Lansing’s Prep Blog: The Girls Quarterfinals

There are three area teams still left in the girls high school basketball tournament.  They all play Tuesday night at 7:00 at three different sites.  All have realistic chances to reach the Breslin Center for Finals weekend this coming weekend. 

First in Class D, the cinderella Lansing Christian Pilgrims entered the state tournament at 7-10.  But they've gotten hot at the right time, and are riding Mikayla Terry as far as she can take them.  Head Coach Justin Terry's daughter has been a stellar performer these past few years.  And it was her two free throws with 3 seconds left in overtime which gave Christian an upset district title over heavily favored Morrice.  They've got another tough one against 21-3 Athens at Battle Creek Harper Creek HS in the quarters. 

In Class A, the 23-2 Grand Ledge Comets have had a tough road to get to their second straight quarterfinal apperance.  They first had to get by Holt for a third time in the districts to get to Richland-Gull Lake.  They held on to defeat Gull Lake by one point on their home court to win the district.  At the regionals, they rallied from behind to knock off Haslett in the final 36-32.  Twin sisters Hannah and Lindsay Orwat are the catalysts, and 6'3 center Cori Crocker has raised her level of play in this tournament. 20-5 Grand Rapids Christian awaits in the quarters in DeWitt. 

But the most impressive team, by far in this tournament, is 20-5 Eaton Rapids.  Their closest game was in the regional finals against Ionia.  They beat them by nine.  The lady Greyhounds have blown out quality teams like Olivet and CAAC Gold champion Jackson Northwest in this postseason.  The school's all-time leading scorer, Allie Dittmer has been fantastic in this run.  They've got 22-3 Ypsilanti Arbor at Brighton HS. 

Time for predictions:  Lansing Christian's run has been improbable, but I think it ends here against Athens.  As for Grand Ledge, I've got the Comets winning over GR Christian.  I think playing close to home in DeWitt will help them.  And I think Eaton Rapids will continue their postseason run to the Breslin Center.  They are clicking on all cylinders right now.  They'll win over Ypsilanti Arbor.

Best of luck to all the area teams, and I hope I'm wrong about Lansing Christian. 

That's all for now, this is Brock Palmbos....signing off.