Not only did Goodrich win the Class B state girls’ basketball championship, but it also dusted an impressive slate of opponents en route to its first title.
In the finals, Goodrich slipped past Grand Rapids Catholic Central 60-53. It had defeated Divine Child Catholic in the semifinals 68-53 and eliminated Detroit Country Day in the quarterfinals 56-47.
Those three opponents had won the last three Class B state titles.
Jason Gray celebrated his lucky 13th coaching season with a title that improved his record to 268-38.
“We’re thrilled to be state champs,” he said. “It was a heck of a battle. We had a lot of things that didn’t go our way, a lot of loose balls we couldn’t get. They made some spectacular plays. I’m proud of the way we continued to play through those issues. The girls and I couldn’t be more excited to have won the state championship.”
In the title game, Goodrich prevailed with a 21-13 scoring edge in the final quarter to put the game away. Goodrich was up 12-11 after the first quarter and 28-26 at halftime.
Frankie Joubran led the state champs with 16 points and five rebounds, while Aketra Sevillian netted 13 points, and Destiny Stephens collected 11 points. Morgan Eddy added 13 rebounds, including six from the offensive end.
“Morgan, I was so proud of her tonight,” Gray said. “She’s been a great offensive rebounder for us all year. She stuck with it and was able to make those big plays. She knocked in some big free throws as well.”
Goodrich was 20 of 50 from the floor and 14 of 21 from the line, while Catholic Central was 21 of 47 from the floor and 9 of 13 from the stripe.
“Our theme this year was stay hungry,” Gray said. “A few years ago, we were in the quarterfinals, and last year we got to the semifinals. We knew we were a good team. We wanted to make sure we were putting forth the effort. We have a lot of talent. We stayed hungry. We maintained that focus the entire year.”
Goodrich bested Catholic Central 12-2 in the fast-break points and 11-0 in points from off the bench.
“A big focus for us at halftime was that our defensive pressure was going to win this game,” Gray said. “That’s absolutely what did it.”
Both teams had 31 rebounds.
“I thought we missed some key rebounds at the end; that’s how [Goodrich] pulled it out,” said Catholic Central coach Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate.
Tiesha Stokes had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Catholic Central, while Alyia Dilworth added 13 points, and Shellis Hampton ended a strong senior season with 12 points and six assists.
“I would rather go out with a win,” a disappointed Hampton said.
But on the other side, Gray & crew were able to get that elusive title.
“It’s awfully sweet,” Gray said. “For me as a coach, it’s my 13th year. When we started out, we couldn’t get by the Flint Powers. There’s always someone ahead of us. Teams like Country Day, Divine Child, Grand Rapids Catholic, and Powers – those are championship caliber teams every year. We’ve worked ourselves up pretty close to that situation.”