Good Luck To Portland & Fowler Girls Basketball
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) basketball finals are on Friday (girls) and Saturday (boys) at the Jack Breslin Center in East Lansing. And there are still two Mid-Michigan teams still alive for state titles.
Both are on the girls side, as the CAAC White champion Portland Lady Raiders and the CMAC champion Fowler Lady Eagles have both qualified for Finals Friday in Division 2 (Portland) and Division 4 (Fowler), respectively.
Fowler (15-4) is coached by 11th year head coach Nathan Goerge. And the Lady Eagles have breezed their way through the state tourrnament with their closest game being in the district final against perennial power Portland St. Patrick 53-41. Fowler has won their other tournament games by an average of more than 30 points!!!
The Lady Eagles will play Bellaire at 10am on Friday. If they win, it will be their first ever state title. They have been Class D runners-up in 1999 & 1990. They are led by the Riley sisters, Mia (junior) and Emma (sophomore). Mia had 23 points in their victory over Carney-Nadeau in the semis on Wednesday.
As for Portland (19-2), this is their first-ever trip to the Finals. Although they have been in the semifinals numerous times. Fifth-year head coach Jason Haid has built on what legendary coach Ray Kimball did for many years and has taken them further. All-State junior and the school's all-time leading scorer, Ashley Bower, leads the Lady Raiders. But a high octane defense helped them in their semifinal win over Parma Western. Portland shut out Parma for the last four minutes of play.
Portland will play Newaygo at 5:30pm on Friday. These two teams played on February 24th with Portland winning 38-33. In a scheduling quirk, Portland actually played Fowler in the regular season. With Portland winning 35-23 on March 8th in Portland.
We wish the best of luck to both Portland and Fowler on Friday at the Breslin Center!!!
You can hear the MHSAA Girls and Boys basketball finals (all eight games) exclusively on The Game 730 AM WVFN. Airtime for Friday and Saturday is 9:50am for both days. Tune in to listen to some great basketball action!