MACS: Rochester Hills Christian reaches to first D-I final; Springfield advances in D-II

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

CLARKSTON — A year ago, Rochester Hills Christian saw its season come to an end via upset.

The Eagles, despite a loft No. 1 ranking all season, were upset in the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state semifinals by Davison Faith Baptist, 29-26.

That was with a veteran squad.

This season, Rochester Hills featured a team with five freshmen and two sophomores on its 13-player roster. The Eagles did not fall victim in an upset this time around.

Rochester Hills withstood a 19-15 fourth-quarter run by chief rival Troy Bethany Christian in Friday’s MACS-I state semifinals and hung on for a 45-42 triumph over the Bruins in a game played at Clarkston Springfield Christian.

The Eagles will play for their first state championship in school history at 3 p.m. Saturday, when they face top-ranked Carson City Fellowship.
“It feels great to finally get there,” said coach Paula Bronsing, whose squad carries a 19-4 record into the title bout, second most wins in school history. “We will be playing a really good team. Carson City has three good guards that can really shoot it and they have a solid post player.”

Rochester Hills opened with an 8-4 first quarter and used a 12-10 second quarter for a 20-14 lead at the half. The Eagles held a 10-9 edge in the third quarter for a 32-23 lead entering the final frame.

Bethany Christian (9-7) got untracked in the final frame, sinking a trio threes with a wide assortment of layups on cuts to the baskets.

Rochester Hills sophomore Kinda Armitage split a pair of free throws and senior guard Allise Dubay sank a pair of freebies with 11 second left to put the Eagles up by three.

Troy Bethany inbounded the ball, but Dubay swiped the inbounds pass and ran out the clock before the Bruins could foul.

Bethany had played in straight state finals games, winning five straight before finishing as the state runner up last season.

“Sure, we would love to win it every year, but we still had a good season,” said Bethany Christian coach Tom Hagspihl. “Rochester was just a little bit better than us tonight. Some days you get the shots to fall and others you don’t. We struggled in the first half. We did a nice job coming back, but we couldn’t hit the shot to tie it.

“We’re still a young team and we’ll return a lot of players next year,” added Hagspihl. “We hope to be back next year.”

Rochester Hills had never reached the Final Four until last season and now will be playing on the season’s final day for the first time.

Freshman guard Ashley Parker scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Eagles. Dubay added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and freshman Jenna Porter had 10 points and four blocks.

“We struggled from the foul line, but we made the defensive plays in this game. That was the difference,” noted Bronsing. “We made some key steals in the second half when they were making their run at us. Allise Dubay and Ashley Parker both had big steals in the fourth quarter.”

Junior guard Lianna Sprankle led Bethany with 15 points. Sophomore Sarah Bishop followed with nine points for the Bruins.

MACS DIVISION II

CLARKSTON SPRINGFIELD CHRISTIAN 34, HOLT CAPITOL CITY BAPTIST 14: Playing a tough regular season schedule is paying dividends for the Springfield Christian.

The Eagles advanced top their first state final since 2001 and only second since 1988 with this 20-point win.

Springfield will face Kinross Maplewood Baptist, the sole Upper Peninsula school to enter the tournament this season, at 1 p.m. Saturday at Springfield Christian.

Sophomore guard Lauren Key scored a season-high 20 points to pace the Eagles, Senior Savannah Berlinski twined seven points with 12 rebounds.

“We have come a long ways since the beginning of the year,” said Springfield coach James Day. “We struggling at the beginning and we didn’t do well in our league. But we’re in a tough league with two teams in the Division I semifinals and those schools are a lot bigger than us. When we play small schools like us, we tend to do a lot better.”

Springfield went with some pressure defense to hassle the Cougars. The Eagles led 12-2 by the end of the first quarter and 22-7 at the half and never allowed Capitol City a chance to make a threat.

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