from when we were little, and we do not want to lose. We work our tails off not to lose; our mindset is winning.”

Bigger is better: In the waning seconds of Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart’s semifinal win over Stephenson, the Irish subbed in a fresh set of five players: Alexis Jackson, Grace Reetz, Julie Hopp, Kimberley Boulier and Katie Goenner. And they even had two more on the bench — a luxury the team didn’t have when winning the Class D state championship two years ago with only seven players on the roster.

“We were really limited to what we could do a couple of years ago. We did it really well, but what we wanted to do this year was take advantage of our athleticism and our length and our depth. We were able to do a lot more pressing, a lot more trapping in the half-court, we were able to be a little more active and use the length that we had to our advantage,” coach Damon Brown said. “That’s the exciting part: you can practice a little more of those things when you have more than seven players, so this year’s been really exciting, and the girls have been really receptive to those kind of things. They ask for it during games.”

A long way from home: Although both Calumet and St. Ignace won state titles last season, the Upper Peninsula has been shut out this time around. Stephenson, the last team remaining beyond the Mackinac Bridge, lost to Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 45-38 Thursday, yet  pretty much all of Stephenson made the seven-hour trip to watch.

”We were the only team left in the U.P., I think we represented it well,” senior guard Kelsey Johnson said. “We didn’t really expect to get this far this year, but we kept making milestones and milestones and as soon as we won regionals, we were thinking we could make it all the way to state and that was a huge goal of ours. We did that, so I’m really proud of my teammates.”

Yooper pride is a special thing, Johnson said.

“Well, I mean a lot of the country doesn’t know the Upper Peninsula exists,” she said. “A lot of people under-estimate the Upper Peninsula, so we like to represent ourselves well. Going downstate is a huge privilege and we have a lot of support, and a lot of pride.”

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Preps!

EAST LANSING – The luck o’ the Irish was alive and well at the Breslin Center on St. Patrick’s Day.

The Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Irish (24-1) will try to replicate their 2014 Class D state title with a second in three years after hanging on to beat Stephenson, 45-38, in Thursday’s second Class D semifinal in East Lansing.

For seniors Averi Gamble and Megan English, twice could be just as nice.

“Winning a state championship was like the best moment in my life, thus far,” Gamble said about her sophomore season. “Just the fact that I can come back here twice is just, like overwhelming. I know how it feels already and it’s just so exciting that I can do it twice.”

To win that title, the Irish need to lay it on the line against No. 1 Pittsford, which lost in overtime last season to state champ St. Ignace.

“I think it will be a good match up,” Irish coach Damon Brown said about Pittsford. “Defensively we’ll do some things that present some problems for them. We’ve been going back and forth all year, top of the rankings, and I think this is probably the matchup most people would want to see.”

Gamble led Sacred Heart with 13 points, including 7-for-9 free throw shooting. Scout Nelson and Sophie Ruggles added 10 each. Karley Johnson led Stephenson (24-3) with 12.

After jumping out to a 14-11 first-quarter lead on 6-for-11 shooting (including two made 3-pointers), Stephenson’s shooting percentage dropped off the radar in the second quarter, to just 3-for-16. At one point the Eagles went five minutes without scoring, and on one possession they missed five shots in a row from close range after offensive rebounds.

Sacred Heart didn’t fare much better in the second quarter, but did enough from the free throw line to take a 21-20 halftime edge. The Irish shot 8-for-10 from the stripe, but made only one shot from the field (6-for-24 for the first half), by Nelson as the halftime buzzer sounded.

“Overall, it’s a win,” Brown said. “We always look to get better. But when you come into games like this you’re always going to get a team’s best shot, and I think Stephenson really made us work tonight. One of the things I like about this team is we don’t flinch when we get in tight situations. We find a way to get it done.”

Sacred Heart will play Saturday in the state final against Pittsford,

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Waterford Our Lady’s Megan Ross (12) and Pittsford’s Maddie Clark (10) fights for the ball during Pittsford 62-43 win in Girls Basketball Class D Semifinal on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI.

EAST LANSING – Both coaches in Thursday’s first Class D semifinal agreed that Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes coach Steve Robak had a tremendous game plan in place against Pittsford junior center Maddie Clark.

“I thought Coach Robak had a great plan,” said Pittsford coach Chris Hodos. “He wasn’t going to led Maddie beat him like last year.”

A year ago, Clark hit 13 of 19 shots for 26 points with 15 rebounds in a 31-point semifinal victory over Lakes.

“I thought our game plan was actually going to be pretty effective,” Robak said. “Maddie Clark is not a player — that type of player — that you run into very often, so you’re not going to simulate that in practice.”

Even Clark, an amazingly strong 5-foot-10 post player, acknowledged that Lakes made things tough for her.

“They had a good game plan,” she said. “They were double-teaming me. And it worked.

“For a while.”

Clark hit 9 of 10 shots for 24 points and yanked down 16 rebounds to spark Pittsford to a 62-43 win over Lakes at the Breslin Center.

Lakes (20-5) zeroed in on Clark, holding her to 10 points in the first half, but No. 1 Pittsford (26-0) still led, 31-19.

“We were really just trying to find one girl form Pittsford that we could sag off of and double on to Clark and keep a hand on her at all times, just try to become that annoying defender that is bothersome,” Robak said. “As the day went on, probably just because you begin to tire when you’re banging against someone that’s big and strong, we let her get free more than we should have.”

Clark knows positioning and takes up a lot of space, which makes her a tremendous rebounder.

“Rebounding is key and definitely we need to box out,” she said. “Coach is always preaching five to the defensive boards. … As a post, that’s your job to get to the boards.”

Seven of Clark’s rebounds came on the offensive boards, where she has a knack for turning an offensive rebound into a basket.

Trailing by 12 at halftime, Lakes began the third quarter with 11 consecutive scoreless possessions and fell behind by 18 points, effectively ending the game.

It was another terrific defensive performance by the Wildcats, who have held 18 opponents to fewer than 30 points this season.

“Defense is definitely a key thing for our team,” said junior Jaycie Burger, who hit 10 of 14 free throws, but only 2 of 15 shots and finished with 15 points. “Sometimes we go through dry spells like me tonight — I could not find the basket. When you can’t find the basket, it’s definitely important to make sure the other team can’t find it, either.”

A year ago, Pittsford advanced to the championship game and led St. Ignace by 20 points in the third quarter before losing in overtime.

Burger and her teammates would like to flip the script Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

“I think it’s an amazing opportunity to be able to play here at the Breslin Center — to play for a state title,” she said. “And to have already been here to play for a state title and to know what it feels like to lose, I definitely don’t want to let that happen again.”

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Preps!

EAST LANSING – Ithaca’s chances for a Class C state title took a big hit with 1:17 left in the first quarter Thursday at the Breslin Center, when senior point guard Brooklyn Dolloff suffered a right ankle injury after making a pass to a teammate.

She stepped on the foot of an Ypsilanti Arbor Prep player, went down withering in pain and was done for the day. She had scored four points up to that point in a close game.

Ithaca was unable to recover, falling, 72-44, in the Class C semifinal, sending Arbor Prep (24-2) to Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game against Traverse City St. Francis.

Dolloff’s absence was noticeable quickly as Ithaca committed 11 turnovers in the second quarter alone.

Coach Jessie Rayburn said Flint Hamady suffered the same fate when it lost its point guard to an ankle injury during the quarterfinal loss to the Yellowjackets. But now the same nightmare was occurring on the Ithaca bench.

“I sprained it,” said a dejected Dolloff. “They took me in the back for X-rays. It was probably more painful not being out there than the injury. It was very upsetting.”

Arbor Prep lost to Flint Hamady, 50-46, in last year’s state semifinals.

“It took me about a month to get over that game,” said senior Nastassja Chambers, who led the Gators with 24 points. “I was lot more vocal this year. The girls probably got tired of me. The goal was to get back here and we played a tough schedule to get us ready.”

There was no let up by the Gators as the lead swelled to 31. They scored the first 17 points to start the third and outscored Ithaca, 30-5, during that quarter.

“That’s our game,” said Arbor Prep coach Rod Wells of his team’s pressure defense. “We knew they had lost their point guard and we were sorry to hear about that. Actually this team hasn’t forced as many turnovers as we’ve had in years past. We decided with the bigger arena that we would concentrate on sitting down and playing good man-to-man defense.”

Arbor Prep led by only one point, 16-15, after one quarter.

“With the injury we obviously had people playing out of position,” said Rayburn. “Their pressure caused us a lot of problems.”

The Yellowjackets had issues with the Gators’ press in the second quarter, as four turnovers helped Arbor Prep extend its lead to 22-17 on a fast-break lay-up by junior guard Ro’zhane Wells (11 points).

Ball-handling continued to be an issue when two straight turnovers by the Yellowjackets helped a run that produced the Gators first double-digit lead of the game, 29-19, on a layup by Chambers. Arbor Prep led, 36-25, at halftime.

Despite its miscues, Ithaca shot 60% in the first half, but was able to take just 20 shots. Meanwhile, the Gators were 41.7% from the field, but committed just five turnovers in the first half.

The turnovers kept coming in the third quarter for the Yellowjackets. By the time Ithaca finally scored in the third they were behind, 53-27.

Sophomore Kayla Belles led Ithaca with 16 points.

Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Birmingham Detroit Country Day players celebrate March 21, 2015, in East Lansing.

The best girls basketball teams in Michigan travel to the Breslin Center in East Lansing this week to battle for state championships. (The tournament actually is displacing the Michigan State women’s basketball team.)

We have reporters and photographers on the scene, so check back often at usatodayhss.com/market/detroit.

Here’s the schedule of events. Links before and during games go to a live radio broadcast. Links after games go to our stories.

Check out Son of Swami’s picks for all eight semifinals here.

Thursday (semifinals)

Class C: Traverse City St. Francis 53, Niles Brandywine 40

Class C: Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 72, Ithaca 44

Class D: Pittsford 62, Waterford Our Lady 43

Class D: Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart 45, Stephenson 38

Friday (semifinals)

Class A: Detroit King (23-1) vs. St. Johns (23-3), 1 p.m.

Class A: Warren Cousino (21-4) vs. Hudsonville (23-3), 2:50 p.m.

Class B: Birmingham Detroit Country Day (24-1) vs. Grand Rapids South Christian (24-2), 6 p.m.

Class B: Marshall (24-1) vs. Bay City John Glenn (25-1), 7:50 p.m.

Saturday (finals)

Class D: Pittsford (26-0) vs. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart (24-1), 10 a.m.

Class A: Noon

Class C: Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (24-2) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (26-1), 4 p.m.

Class B: 6 p.m.

Tweets from the arena

On a mobile device? Click here for live tweets.

Detroit King’s Erica Whitely-Jackson scored 10 points in the MHSAA girls basketball Class A semifinal against St. Johns at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on Friday, March 18, 2016.

EAST LANSING — Micaela Kelly had her own special gameplan for what she didn’t want to be her last appearance in the Breslin Center.

“I wanted to get to a good start fast because I’ve never seen this team play so I didn’t want them to jump on us first,” the Detroit King senior guard said. “So I said if we get them early, then we wouldn’t have to worry about fighting for it to get back up.”

Kelly hit her first two three-point shots and the Crusaders were the ones doing the jumping.

King nailed nine three-point shots Friday to move into the Class A state championship game with a 56-48 semifinal victory over St. Johns.

Six of King’s triples came within the first nine minutes of the game as the Crusaders (24-1) had St. Johns reeling.

“Our goal was to try to bring them down a little bit, try to keep them out of the lane and challenge the shooters,” said St. Johns coach Mark Lasceski said. “They came out and hit their first three three-point shots and it was like: Holy Smokes!”

St. Johns (23-4) was a determined bunch and the Redwings never backed down from King, trailing only 16-14 after one quarter.

After drilling two more three-pointers in the first minutes of the second quarter, King missed four-straight triple attempts, but played good enough defense to build a 24-17 halftime lead.

“If you’re a three-point shooting team you’re always going to have those highs and those lows,” explained King coach William Winfield. “We always expect that, but hopefully our defense will hold up until we start hitting them again. We did an excellent job in terms of our select three-point shooting, which was a little bit off the last game that we played.”

King wound up shooting 9 of 18 from beyond the three-point arc, and it became frustrating for the St. Johns players to trade two-point baskets for three-pointer baskets.

“They were shooting tremendously well and props to them and credit to them because they were making good shots,” said St. Johns’ Maddie Maloney. “We were trying to get the hand up on their shots, but they kept putting them down.”

The Crusaders are always looking for three-point opportunities. Midway through the fourth quarter Kelly grabbed an offensive rebound in the lane and passed it outside to Alicia Norman, who drilled her third triple.

“I look at what the defense gives me and I was open so I shot it,” said Norman. “And my adrenaline was pumping.”

St. Johns trailed by as many as 14 points, but made a late run that Kelly was able fight off with six points.

“My free throw shooting could have been better if I would have relaxed more and took my time,” she said. “But I think I knocked down some good ones that sealed the game.”

It also sealed a spot in today Class A state championship game against Warren Cousino at noon. It will be the 12th championship game for the Crusaders, who have won five titles — but none since 2006.

“It means a lot mainly because this is my last year of high school and I’ll never get this chance again,” said Kelly, who has signed with DePaul. “And I want to go to college with something.”

Something like a state championship ring.

Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball state semifinals

Photos from the game: 

Detroit King’s Jordan Lewis ices her knee in the fourth quarter Friday. The team’s orange socks and shoes are a throwback to when the school was Detroit Eastern.

Detroit King wears black and gold, but accessorizes its jerseys with unique orange socks and shoes. The orange represents deep roots to the former Detroit Eastern High, which opened in 1901 and wore black and orange. The school name was changed in 1968 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Teacher Elbert Johnson, who was in the stands Friday afternoon, came out of retirement to again teach history at King. He was captain of the swimming team as a student at Eastern.

“It means they respect me and the other alumni (of Eastern),” Johnson said of the orange apparel. “When the alumni come out to games, it makes them proud.”

And they have plenty of reasons to be proud.

King head coach William Winfield has the most coaching appearances in the girls Class A finals with 12, ranging from 1985 to this year’s match up against Warren Cousino, scheduled for today at noon.

ON POINT: It wouldn’t be fair to her teammates in a sport like basketball to call Warren Cousino junior Kierra Fletcher a one-player show. But her season-long offensive statistics far out-paced those of any other player coming into the four-team Class A semifinals field.

Through regional play, Fletcher was the only player to score over 500 points (513), while the next closest was Micaela Kelly of Detroit King with 346. The key for King’s success — including Friday’s win over St. Johns — is having a teammate close to that total, which the Crusaders did in Tia Tedford with 328 points.

In Friday’s semifinals, Fletcher was a powerhouse in a win over Hudsonville, scoring 37 points to tie for third all-time in semifinals action. Kelly added 18 points to her stats and Tedford scored seven in King’s win over St. Johns.

WHAT A RUN! Hudsonville experienced a breakout season in 2015-16 like no other the past seven years under head coach Casey Glass. With a career record just over .500 at 83-77, nearly 30 percent of his wins came this season alone, with 23.

Two years ago, Hudsonville won just two games.

“A couple girls were on that team then, so now it’s really nice to see the difference, and the difference in support from our students,” said Hudsonville senior and fan, Aaron Chycinski. “Now that we’re here at the Breslin, with over 300 students (in the student cheering section) it’s pretty cool to be here. They look really good. They’ve been playing really well.”

CROWD CONTROL: St. Johns’ fans filled virtually every seat of five lower bowl sections, estimated at 1,800 people, a huge crowd for Friday afternoon semifinals — and more than double of any other school in the Class A semifinals.

“They’ve given us a lot of energy and they’re part of the reason why we got here,” said St. Johns coach Mark Lasceski. “It’s just tremendous to be a part of the St. Johns community and how people came out and just helped us be what we were, knowing we had their support. It’s been awesome.”

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball semifinals

Grand Rapids South Christian’s Zoie Hulst and Markayla Vander celebrate with their team after South Christian’s 57-46 win in the Class B state semifinal Friday in East Lansing.

EAST LANSING – Jennifer DeBoer and her Grand Rapids South Christian teammates weren’t intimidated one bit having to go up against favored Birmingham Detroit Country Day, the school that has won more state basketball titles (10) than any other. In fact, she cherished the underdog role.

“It was kind of fun because no one really expected us to come out how we did, especially in the first half. We were up 10 at halftime — that was an amazing feeling, but I knew that they were going to keep pushing back, so we had to keep our poise and keep our control,” said DeBoer, who scored a game-high 18. “We knew that we really didn’t have anything to lose; we made it to the final four and we really wanted to win, but the pressure wasn’t really on us. I think that kind of calmed my nerves.”

Coach Kim Legge said that sense of calm helped the Sailors (25-2) get the job done.

“All season long we have been a very even-keeled team and people have said that to me from the outset, ‘You guys just look so poised all the time.’” She said. “Even when teams are making runs against us, we stay even-keeled and keep our heads above water.”

SEEN IT BEFORE: When Country Day scored just 14 points in the first half Friday, it wasn’t the first time the 24-2 Yellowjackets had to deal with a slow start. Coach Frank Orlando said his squad was “a second-half team” and had to battle back from deficits in several games this year.

Country Day fell behind quickly against South Christian, shooting a measly 17.4% from the floor in the first half. The Yellowjackets were kept scoreless in second quarter until Kaela Webb hit a running hook with 1:12 before halftime to make the score 22-10.

Coincidentally, that was the halftime deficit when the Yellowjackets played Class C finalist Ypsilanti Arbor Prep five weeks ago, the difference being that Country Day won that game, 37-33, by scoring the last 19 points of that game. The Yellowjackets couldn’t quite duplicate that feat Friday, though — they got as close as four points, 41-37, before falling to South Christian, 57-46.

THAT’S A LOT OF POINTS: At 1,803 and counting, Country Day graduate Aerial Powers became the Michigan State women’s basketball all-time leading scorer during the Spartans’ first-round NCAA tournament victory over Belmont on Friday, and that got us wondering: Who is the all-time leading scorer in Country Day history?

That would be Miss Basketball 1989, Peggy Evans Carr. En route to compiling over 1,800 career points, she scored a championship-game record 47 (going 19-of-24 from the floor) in the Yellowjackets’ 71-59 victory over Saginaw Valley Lutheran in the 1989 Class C title game. She later played at Tennessee and Ohio State, and coached Inkster to the 2010-11 Class A title.

THAT WILL HAVE TO WAIT: With Marshall’s last-second victory, it meant three of Class B’s most exciting players won’t be sharing the same court tonight in the championship game. But they are very likely to do so next season, as Bay City Glenn’s Cassidy Boensch and Jenai LaPorte and Grand Rapids South Christian’s Jennifer DeBoer are all headed to Grand Valley State University. Still, it would have been fun to have their prep teams face each other for a state title, said LaPorte, who led her team with 15 points. “When we saw them win their game, that’s what we were really hoping for — to play them in the finals — but now we’re just rooting for her all the way, and we’re just really proud of her.”

Listen live: Michigan girls basketball semifinals