March Magic in December. The girls basketball tournaments have provided
thrills since their arrival in the winter of 1973. The past 25 years have
included some heart-stopping semifinal matchups. Here are a handful:
Hopkins 45, Kalamazoo Christian 44 — Class
C, Friday, December 12, 1975 at East Grand Rapids High School
Hopkins hit five of its first seven shots following the intermission,
rapidly increasing a 23-22 halftime lead to a 39-28 margin over Kalamazoo
Christian. But the Comets, who had never trailed in second halves throughout
the tournament, battled back beh ind the solid shooting of Carol Manni and
Debbie Lemmer. A Manni basket gave Kalamazoo Christian a slim 44-43 lead
with 1:20 to play, but Hopkins responded with a Sue Maher layup with 35
seconds left to give the Vikings the victory and a trip to the fin als.
Grand Rapids West Catholic 52, Flint Beecher 51 (2 OT) — Class B, Friday,
December 14, 1979 at Lansing Waverly High School
In 1978, Flint Beecher had made it to the Class B Final by defeating Grand
Rapids West Catholic in the semifinals. This time, West Catholic seemed
intent on revenge, building a 41-27 lead with six minutes to play. But Beecher
rallied with a 20-6 run, f orcing the game to overtime on a court-length
pass from Shelly Sparks to Diana Wiley that Wiley swiftly deposited into
the basket with two seconds to play. The Lady Bucs grabbed their first lead
of the game, 49-47, on Sabrina Young’s layup with 57 seco nds remaining
in the extra frame. The Falcons tied the game again on a Kathy Grzegorski
bucket with 35 seconds to go. The Lady Bucs missed on a final attempt, and
the teams went to a second overtime. Grzegorski, who finished with a game-high
29 point s, nailed another basket for the Falcons, but Sparks countered
for Beecher with a pair of free throws to tie the game, 51-51, with 50 seconds
left in the second overtime. Grzegorski added a free throw nine seconds
later to put West Catholic up by the fi nal score of 52-51, as the Falcons
held off numerous Beecher chances in the final seconds.
White Cloud 51, Benzie Central 50 — Class C, Friday, December
10, 1982 at Farmington High School
White Cloud opened up a seven-point lead at the half, pushed the margin
to 14 at the end of three quarters of play, then held off a furious Benzie
Central rally. The Huskies, led by Vonnie Shimp, Shelly Nowak, Quinn LaFleur
and Dawn Cady, cut the lead t o 10 in the first three minutes of the fourth
quarter, then to four points, 43-39, with just over three minutes to play.
Bonnie Stockopf hit a free throw to stop the Benzie run, and Cheri Cane
added two more for the Indians at the 2:25 mark, but the gir ls from Benzie
didn’t let up. Baskets by Shimp and LaFleur gave the Huskies their
first lead of the day, 48-46 with 54 seconds to play. The teams exchanged
free throws and Benzie still led 50-48 with 25 seconds remaining. White
Cloud allowed 16 second s to tick off the clock before Tracey Alger found
Teresa Harvatich underneath the basket. The Indians’ leading scorer
tied the game at 50, and was fouled on the way up. Following a Benzie Central
timeout, Harvatich sank the shot from the charity stripe to win the ball
game, giving White Cloud its first trip to the finals.
Frankenmuth 43, Grand Rapids Christian 42 — Class B, Friday,
December 11, 1987 at Jenison High School
“We don’t have any plays on offense,” said Frankenmuth coach
Art Pelzer following the contest. “We just free-lance or play street
ball. When somebody gets open, they shoot.” Tied 22-22 at halftime,
Pelzer’s unbeaten Eagles clung to a slim lead for muc h of their match
with Grand Rapids Christian. Christian forward Cathy Vos was surrounded
for much of the game, as Frankemuth’s disciplined zone defense took
control. Vos hit two of her 16 points on a jumper to give Christian its
first lead 40-39, at th e 1:52 mark of the fourth quarter. The stage was
set for a frantic finish. Each team committed two turnovers before Laura
Butman scored on a short shot to reclaim the lead for Frankenmuth. But Michelle
VanZee nailed a driving jumper with 19 seconds to put Christian back on
top. Frankenmuth’s Stephanie Larges had the final word, however, as
her 15-footer with eight seconds left dropped through the hoop for a dramatic
victory.
St. Joseph 41, Wayland 40 — Class B, Friday, December 1,
1989 at Jenison High School
Trailing 39-32 with less than two minutes to play, the top-ranked Wildcats
of Wayland looked finished. Desperate, they began to foul anyone. The strategy
worked as the Wildcats stormed back. Julie Ainsworth hit a basket from inside
and Heather Klinge nailed a trey. Then, with nine second remaining, Missy
Bratsburg drilled another three-pointer, and Wayland led, 40-39. St. Joseph
senior Tracey Bloodworth, the team’s leading scorer, stormed up the
court, ignored the pleas of her father, Coach Rick Bloodworth for a timeout,
and fed Liz Vernasco a perfect pass for the game-winning layup in a wild
finish, as Wayland’s last-ditch half-court shot bounced off the rim.
Frankenmuth 60, St. Joseph 51 in OT —Class B, Friday, December
3, 1993 at Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek
In a rematch of the 1992 MHSAA Class B Final, Frankenmuth jumped
out to a 28-22 halftime lead over St. Joseph, then extended the margin to
nine points, 31-22, early in the third quarter. The Bears rebounded with
strong shooting by Peyton Brown and Kim D ykstra to take a 42-41 lead entering
the final frame. Despite losing starting center Mary Kaye Lutz to fouls
early in the quarter, the Eagles fought back and opened a 51-47 lead with
3:49 to play. St. Joseph’s Kim Knuth found the hoop on two occasions
in the final minutes to force the game into overtime knotted at 51. Frankenmuth’s
tenacious defense forced four turnovers, completely shutting down the Bears’
offense in the extra frame. Coach Art Pelzer’s team scored nine points
and coasted to victor y. Pelzer, a 1959 graduate of St. Joseph, would retire
one day later as the MHSAA’s all-time leader in girls basketball victories
(423-44) following a 50-43 loss to Dearborn Divine Child in the Finals
Crystal Falls-Forest Park 45, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes
44 — Class D, Thursday, November 30, 1995 at Kellogg Arena, Battle
Creek
Coach Jerry Hautala and his staff of assistants had made the promise to
wear red tuxedos if his Crystal Falls-Forest Park squad made it to the MHSAA
Finals. The main obstacle was a top-ranked squad from Waterford Our Lady
of the Lakes in the semifinal g ame. With 13 seconds left, Waterford’s
Katie Knake nailed her second straight trey to give the Lakes a one-point
lead, 44-43. The Trojans called timeout, and discussed the play. With a
single tick remaining on the clock, heavily defended sophomore Jul ie Hautala—Jerry’s
daughter—nailed a seven-footer to give Crystal Falls a heart-stopping
victory, and Coach Hautala a new suit. “They said, ‘Coach, you
made a promise,’ so we stopped at a shop down here and had them flown
in from Arkansas,” said Hautala about the staff’s attire during
the team’s Final appearance. “I like to wear blue jeans and a
T-shirt myself.”
Birmingham Marian 48, Grand Rapids Christian 47 — Class
A, Thursday, December 6, 1996 at Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek
Grand Rapids Christian had notched 26 consecutive victories, including a
quarterfinal win over top-ranked and two-time defending champion Flint Northern.
This time, however, the Eagles found themselves trailing Birmingham Marian
by seven points, 48-41, with 1:09 to go. Christian’s Karen Deurloo
scored a basket and a pair of free throws, while teammate Katie Dykhouse
added a bucket with 31 seconds left to cut the margin to a single point.
Marian, which failed to score on its final four possessions of the contest,
left Deurloo open for a shot from eight feet out with only seconds remaining,
but the ball did not fall. Brooke Gallert’s put-back of the shot at
the buzzer also missed, and Marian escaped the flurry with a thrilling victory.
—Ron Pesch
Ron Pesch is the historian for the MHSAA. Story ideas and potential statistical records submissions are always welcome. Write to Pesch at 1447 Henry Street, Muskegon, MI 49441.