Ypsilanti Arbor Prep girls roll Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest
EAST LANSING — Ypsilanti Arbor Prep made it double trouble for Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in Thursday’s Division 3 girls basketball semifinal at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.
Senior twins Stephanie and Stacy Utomi led a balanced attack, combining for 21 points while Taylor Wallace led with a team-high 14 as the Gators (24-4) cruised to a 52-30 victory over the Crusaders (18-10), who were making their first-ever Final Four appearance in school history.
For the Utomi twins, it was a typical day at the office. The 5-foot-11 Stephanie finished with 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. And the 5-10 Stacy was equally as efficient with 10 points on 5 of 10 from the floor to go along with nine rebounds. The dynamic duo also combined for five assists and two blocks.
“I can go on and on about them,” said Arbor Prep coach Scott Stine of the twins. “Everything that they do, whether it’s school, basketball or whether it be the stuff at church, they’re committed to it. They’re driven to be the best they can do whatever activity that we’re doing. So, when it’s basketball they’re in the gym all the time and they hate to lose. They’re competitors.”
After leading by five after one quarter, the Gators took control with an 18-5 second-quarter run and shot a blistering 15 of 29 for the half as the Utomi twins combined for 19 points.
Eliza Bush added a pair of 3-pointers, while Wallace nailed another with six seconds left in the half as Arbor Prep led 34-16. Northwest, meanwhile, committed 11 first-half turnovers and shot only 5 of 15 from the floor. And by the time the third quarter had ended, the Arbor Prep advantage mushroomed to 50-18.
“Our intentions were to make sure we had the right energy level, the right effort to start the game,” Stine said. “We were going to press them. We were going to try and create tempo. I thought we did a good job of that, especially after the first few minutes of the first quarter. And we settled down and actually got where we belonged in that press. The second and third quarter I thought out defense was tremendous.”
After Morgan Griswold’s 3-pointer tied it at 7all, the Gators went on a 7-0 run and led 16-11 after one quarter following a layup by Angela Meggison with six seconds left.
Arbor Prep made 7 of 16 shots over the first period and caused six Northwest turnovers. Freshman center Keaira Spiehs finished with a team-high six for the Crusaders, who shot only 10 of 36 from the field (27%) while committing 20 turnovers.
“Going in we put emphasis on our defense, we said we wanted to be disruptive on the defensive end, and our defense to fuel our offense and that’s what we did,” Stacy Utomi said. “I’m happy with how our team played, being aggressive on the defensive end, being aggressive the offense end and just finding each other.”
The Gators, who captured the D-3 title in 2022 and were runners-up in 2018 and 2017 (D2), will now take on Niles Brandywine (26-1), which advanced in the first semifinal with a 52-39 victory over Lake City. Game time is 4 p.m. Saturday at Breslin.
The twins were both starters when the Gators made their run to the Division 3 title game capped by a 57-44 win over Maple City Glen Lake. Last season, Arbor Prep was ousted by eventual state runner-up Blissfield in the regional final, 50-38, which left a sour taste in the Gators’ collective mouths.
“I want to say it’s unfinished business, we take it personal, and it’s been like that since we’ve been in the gym from day one,” Stephanie Utomi said. “We knew what the goal was and wanted to get back here. It left a very sour taste. We want to be there and to be in the final is everything.”
For Northwest, it could jump-start another playoff run heading into next season as starting guard Aliyah Ozias is the team’s lone graduating senior.
“Tough game today, played a very good team,” Northwest 10th-year coach Jimmy Mehlberg said. “Just being here was huge for our team and our program. With only one senior were looking possibly be back in the next year or two.”
Freshman center Keaira Spiehs finished with a team-high six for the Crusaders, who shot only 10 of 36 from the field (27%) while committing 20 turnovers.
“So far in the tournament this was the most athletic team we’ve played,” Mehlberg said. “Gave us a little more pressure than any other team in the tournament. We played some nontournament teams that were comparable to try and get us ready for this stage. Very good team. They were the No. 1 team in the state for a reason.”