ANN ARBOR – Several girls and boys basketball teams from the Ann Arbor area hit their tickets for the regional round of the state tournament last weekend.
Five girls ‘and three boys’ teams are fighting for regional titles and a place in the quarter-finals next week. The girls’ teams are scheduled to start on Monday, followed by the boys on Tuesday.
Here are the pairings for each region that involves Ann Arbor region basketball teams, plus a prediction for the winner of each bracket.
– –
GIRL
DEPARTMENT 1
REGIONAL 5
Division 1 Regional 5 Girls Basketball District.
Finale: Saline vs. Wayne Memorial
Prediction: Wayne Memorial
This regional finale should be forever, which makes it difficult to predict. Saline and WM are two of the best teams in the state and have two of the best players in the state in WM’s Miss basketball finalist Alanna Micheaux and Saline’s all-state player Ella Stemmer.
Saline defeated WM in the regional semi-finals last year, but WM will certainly try to avenge that loss.
What matters is which of the best players on the team can raise their squad to victory. There’s no wrong answer here, but Saline isn’t the size to stop Micheaux from scoring in the low post or controlling the glass and that could be the difference in a game that should be close.
– –
DEPARTMENT 2
REGIONAL 13
Division 2 Regional 13 girls basketball district.
Final: Chelsea versus Parma Western
Prediction: Parma Western
Parma Western have a defense that has kept some good opponents at bay. The Panthers went head to toe with Grass Lake earlier in the season. Her strength on schedule has prepared her for a Chelsea team capable of making this a fight to the finish.
– –
REGIONAL 14
Division 2 Regional 14 girls basketball district.
Final: Milan versus Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Prediction: Father Gabriel Richard
The Fighting Irish beat Milan by 23 points earlier in the season, but the Big Reds have been a much improved team since then, and the FGR have been battered lately. Even so, FGR’s defense is still good enough to keep Milan in check and take the win.
– –
DEPARTMENT 3
REGIONAL 22
Division 3 Regional 22 girls basketball district.
Final: Ypsilanti Arbor Prep against Grass Lake
Forecast: Grass Lake
This group has three of the best teams in the state, three of the best players in the country battling it out to make it to the quarter-finals.
Arbor Prep and junior star Mya Petticord were scheduled to stop by Miss Basketball finalist Bree Salenbien Adrian Lenawee Christian for the second time this year for a rematch with Grass Lake that featured several all-state players, including the standout Junior -Gamer Lexus Bargesser.
Grass Lake defeated Arbor Prep earlier this year by scoring the most points a team has ever scored against Arbor Prep in program history.
Of course, the Gators will be looking for revenge, but Grass Lake are a much more experienced team and that will pay off in a game of this magnitude.
——–
GUYS
DEPARTMENT 1
REGIONAL 5
Division 1 Regional 5 Boys Basketball District.
Final: Ann Arbor Huron versus Livonia Stevenson
Prediction: Huron
Huron has been the most consistent team in the Ann Arbor area year round and is a serious contender for the state championship when his team is at full strength.
The River Rats are expected to have all five starters and their entire varsity team back for Tuesday’s game against a fiery Dexter team in the regional semi-finals.
You need everyone on board to beat a Dexter team that is on fire right now with nine straight wins.
Huron’s athleticism will make all the difference against Dexter in a defensive battle, and that should allow the River Rats to get past Stevenson in Thursday’s regional title game.
– –
DEPARTMENT 3
REGIONAL 22
Division 3 Regional 22 boys basketball district.
Final: Riverview Gabriel Richard versus Adrian Madison
Prediction: Gabriel Richard
Gabriel Richard and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep could be considered a de facto regional final, although the two will meet in the semifinals.
The winner of this matchup, in this case Gabriel Richard, will be tested in the final against Adrian Madison or Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Gabriel Richard has the advantage over either team on the other side of the bracket and should be able to advance to the quarter-finals.
MORE:
Father Gabriel Richard Mädchen reach the regional finals after the COVID-19 case ends the opponent’s season
Michigan 2021 Miss Basketball finalists announced
COVID shattered a gamer’s dream of a 1,000 point high school career … until the opponent did
The MDHHS doctor says high school sports in Michigan are “at a turning point” as COVID cases rise
Ann Arbor Public Schools suspend spring sports after a surge in COVID-19 cases
Comments are closed.