Goodrich vs. Grand Rapids South Christian – – Michigan Division 2 Girls Basketball Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 20, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, your Bleacher Denizen is at the Breslin Center, where two undefeated Titans will match up to see who will earn a spot in tomorrow’s Division 2 Final Game. The Martians from Goodrich and the Sailors from Grand Rapids South Christian both enter this semifinal with matching perfect 27-0 records.

As we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this novelty cover video of “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” from my You Tube Channel. This song was a huge hit for the Royal Guardsmen in late 1966. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8 .

The MHSAA Finals Preview provides us with some information about these teams!

Goodrich has some impressive wins including Division 1 Number 3 Saginaw Heritage, Division 1 Number 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Division 1 Number 6 Utica among others. The Martians are a tough defensive team that allow only 24.8 points per game.

Offensively, Baylor Lauinger scores 15.5 points, dishes out 4.2 assists and grabs 4.6 steals per game. Tanner Schramm averages 12.9 points per game and has hit 57 three point shots so far this year. Kayla Hairston averages 14.1 points and has hit 55 threes pointers so far this year.

South Christian also has some impressive wins including Division 1 Number 1 Rockford and Division 1 Number 14 DeWitt. They are a deep team where many contribute to the offense.

Sophia Prins scores 13.2 points per game and has hit 39 three point baskets. Lizzie Wolthuis scores 12 points per game and has hit 64 three pointers. Abby Prins averages 12.5 points and 4.1 assists per game. Meredith Helmus scores 10 points per game. Lexi Vermaas averages 5.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Avery Lutke averages 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Kinley Regnery has hit 39 three point baskets for the Sailors this year.
It is now time to look at the events of this game through the occasionally open eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore when many considered him to be “young.” It seems that the peach baskets we shot at back in the day were not able to withstand the effect of the numerous bricks your Bleacher Denizen threw. (To be fair, your Bleacher Denizen did consider them to be “shots.”)

When the cost to replace the splintered peach baskets started to get too high, your Bleacher Denizen’s Coach had to cut him from the team. Alas, his career never amounted to much after that.

Goodrich wins the opening tap. Kayla Hairston drives from the side and hits a layup for the Martians. South Christian misses a layup. Lexi Vermaas is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws for the Sailors to tie the game at 2-2 with 7:19 to play in the opening quarter.

Lizzie Wolthuis knocks the ball away from Goodrich and Lexi Vermaas picks it up for South Christian. Meredith Helmus drives and hits a layup for South Christian. Tanner Schramm drives and hits a layup for Goodrich to tie the game. South Christian throws its inbound pass too far and out of bounds. Baylor Lauinger drives and hits a layup for Goodrich. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. With 6:14 remaining in the opening quarter, Goodrich has a 6-4 lead.

South Christian misfires on a threeball from the corner. Kayla Hairston hits a fast break layup for Goodrich. South Christian misses a layup. Goodrich is assessed with a traveling violation. Meredith Helmus passes to Kinley Regnery, who hits a three point shot from the side to cut the Goodrich lead to 8-7.

Goodrich misses a threeball from the wing. Lexi Vermaas throws a touchdown pass to Kinley Regnery, who hits a layup for South Christian. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Tanner Schramm drives and hits a layup for Goodrich. She is fouled on the play and sinks her free throw to give the Martians an 11-9 lead with 4:29 remaining in the first quarter.

Meredith Helmus passes to Lexi Vermaas, who hits a layup for South Christian to tie the game. Baylor Lauinger drives and hits a layup for Goodrich. South Christian misses a threeball from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets the ball. Kinley Regnery knocks a Martian pass out of bounds; Goodrich retains possession. The Martians throw a pass out of bounds. South Christian misses a layup. Kat Federick passes to Sydney Place, who throws in a threeball from the corner to give Goodrich a 16-11 lead.

Sophia Prins drives and hits a layup for South Christian. Kayla Hairston passes to Kat Federick, who hits a layup for Goodrich. Kat Federick tips a Sailor pass out of bounds; South Christian retains possession. Lizzie Wolthuis drives and hits a layup for the Sailors. Goodrich misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane.

South Christian misses a threeball from the side. Abby Prins grabs the offensive rebound for the Sailors. Sophia Prins drives and hits a six foot shot in the lane for South Christian. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. The buzzer comes alive and announces the end of the first quarter.

After one quarter, Goodrich has an 18-17 lead.

South Christian inbounds the ball to open the second period. Baylor Lauinger knocks the ball away from the Sailors, but South Christian recovers. The Sailors miss a three point shot from the side. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the top of the key. The rebound is tied up.

The Possession Arrow consults its Magic 8 ball and awards the ball to Goodrich. Meredith Helmus ties up the Martian inbound pass. The Possession Arrow is flustered at having to make another decision so quickly, but awards the ball to South Christian. Sophia Prins is fouled on a driving reverse hook/layup and hits two free throws to give South Christian a 19-18 lead with 7:15 remaining in the second quarter.

Meredith Helmus knocks the ball away from the Martians, but Goodrich recovers. Meredith Helmus steals the ball for the Sailors. Kayla Hairston races back and blocks a Sailor fast break layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Goodrich takes possession. Baylor Lauinger spins and hits a layup to give Goodrich a 20-19 lead.

Baylor Lauinger blocks a Sailor layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and South Christian gets another opportunity. The Sailors misfire on a threeball from the wing. Meredith Helmus steals the ball for South Christian. The Sailors miss a fast break layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets the ball. Tanner Schramm gets into the lane, spins and hits an eight foot shot to give her Martians a 22-19 lead.

South Christian misses a three point shot from the corner. Kinley Regnery knocks a Martian pass out of bounds; Goodrich retains possession. The Martians miss a driving eight foot banked shot. Kaylee Eickhoff steals a Sailor pass. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side.

A Martian foul before the shot negates a South Christian layup. South Christian misfires on a three point shot from the top of the key. Isla Ogle pulls down the offensive rebound for the Sailors. South Christian misses a three point shot from the side. Baylor Lauinger passes to Kat Federick, who hits a layup to give Goodrich a 24-19 lead.

South Christian misses a threeball from the wing. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow’s Ouija Board tells it to award the ball to Goodrich. Avery Lutke’s tough defense forces Goodrich to miss a layup. The rebound goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets another opportunity. The Martian misfire on a threeball from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets the ball back.

Kinley Regnery steals the ball for the Sailors. South Christian misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Baylor Lauinger goes coast to coast to hit a layup for the Martians. Kayla Hairston steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Martians. South Christian misses a layup just before the halftime buzzer comes out of its shell and blares to end the period.

Goodrich has a 28-19 lead at halftime.

Sophia Prins leads the South Christian halftime scoring with 6 points and Kinley Regnery has 5 points.

Baylor Lauinger has 8 points for Goodrich and Kayla Hairston has 6 points.

As our readers cannot hear the halftime events, I hope you will enjoy these two videos from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the game to resume.

Here’s a rocking version of the classic Blues Standard, “Sweet Home Chicago!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRyFHU5RpM.

Here is my cover of “House of the Rising Sun”, a classic blues tune that was a hit for the Animals in 1964!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

South Christian inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Taylor Schramm knocks the ball away from South Christian and Lilly May picks it up for Goodrich. Baylor Lauinger passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Goodrich a 31-19 lead.

Lilly May steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. I’m not sure that traveling “without the ball” would be terribly newsworthy.) Sophia Prins passes to Lexi Vermaas, who hits a layup for South Christian. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. Lexi Vermaas passes to Sophia Prins, who hits a layup for South Christian to cut the Goodrich lead to 31-23.

Lexi Vermaas steals the ball for South Christian. Meredith Helmus drives and hits a layup for the Sailors. Goodrich misfires on a threeball from the side. South Christian reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Abby Prins pulls down the offensive rebound for the Sailors. Abby Prins is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Goodrich lead to 31-26 with 5:03 to play in quarter number three.

Lexi Vermaas steals the ball and passes to Sophia Prins, who hits a fast break layup for South Christian to cut the Goodrich lead to three points. Baylor Lauinger passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot from the side to give Goodrich a 34-28 lead.

South Christian turns the ball over. Lexi Vermaas blocks a Martian layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets the ball back. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. Kayla Hairston steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich misses a three pointer from the side. The rebound goes out of bounds and South Christian takes possession.

The Sailors are whistled for a traveling violation. Baylor Lauinger passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a layup for the Martians. Kat Fereick gets a hand on the ball for Goodrich and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow and its deck of tarot cards determine that in the immediate future, South Christian will get the ball. Goodrich misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound is tied up and the Possession Arrow decides on its own to award the ball to South Christian.

Kaylee Eickhoff steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich misfires on a triple try from the side. South Christian reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Avery Lutke gets the offensive rebound for the Sailors. South Christian misses a six foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Isla Ogle steals the ball for the Sailors. South Christian only has enough time to heave the ball at the basket and miss.

With three quarters in the books, Goodrich holds a 36-28 lead.

Goodrich has the ball to start the fourth quarter. The Martian miss a three point shot from the side. Baylor Lauinger pulls down the offensive rebound for the Martians. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. Kat Federick grabs the offensive rebound for the Martians. Baylor Lauinger hits a layup to boost the Goodrich lead to 38-28.

Abby Prins passes to Sophia Prins, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Sailors. Kayla Hairston throws a touchdown pass to Kat Federick, who caches it and converts a layup to give Goodrich a 40-29 lead.

South Christian misses a ten foot shot in the lane. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow consults its astrology horoscope and awards the ball back to South Christian. Tanner Schramm knocks a Sailor pass out of bounds; South Christian retains possession. Sydney Place knocks a Sailor pass out of bounds to prevent a layup; South Christian retains possession. The Sailors miss a threeball from the corner.

Sophia Prins steals the ball for the Sailors. South Christian misses a three point shot from the side and fouls on the rebound. Baylor Lauinger drives and dishes the ball to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot from the side for Goodrich to give the Martians a 43-29 lead.

Meredith Helmus drives and hits a layup for South Christian. Goodrich missed a three point shot from the side. Sophia Prins passes to Lizzie Walthuis, who hits a three point shot from the side for South Christian. Goodrich misses a driving layup. South Christian throws a pass out of bounds. Meredith Helmus knocks the ball away from the Martians and Sophia Prins picks it up for the Sailors. Sophia Prins passes to Lizzie Wolthuis, who hits another three point shot from the side to chop the Martian lead down to 43-37.

Kinley Regnery steals the ball for the Sailors. South Christian misses a driving layup. Baylor Lauinger is fouled and hits one of her two free throws for Goodrich. Sophia Prins gets into the lane and hits a twelve foot shot for South Christian. Goodrich is fouled, but misses two free throws. Kayla Hairston grabs the offensive rebound for the Martians. Baylor Lauinger is fouled and sinks two free throws to give Goodrich a 46-39 lead with 48.4 seconds left on the clock.

South Christian misfires on a triple try from the wing. Goodrich is fouled, but misses two free throws. Kat Federick gets the offensive rebound for the Martians. Taylor Schramm is fouled and hits one of her two free throws to give Goodrich a 47-39 lead with 25.6 seconds to go.

Meredith Helmus hits a driving layup for the Sailors. She is fouled on the play, but misses her free throw. Goodrich is fouled with 8.6 seconds to go and misses two free throws. South Christian misses a three pointer from the side and the rebound goes out of bounds with .5 of a second left. Goodrich inbounds the ball and the final buzzer goes off.

Goodrich wins this semifinal game 47-41 and will play Tecumseh in Saturday’s state final game!

Sophia Prins led the South Christian scoring with 13 points. Lizzie Wolthuis and Meredith Helmus each contributed 8 points. Lexi Vermaas scored 6 points. Kinley Regnery put in 5 points and Abby Prins tallied 1 point.

Kayla Hairston led the victorious Martians with 17 points. Baylor Lauinger joined her teammate in double figures with 13 points. Tanner Schramm pitched in with 8 points. Kat Federick added 6 points. Sydney Place had 3 points.