Madison Heights

Madison girls basketball wins district championship

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Brian Sevald Madison Heights Madison will have to make some room in the gym for a district championship banner after the girls hoops team won its first district title since 1992. Pictured is Dasha Gould during a regional opener against Madison Heights Bishop Foley March5. The Eagles fell to the Ventures 53-39. Photo by Brian Sevald Madison Heights Madison will have to make some room in the gym for a district championship banner after the girls hoops team won its first district title since 1992. Pictured is Dasha Gould during a regional opener against Madison Heights Bishop Foley March5. The Eagles fell to the Ventures 53-39.

Although Madison Heights Madison’s girls basketball season came to an end with a 53-39 regional semifinal loss to Madison Heights Bishop Foley March 5, it wasn’t before the Eagles made some history, winning the program’s first district title since 1992.

Madison accomplished that feat via a 62-31 victory over Detroit Allen Academy in a Class C district final March 1 on the Eagles’ home court.

Madison coach Jeff Evans said his team was aware of how long it had been since Madison’s last district title, and if the reaction he saw was any indication, being a part of winning one meant something to his players.

“They loved it,” he said. “There were people crying, laughing and having a good time. It was really exciting.”

Evans has an idea as to what may have helped prepare the Eagles for the type of competition they saw in the district tournament.

“I think one of the things that helps us is we’re a Class C school that plays pretty much all Class A and Class B schools all year,” he said. “I think, on our schedule, we might have played two Class C schools. We’re playing up, and I think playing up helps you when you get to the state tournament.”

Wins have been hard to come by in recent years for Madison, as the Eagles had just seven league victories (14 overall) in the Macomb Area Conference Silver Division in the past four seasons prior to taking to the court this season.

This season’s campaign has been a different story. Aside from capturing a district championship, the Eagles put together their first winning season since 2007-08, finishing at 13-10 overall, 7-7 MAC Silver.

Evans hopes that the success Madison has enjoyed will be something it can build off of as the program moves forward.

“We have a lot of young players,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of people that are coming back. We’ve been spending a lot of time working with our middle school girls, trying to create enthusiasm for our program and getting as many girls out for basketball as we can. I think we’ve made some headway there. We have some girls (who) really look good, that are playing well.

“I think it’s turning around, and we’re happy. I anticipate us being competitive for a while.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.