By John Raffel
Bullock Creek has been a Class B state contender the past two girls’ basketball seasons. With all of coach Justin Freeland’s starters coming back, it would appear that could be the case again this season.
The Lancers lost 52-47 to Grand Rapids South Christian in the Class B semifinal round last year and 48-45 in overtime to Powers Catholic in the semifinal round in 2013.
They are coming off a 24-2 season under Freeland, now in his 13th year as head coach and 21st overall.
“The key to our success in recent years has been our depth,” he said, “and our overall ability to share the basketball and finish.”
The sixth player, Madalyn Waldmann, graduated, but the top five are returning.
Madison Hill, a 5’6″ junior, returns as the point guard. “She’s our primary ball handler and absolute lockdown defender with a high basketball IQ,” Freeland said.
Ellie Juengel, a 5’8″ senior, is the team’s shooting guard. “She’s signed to play at Cedarville University in Ohio next year,” Freeland said. “She’s just a tremendous shooter and great ball handler and has a high basketball IQ.”
A small forward is Hannah Heldt, another 5’8″ senior. “She plays harder than anyone else I’ve ever had,” Freeland said. “She’s a really tough player.”
Alyssa Mudd, a 5’10” junior forward, broke her foot in volleyball and has not played so far this season. She was a starter last year, and Freeland hopes to get her back by the end of the season.
Senior center Halee Nieman, 5’11”, has signed to play at Saginaw Valley State University next year. “She’s probably our top player,” Freeland said. “She has the ability to shoot the three, post up, and score.”
Haley Heldt, Hannah’s younger sister and a 5’8″ sophomore forward, is filling in for Mudd. “She’s probably our most improved player,” Freeman said. “She’ll shoot the three and put the ball on the floor.”
Shelby Bailey will be the team’s top sub. She’s a 5’4″ senior guard. “She can spark us offensively and defensively off the bench,” Freeland said.
The expectations are understandably high for the team. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had a really good run for over a decade now,” Freeland said. “We have great players every year, and we focus only on short-term goals. We want to have great practices on a daily basis and put our scouting report into our next opponent and worry only about that. The kids have been fantastic to buy into that system.”
Defense remains a key Bullock Creek weapon. “We really get into it,” Freeland said. “We have speed and length and smarts. It all starts at the defensive end. That leads into getting a lot of transition stuff. It generates turnovers and turns them into points. Defense is a great strength.”
He expects Freeland High School to have an excellent team this season. “We feel our whole division is filled with good coaches and good athletes, and we’ll be challenged on a nightly basis,” he said. “Freeland is certainly our chief rival. We’ll see in the districts Bay City John Glenn as a good challenge. If we’re fortunate to get beyond that, we may face the best B regional in the state with a Goodrich, Freeland, or Frankenmuth. It will be a very tough road to make another run.
“At the same time, we have an experienced team, and we feel on a given night, we can beat anybody. Right now, we’re trying to keep the boat steady and keep improving, while keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be totally healthy at one point. But the good news is, we have 12 players on the roster and all 12 can contribute.”
scouting report into our next opponent and worry only about that. The kids have been fantastic to buy into that system.”
Defense remains a key Bullock Creek weapon.
“We really get into it,” Freeland said. “We have speed and length and smarts. It all starts at the defensive end. That leads into getting a lot of transition stuff. He generates turnovers and turns them into points. Defense is a great strength.”
He expects Freeland High School to have an excellent team this season.
“We feel our whole division is filled with good coaches and good athletes an We’ll be challenged on a nightly basis,” he said. “Freeland is certainly our chief rival. We’ll see in the districts Bay City John Glenn as a good challenge. If we’re fortunate to get beyond that, we may face the best B regional in the state with a Goodrich, Freeland or Frankenmuth. It will be a very tough road to make another run.
“At the same time, we have an experience team and we feel on a given night, we can beat anybody. Right now we’re trying to keep the boat steady and keep improving while keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll be totally healthy at one point. But the good news is we have 12 players on the roster and all 12 can contribute.”