By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
For the fourth consecutive year, the Rockford girls’ basketball team has advanced to at least the quarterfinal round of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 playoffs. This time it was the Trojans of Traverse City Central who were the victims in an 81-40 Rockford win at Traverse City Central High School. Rockford will now advance to play fellow OK Red member Grand Haven on Tuesday, March 18 at Muskegon Mona Shores High School at 7:00 P.M. The two teams have met twice this year with Rockford winning 60-48 at home and 45-34 at Grand Haven. Rockford is ranked number one in the state and the Buccaneers are in the top five in various polls. The Rams will enter the contest with a record of 25-1 and Grand Haven sits at 22-3.
Since the MHSAA redrew the districts last year, the Rams have been sent on at least one-hour long treks for every postseason contest this year. In the Regional final the Rams not only had to travel two-plus hours to the venue, they had to play on the opponents’ home court. The Trojans were also on a roll, having won 15 of their last 16 games. The contest began with the Trojans using their pair of 6’1″ post players to great effect and forging a 15-15 tie late in the opening quarter. But it was all Rams from that point forward. A pair of Ram hoops from Desirae Donley and Anna Wypych in the final 30 seconds gave Rockford a 19-15 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Wypych sisters ( senior Anna and freshman Addison) then went on a family vendetta against the Trojans as they combined for 19 of the 23 points the Rams scored in the second quarter. Between them they amassed 31 points in the first half. Rockford increased their lead to 42-24 at the half as they made life difficult for the Trojans on both ends of the court. Addison Wypych was tremendous in on ball pressure as the Rams contested every pass and often ended up with a steal or forced turnover for the balance of the game.
“I thought we got a lot of turnovers and offense that came from that,” said Rockford Head Coach Brad Wilson. “Addison (Wypych) has been playing basketball since she was in kindergarten and she is a Wypych! I think a lot of people forget that she is only 14 years old. She is an unbelievable player and the best is yet to come. And I give a lot of credit to all of our girls. We came ready to play after a two-and-a-half-hour drive in our opponents’ home gym. I felt like we moved the ball pretty well and found the open shooters and put it in the hole. We feel like our defense travels every night and when we are shooting well, we are a tough opponent for anyone. Very proud of everyone tonight on our whole roster.”
The third quarter was more of the same with Anna Wypych scoring six points, but Kate Higgins continued to flash her postseason prowess as she canned a pair of triples on her way to eight points despite playing only a portion of the quarter. Wison began going to the bench when the lead grew to 30 points midway through the third quarter. Freshman Kendall Bires flashed her vast potential in the final quarter as she poured in seven points of her own. The Rams offensive execution did not suffer at all in the final quarter as they poured in 19 points. Twelve of the fourteen players who suited up broke into the scoring column for Rockford. Anna Wypych led Rockford with 24 points and Addison Wypych finished with 13. Higgins added 11 while Bires and Donley both finished with 7.
“You know, the journey isn’t over and this is just one more step up the ladder and we are going to continue to climb,” said Wilson. “We are not always the tallest or the most athletic team, but I think we are the toughest. We have a lot of heart and we find ways to win in different ways. We knew they were going to be tough on the boards but we made adjustments after struggling early on and carried the play for the rest of the night. It is great for the OK Red that we are playing Grand Haven and they are a very good team. But we are just worried about ourselves and continuing to get better. We will definitely be ready for Grand Haven on Tuesday.”
