By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo by Miles Postema
The girls’ basketball teams from Rockford and West Bloomfield have met both of the last two seasons in at least the semifinal round of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 tournament. West Bloomfield won a thriller in the semis in 2022 and went on to cruise to the state championship. Last year it was the Rams who emerged victorious in the title tilt in a contest that came down to the final buzzer. Both squads are littered with players who have plenty of experience in the limelight of the Breslin Center. The difference this year is that most of the Laker players who have been here before are now seniors while the Rams feature only a single senior (Grace Lyons) in their regular rotation.
Rockford enters the game with a record of 26-1 while West Bloomfield sits at 25-1. The lone loss for the Rams came in an early season contest at East Kentwood and the lone West Bloomfield loss came against one of the top teams in Ohio (Whitehouse Anthony Wayne). Both squads have multiple wins over ranked teams in Michigan. Rockford returns a pair of starters in Lyons and junior standout Anna Wypych. It would have been three starters except for the season-ending injury suffered by sophomore star Sienna Wolfe. Wypych and Lyons led the way for the Rams in their 52-36 quarterfinal win over Holland West Ottawa with 17 and 13 points respectively.
“What an awesome environment.” said Rockford Coach Brad Wilson. “Very proud of our team and its ability to close out games down the stretch. Our team motto is Horns Up, which to us means having a next play mentality and focusing on winning every possession. Our kids put that on full display in the quarterfinals before an absolutely packed house at Grandville.”
West Bloomfield returns four starters, headlined by twins Summer and Indya Davis. They had originally committed to Michigan State but instead cast their lot with Georgia after a coaching change in East Lansing. The third senior Division 1 commit is forward Kendall Hendrix. She has signed with Loyola of Chicago. The final returning starter is senior guard Destiny Washington. The Lakers are not an overly big team but have tremendous athleticism up and down the lineup.
“To make it to the Breslin center 3 years in a row is a dream come true” said Wilson. “We are looking forward to the challenge facing West Bloomfield”
“They are one of the best teams in the country. Summer and Indy Davis are two of the best players in the entire state, committed to play at the university of Georgia next season. Kendall Hendrix is the best power forward in the state. Point guard Destiny Washington has very good ball skills and distributes the ball nicely for their squad.”
“It will be a monumental task attempting to defend their team. Defensively, they are as aggressive as it gets, pressing every chance they get and mixing in several 1/2 court trap packages. We will have to take care of the ball and knock down some shots.”
Game time is slated for 2:00 P.M. on Friday, March 21 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The winner will advance to the title tilt at the same venue on the following day against the winner of the Bellville versus Grand Blanc contest.
