Annalise Pickrel and Madison Williams met at halfcourt Saturday at Breslin Center, each looking to cap their high school basketball careers with a state championship.
A year earlier, Williams’ Detroit Country Day team had beaten Pickrel and Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Class B Championship. But when the two met before tip, Pickrel and Williams — both heading to East Lansing next season to play for the MSU women’s basketball team — exchanged a pair of low-fives before beginning their final game as competitors.
In revenge of last season’s loss, Pickrel scored 15 points as Grand Rapids Catholic Central defeated Williams and Detroit Country Day, 51-43.
“It feels so good. We worked so hard the past two years,” said Pickrel, a 6-foot-3 guard. “Last year we learned our lesson and we knew that we had to come out and not let it slip away in the fourth quarter.”
While Pickrel was standing in Breslin Center’s parking lot celebrating with family and friends, Williams was sitting at the podium, sniffling loudly as she tried to fight back tears.
In her last game as a Yellow Jacket, Williams struggled mightily. The 6-foot-6 center — the Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American — shot just 3-of-12 from the field, finishing with six points, also adding 13 rebounds and six blocks.
Despite the loss, Williams was able to muster a smile when asked about the relationship between her and Pickrel, who, along with East Lansing High School’s Klarissa Bell, also a MSU commit, have exchanged text messages.
“We talk a lot,” Williams said. “(Pickrel’s) a great girl and she played awesome (Saturday). I’m real excited to play with her, and I’m glad she got a chance to win a championship.”
Although Williams (12 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.1 blocks per game) garnered national recognition with her awards, it was Bell (20 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four assists per game) who came away with Michigan’s Miss Basketball award. Williams finished fourth. Pickrel (15 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five steals per game) finished second.
With MSU getting three of the top four girl’s basketball players in the state, MSU women’s head coach Suzy Merchant is enthusiastic for the future.
“We are very excited about the 2010 signing class and can’t wait for them to compete in a Spartan uniform,” Merchant said in a statement released on Nov. 11, 2009, National Signing Day. “All three players are tremendous basketball talents.”
In coming to a program with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, Pickrel is sharing Merchant’s enthusiasm, saying her goal is to be part of something special at MSU.
“I want to be sweet when I get here,” Pickrel said. “I want the coaches and my teammates — I want us to get to a Final Four level. Like, not just get there and be happy to get there but for us to expect to get there.”
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