2. Farm. Hills Mercy, 1977

RECORD: 25-0 COACH: Larry Baker

LEGACY: The 1977 Marlins were the team that turned Farmington Hills Mercy into one of the elite programs in state history. The Marlins had lost in the previous three Class A state championship games — by one, five and 27 points — before winning the title with a perfect season. Then in 1982, after four straight titles by Flint Northern, Mercy rallied from an 18-point deficit with less than seven minutes left to play to end the Vikings’ long reign as state champs.

TOP PLAYERS: Lynn Yadach, Katie McNamara, Diane Dietz and Suzanne Brown. McNamara and Dietz played at Michigan, Brown at Central Michigan and Yadach at Oakland U.

SHAKESPEARE OF THE HARDWOOD: Baker was hired at Mercy, an all-girls Catholic school, to teach English, not coach basketball. In fact, the first girls basketball game he ever saw was the first game he coached. The trademark of Mercy basketball was its killer press. “If the press is successful, it’s a way of turning the momentum in your favor,” he said at the time. “We tend to have large crowds, and the press gets the crowd involved. It’s a way of generating offense when your half-court offense is stagnant. It creates a lot of easy baskets.”

AT LAST! After the three straight progressively more discouraging title game losses, it was far from easy when the Marlins finally broke through in 1977. Mercy trailed by 12 points in the second quarter against Detroit Mumford, out for revenge along with the state title after losing to the Marlins in the city championship game. Baker turned the tide by applying his trademark press and eventually the Marlins won by 11 points, 63-52. “I can’t believe they came back this year after last year’s humiliation when we lost, 68-41, to Marquette in the finals,” Baker said. “These kids are pretty special; they showed a lot of character, a lot of guts.” McNamara led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Brown scored 15 points and Dietz added 14 points and 10 rebounds. “There was no way we were going to lose this game,” Dietz said. “I’ve played in all four of these games and winning it is the weirdest feeling. I can’t believe it. We’ve got six seniors on this team, and this makes it more of a victory for all of us.”

BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW: As the clocked ticked off the final seconds in Jenison Fieldhouse, the Marlins started singing the chorus from a song Queen released two months earlier: “We are the champions. We are the champions.”

SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1977, ’82

HUGH GRANNUM/DETROIT FREE PRESS

Coach Larry Baker directed the Marlins’ senior nucleus in a drill. From the left: Suzanne Brown, Diane Dietz, Katie McNamara and Lynn Yadach. “A lot of men apologize for coaching the girls,” Baker said in 1977. “But I’ve never felt embarrassed coaching girls, especially after seeing the moves these girls have.”