GRAND RAPIDS – It’s enough to make you want to weep.
It was the final basketball game in the fine prep careers of Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Academy seniors Sophie Ruggles, Grace Reetz, Megan Nowak, Maggie Yonker and Hadyn Terwilliger.
The stage was significant too as the Irish were playing in their third-straight Class D semifinal contest from the campus of Calvin College in front of over 2,000 screaming fans.
Coming into Thursday night’s semifinal versus Adrian Lenawee Christian the Irish sported the top ranking in Class D and were unbeaten at 25-0. With a victory the Irish would have advanced into Saturday’s Class D state finale versus Chassell from Van Noord Arena.
Yet, in the end, the 2017-18 season came to an abrupt end for the Irish as Cougar freshman forward Bree Salenbien hit a 10-foot runner in the lane with four seconds left in overtime to propel her team to a 46-44 overtime victory over the stunned Irish.
The finality of it all had to be heartbreaking for Sacred Heart Academy because its dream of winning a second state title since 2014 was no more, dashed by a single shot in the waning seconds of a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes. Had there been 30 additional seconds on the clock SHA very well could have won, but there wasn’t.
Despite what had just transpired Sacred Heart’s senior class, along with junior point guard Scout Nelson, joined long-time coach Damon Brown in the postgame press conference wearing smiles. Every one of them was smiling from ear to ear, which considering the circumstances was completely unexpected but equally telling.
“This is kind of how our team is,” said a smiling Reetz through the remnants of recent tears cried. “We all feel like we couldn’t have done anything else out there. We tried our best, we wanted a state title but being together is enough for us.”
While Sacred Heart’s postgame demeanor was unique - usually there’s a ton of tears in losses this deep into the postseason - it also spoke to the fact that the Irish left it all on the floor. When you give it everything you have and find defeat only seconds away from potential victory you can walk away from it with your head held high.
No regrets, no what-ifs.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more tonight,” said coach Brown, who has led the Irish to a record of 94-10 over the course of the last four years. “It was a great high school basketball game (and) this is what tournament time is all about. You play the entire game, you leave it out there on the floor (and) that’s why we’re smiling. We’re not sad because we lost, we’re just sad because we don’t get to hang out with each other anymore. It was a great game (and) both teams left it on the floor and at this time of the year that’s what you expect.”
Truth be told the Irish (25-1) and Cougars (25-1) could play one another 20 times and both teams would win their equal share.
“It could go either way,” said Brown of how competitively close the two teams are. “It’s two really good teams with very good players and well coached.”
As for the game itself, well, it was super close throughout. Sacred Heart’s biggest lead was two points while Adrian Lenawee Christian’s biggest advantage was five. Of the 32 minutes of game time the score was tied for 11:27.
Sacred Heart took an early lead in the first quarter before the Cougars tied it at 9-9 at the end of one quarter. From there Adrian Lenawee Christian took a 23-21 lead into the half before SHA cut it to one at 31-30 heading into the fourth. The Irish led 42-41 with 12 seconds left in regulation when Bree Salenbien split two free throws to knot the score and force OT. She then won it in the final seconds of overtime.
Ruggles had a monster night for the Irish as she tallied 19 points and had 15 rebounds, seven of which were offensive. She also had five blocks. Ruggles also became the fifth player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau in the contest. Nelson added in 15 points, seven assists and eight rebounds while Reetz had five points and five steals. Nowak chipped in five points while Terwilliger had seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Bree Salenbien led the Cougars with 16 points, eight boards, four assists and six steals while Dani Salenbien had 11 points, three assists and four blocks.
The game was the first Class D semifinal to go to overtime since 1992. Adrian Lenawee Christian plays Chassell for the state title at 10 a.m. Saturday.
About the Author
Jim Lahde has been with The Morning Sun sports department since 1997 and has been its Sports Editor since 2006. The Wixom native has covered everything from Little League to the big leagues. Reach the author at jlahde@michigannewspapers.com .
