Country Day falls in D2 semifinal to Newaygo, 55-39
An improbable postseason run from a young team came to an end on Wednesday when the youth of Detroit Country Day started to show itself.
The Yellowjackets – who largely play four freshmen, one sophomore and a senior – were unable to handle the pressures of a veteran Newaygo squad on the big stage of Van Andel Arena. Despite showing a lot of resiliency, Country Day couldn’t overcome the Lions, suffering a 55-39 loss in the Division 2 semifinal.
“Newaygo is a tough team. That team is tough. I think that is what we were preparing for going in. We felt prepared, but there were some lapses on our part,” Country Day coach Jerica Williams said. “Things didn’t go as we intended, but we thought it was a hard-fought game and a good season, a good run for these young ones.”
Turnovers were an issue in the loss, as Country Day (153) committed 19 for the game, which led to 22 points for Newaygo (21-1). The Lions moved the ball more efficiently, committing just three turnovers for the game while assisting on 15 of the team’s 20 field goals.
“We pride ourselves on defense, and giving up over 50 points…that’s just not going to get it done,” Williams said. “Our runs came when defensively, we were able to get some stops.”
Country Day was able to get those stops in the early stages of each quarter.
DCD opened the game with a 6-2 lead, it’s largest of the game. However, Newaygo would close out each quarter strong. The Lions finished the first on a 6-0 run to take a 10-8 lead into the second quarter.
In the second stanza, Country Day freshman Emma Arico stepped up, scoring eight of the team’s first nine points to put
the Jackets up 17-15. Arico would score 15 points in the opening half of play.
“She has that ‘it factor.’ I think it runs in her blood,” Williams said of Arico. “I don’t think the stage matters to her. I think she’s very mature when it comes to that. She doesn’t play like a freshman, she doesn’t act like a freshman in any element on or off the court. She is tough and we are excited to have her for three more years.”
Once again, Newaygo had an answer to the Country Day surge, answering with an 8-0 run to take a 23-17 lead.
“These girls are tough. They don’t get flustered. They just keep playing and playing tough,” Newaygo coach Nate Thomasma said of his team being able to respond to Country Day runs.
The Lions would lead 27-20 at halftime, but the Jackets again came out strong to open the third. DCD scored the first seven points of the quarter, with Arico tying the game at 2727 with a putback.
Newaygo would answer by finishing the third on an 10-2 run to take a 37-29 advantage into the fourth.
Country Day made one final run to open the fourth getting the Newaygo lead down to 1 at 39-38 on a jumper from freshman Jaidyn Elam.
However, the Lions would come back with their best stretch of the game, holding Country Day without a field goal for the final 6:50 of play while going on a 16-0 run to put the game out of reach.
“It’s a championship moment type of thing when a good team makes a run at you, how do you respond. They responded,” Thomasma said of his team. “They tightened up defensively and then we hit some big shots. That’s what they have done, and what you have to do in this tournament.”
Newaygo had a balanced scoring effort with Emmerson Goodin leading the way with 15 points and nine rebounds. Jaxi Long added 12 points, while Jaylee Long scored 11.
Arico finished with 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Yellowjackets, while Elam had eight points with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Aysia Yokely had eight points, while lone senior Chelsea Abulu had 18 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end. She also added four blocks.
“It was pretty amazing. Nobody thought we were going to get this far,” Arico said of the season. “We really came together as a family, especially for being such a young team. We built those bonds and we tried to do it for our senior (Abulu). I think that is why we were able to get so far.”
The 2021 season was a rebirth of the Country Day girls program following a 2-18 record in 2019-20. Williams, who finishes her first season as head coach, is excited that this young squad was able to reestablish the program this season and knows it’s just the beginning for Country Day.
“I think I was surprised with how fast these kids bought in. A first-year coach, building a new culture…obviously we are aware of the history of Country Day, but those two years where Frank Orlando retired to now, there was definitely a new element that needed to be built in,” Williams said. “I was anticipating a little more resistance from my kids in terms of buy-in, so I am really excited moving forward because the culture is set. The expectations are there, the new habits are there. These young girls will be able to continue moving forward and build on their legacy here and I am excited for that.”