Goals in the rafters: Top-ranked Eagles clinch league, set goals on MACS championship
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER HILLS — Paula Bronsing knew that something special was brewing at Rochester Hills Christian during the 2007-08 school year.
The junior high girls basketball coach at the time, she saw a talented group of female athletes coming up through the program. That year, her junior high team gave the varsity some fits, and that varsity team was loaded with sophomores and freshmen to begin with and finished dead last in conference play.
The Eagles finished 1-15 on the varsity that season, including 0-10 in the FBAC Red Division.
Much has changed since that lowly season.
Bronsing took over the varsity the next season in 2008-09 and has watched this program rise quickly. With six seniors still with the program, the 2010-11 season has become the school’s all-time best to date.
“I knew that we had a chance to be good. We needed to work hard, put in the time in the offseason, and do all the little things that need to be done in order to be successful,” offered Bronsing, a 2001 graduate of the school who is also the athletics director at Rochester Hills Christian. “We have (matured) every year I’ve been here. Now, we feel we can compete with anyone.”
Rochester Hills Christian put the finishing touches on the FBAC Red Division title on Tuesday, just the school’s second all-time. The Eagles toppled visiting Troy Bethany Christian 45-32, which ended Bethany’s eight-year run atop the league.
The Bruins needed a win to earn a share of the title.
“It feels great to get them. Someone else was due in our league,” laughed Bronsing. “We are a veteran team and we felt going into the season that we were the favorites. Bethany has lost some talented girls (to graduation and transfer) the past couple of years. We believed that the league was ours this year.”
Freshman Ashley Parker, recently called up to the varsity, led the Eagles with 13 points. Senior Megan Steiner had 10 points and 12 rebounds, while fellow senior Jane Crile had 10 points and 11 boards for the league champs.
Rochester Hills Christian played without senior starter Devon Tucker, out with an injury, while junior point guard Allise DuBay, a first-team all-conference player last season, played sparingly as she tries to bounce back from a sprained ankle.
“We’ve had some girls out of the line-up, so others have stepped up,” praised Bronsing. “We hope to have everyone here for the (state) tournament.
Freshman Sarah Bishop picked up 10 points for Bethany Christian (10-4, 6-2), which dropped it s first two league games in five years this season, both to the Eagles.
Already shattering the school record for wins in a season with a 21-1 overall ledger, Rochester Hills Christian must now turn its attention to the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I sectionals. The Eagles will play at Clarkston Springfield Christian at 6 p.m. Thursday in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.
Rochester Hills is the top-ranked school in the MACS — its only loss came last month at the Pensacola Christian College (Fla.) Invitational, to Brandon (Fla.) Faith Missionary Christian by 15 points —
The Eagles have never gone farther than the state quarterfinals, last year and once before in 2000, and have set their goals in the rafters.
“I think the girls want t win the state championship,” said Bronsing. “We have built for this the past three years. We have a lot of seniors and this is the way they want to go out.
“If we play to the level that we are capable of playing, then we should be able to get to the finals,” added Bronsing, whose team lost to Saginaw Community Baptist 36-31 in last year’s quarterfinals.. “We’ve already beaten a lot of the teams in the MACS. We’ve played more games this season, and we’ve gone out and scheduled some tougher non-conference games. We’ve done whatever necessary to get us ready for the state tournament.”
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com
Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Rochester Hills Christian, Troy Bethany Christian, Troy Christian Leadership Acadamy
