Geoff Moff
Sports Scene
MIDLAND – Bullock Creek’s girls basketball coach Justin Freeland didn’t have to provide motivation to get his players to the gym for summer workouts and fall conditioning.
A 48-45 overtime loss to Powers Catholic in the Class B state semifinal game is all that the Lancers needed to make them hungry. And with four starters back this winter, that hunger in their bellies is starting to growl.
“Everything that I asked these ladies to do, they did,” said Freeland, who enters his 12th season as head coach and 20th season overall with the Bullock Creek girls basketball program. “That’s one of the reasons this team is so successful.”
Freeland boosted his team’s non-conference schedule, and it is already paying dividends. The Lancers opened the season on the road with a 43-33 win over 2013 Class C state runner-up Nouvel Catholic Central and then knocked off Frankenmuth, 44-32.
“Nouvel returned a lot of ladies from last year, and we were able to grind out the win,” Freeland said. “And Frankenmuth, I personally think, has its best team out there in five years. They have size, a little bit of speed, and are always well-coached by Tom Keller. We have just enough offense, and our defense really carried us through those two games.”
Bullock Creek also has a tough conference schedule in the Tri-Valley Central, with Freeland and Hemlock on the schedule. The Lancers travel to state powerhouse Ludington in January and will see talented teams in a pair of Tri-Valley Conference crossover games.
“Obviously Freeland had Miss Basketball [Tori Jankoska], who now is a Big Ten player, and I think Karli Harrington is a top-10 player in the state now,” Coach Freeland said. “Hemlock is a real tough game, and Freeland might have lost Jankoska, but they have so many players who are good and successful coming back.
“The schedule will help us.”
While small forward Kendra Shankel graduated, the Lancers return a versatile lineup led by junior Ellie Juengel. Juengel started at point guard but has made the move to shooting guard after last year’s top reserve, sophomore Madison Hill, made the move from small forward to point guard.
“Hill’s development has been a huge leap,” Freeland said. “She is our best on-ball defender, and she really frees up Juengel to be a shooter. And when Hill goes out, Juengel can swing over. That versatility really allows them to play off each other.”
Bullock Creek has the quickness and skill to run three or four guards on the floor at the same time, and they have a strong inside presence in junior power forward Halee Nieman, a first team all-TVC Central selection last year. Sophomore center Alyssa Mudd is “very talented,” while Hannah Heldt is a defensive stalwart at small forward.
“Hannah is the best off-ball defender I’ve ever coached,” Freeland said. “She has a great basketball IQ and a high motor. She is very valuable on the defensive end. We’ve got a lot of things going good for us at the moment.”
Madalyn Waldmann has played four seasons of varsity basketball and gives the Lancers a veteran leader off the bench, while Lexi Shaver, the only other senior on the team’s roster, is “the best teammate on the team,” Freeland said.
Freeland said the expectations are high, and the team knows how little margin of error there is come playoff time.
“You can never expect to make it or not make it [back to the Breslin Center for the Final Four]” Freeland said. “One year we were 23-0 going in to the regional and were 24-0 heading into a regional final, and both times had tight losses. Last year we won the quarterfinal by a point.
“But last year was a valuable experience and a motivator for us to give it our best shot. A loss in overtime in the semifinals has driven us to work even harder.”