Bell’s Best Games: New Year’s Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christmas break featured various teams participating in showcases across the state, but it's time now for all teams to return to the court. Here are the games to start New Year's week that I am particularly excited to see. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tuesday, January 2nd</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hart (3-1) @ Niles Brandywine (4-0) 5 PM, Brandywine High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Niles Brandywine defeated 2022 state champ Blissfield at the Michigan Hardwood Classic last week and will look to knock off semifinalist Hart next. Holy Cross 2024 commit [player_tooltip player_id='417904' first='Ellie' last='Knapp'] plays phenomenal basketball on both ends and is joined by her athletic teammate [player_tooltip player_id='424573' first='Adeline' last='Gill'] (2025). Duel sports star Addi Hovey (2025) and teammate [player_tooltip player_id='693831' first='Abby' last='Hicks'] (2024) are 1st team all-conference prospects who cause problems for opponents on both ends of the floor; this should be an exciting matchup!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, January 5th</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bloomfield Hills Marian (4-2) @ Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (6-0) 7 PM, Gabriel Richard High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gabriel Richard has played a ruthless schedule to start the season, yet remains undefeated. They have already taken down two top teams in the state: Lansing Catholic and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep. No team has been able to control the Rodriguez twins, [player_tooltip player_id='419532' first='Charlotte' last='Miller'], and [player_tooltip player_id='423695' first='Cora' last='Williams']; that's exactly what Marian hopes to do Friday. Marian lost a close one to Orchard Lake St. Mary's in their last matchup but will look to rebound against CHSL rival Gabriel Richard. Butler commit [player_tooltip player_id='244273' first='Mckenzie' last='Swanson'] gives Marian an advantage inside, but their guards will certainly have to play their best game defensively to pull off the upset. This is one I will be tuning in to watch during my long bus ride home from Mount Pleasant!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Canton (6-0) @ Plymouth (6-1) 5:30 PM, Plymouth High School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Plymouth and Canton are two teams who have stormed out of the gates in the KLAA conference. Plymouth has two straight wins against good Novi and Milford teams, their forwards Elena Dimaria and Anna Flavin are a handful to try and stop inside. Canton has their top interior prospect [player_tooltip player_id='612092' first='Justice' last='Tramble'] and a very skilled guard in [player_tooltip player_id='281862' first='Marissa' last='Cribari']. This is going to be an outstanding basketball game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->