By BUTCH HARMON
Heading into the girls’ basketball season, the Corunna girls had some lofty expectations. When the final seconds ticked off the clock in the Cavaliers’ season finale in the regional finals against eventual state champion Goodrich, the squad had not only met but also exceeded those expectations.
Corunna ended the season with a 17-7 record. Along with battling for the CAAC White title during the regular season, the Cavaliers won a district championship and reached the regional finals, where they fell to the eventual Class B state champion.
“It was a very successful season and a big step forward for our program,” coach Ron Birchmeier said. “Our goals for the season were to win 16 games, be in contention for our league title in February, play Goodrich at some point in the state tournament, and be role models for our younger players so they’re excited about playing. We met all those goals with the exception of being in contention for the league title, as our league was very strong with Portland, Lansing Catholic Central, Lakewood, Williamston, and Perry.”
Corunna won the district title in exciting fashion. The Cavaliers defeated Ovid-Elsie 56-52 in four overtimes in the first round and then defeated Perry 42-41 in the district title game.
Corunna then moved on to the regional at John Glenn, where it defeated Croswell-Lexington 53-35 in the semifinals before falling to Goodrich in the title game.
“Winning the districts and the school’s first regional win was very exciting,” Birchmeier said. “The players believed and played with a great sense of urgency in those games. Leading up to the state tournament, they learned how to win close ball games. Obviously, the seniors knew their next loss would mean their high school careers would be over.“
Corunna’s success was reflected in the all-conference voting, as Morgan Cnudde and Payton Birchmeier were both named all-league, while Cheyenne Kersjes was named honorable mention.
Birchmeier led the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game and also led in rebounds, assists, blocked shots, and steals. Cnudde averaged 10.3 points per game and was one of the top free-throw shooters in the state with an average of 80%. Kersjes was third on the team in scoring at 7.1 points.
While the team graduates five players from this year’s team, the future looks bright.
“We’ll be losing five seniors, but we’ll be bringing back two sophomore starters [Payton Birchmeier and Lauren Ruess] who will be expected to bring leadership to the team after two full seasons on the varsity team,” coach Birchmeier said. “Our two juniors [Sam Lawcock and Nichole Numerich] played a great deal of minutes for us this year and are expected to be major contributors next year. Throw in the another returning sophomore [Maddie Turner] to this team, we expect to be very competitive again next season.”