Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 2
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 18, 2023
As holiday breaks bring some rest from school and work, Michigan girls basketball teams are smashing the pedal to the floor right into the new year.
In addition to 26 multi-day tournaments and one-day showcases, many contenders have lined up matchups with other championship hopefuls. Among those: Rockford, Frankenmuth and Goodrich all reached last season’s Semifinals or Finals and are playing two games over the next three weeks against opponents that also finished last season at the Breslin Center.
Picking just five matchups to highlight until our next report Jan. 8 was pretty much futile. But we’ve selected a few noted below, along with our regular reports on teams that caught our attention over the last week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. West Bloomfield 67, Salem 27 In a rematch of a Division 1 Semifinal from last season, West Bloomfield opened in a big way as part of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association/Oakland Activities Association Challenge.
2. Grass Lake 50, Tecumseh 40 The Division 3 Warriors (4-1) avenged last season’s 78-49 loss to Division 2 Tecumseh (2-2).
3. Detroit Edison 62, Detroit Country Day 53 These two Division 2 contenders met at the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic, with Edison moving to 2-0 by handing Country Day (4-1) its only defeat.
4. Sault Ste. Marie 50, St. Ignace 34 This Straits Area Conference matchup is arguably the best in the Upper Peninsula, and the reigning league champion Blue Devils (3-1) ran their winning streak over the Saints (3-1) to three.
5. Williamston 45, Haslett 43 Last season’s Capital Area Activities Conference Red runner-up Hornets (2-2) earned an early edge on reigning champion Haslett (2-3), which has three defeats by a combined nine points after going 22-2 last winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (4-0) Kenowa Hills jumped from 10-12 in 2021-22 to 16-9 last season, and is continuing to build. A 50-48 win over Kent City on Dec. 8 was an immediate attention grabber, and that had followed a 15-point win over Grandville Calvin Christian after the Knights had fallen to Calvin by 12 last winter.
Macomb Dakota (4-0) The Cougars have won all of their games by double digits, with their last two victories also the lone losses this season for Utica Ford and Dearborn. Dakota lost to Ford by 18 and six points last season on the way to finishing 14-11 overall.
DIVISION 2
Alma (4-0) The Panthers broke a string of three sub-.500 seasons in going 13-10 last winter and gave a hint of what they could do with a late two-point win over Saginaw Swan Valley after losing to the Vikings by 30 a month earlier. This season’s start has included a 10-point win over Swan Valley, and last week Alma handed the only losses so far to Gaylord and Bay City John Glenn.
Livonia Clarenceville (4-0) The Trojans have won a combined 29 games over the last two seasons, finishing third two years ago and tying for second last winter in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red. After three double-digit wins to start this season’s campaign, Clarenceville may have earned its most notable in downing Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 39-37 on Friday – the Cranes’ lone loss.
DIVISION 3
Elk Rapids (4-0) The Elks entered this winter a combined 55-9 over the last three seasons including 21-4 a season ago. Opening with wins over a pair of Big North Conference opponents, Petoskey and Alpena, was solid, but perhaps bested last week with a 49-39 win over reigning Division 4 champion Maple City Glen Lake and 32-22 victory over Traverse City St. Francis – which also won 21 games last season and finished one ahead of Elk Rapids to take the Lake Michigan Conference title.
Ovid-Elsie (5-0) The Marauders ran their Mid-Michigan Activities Conference winning streak to 34 games with Friday’s 53-46 victory over New Lothrop, having claimed the last two league titles and also topping 20 wins overall the last two winters. Ovid-Elsie’s wins over the Hornets and Otisville LakeVille Memorial this season remain those teams’ only defeats.
DIVISION 4
Alcona (4-0) The Tigers bounced back from a 2-3 start last season to finish 15-7 and share the North Star League Big Dipper title with Oscoda and Rogers City, and they’ve already avenged two of those early losses with wins the last two weeks over Hillman and Posen. Alcona also handed Tawas its only defeat so far, 44-33 on Friday.
Ishpeming (3-0) Thursday’s 54-28 win over Calumet was Ishpeming’s first over the Copper Kings since December 2018 and came after the Hematites extended their winning streak over rival Westwood to four going back two seasons. Both are indicative of the team’s improvement from 5-10 to 12-9 to 16-7 last season.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Frankenmuth (3-0) at Rockford (3-0) – The reigning Division 2 runner-up Eagles will follow up a Tuesday rematch with Goodrich from last season’s Semifinals by hitting the road to face the reigning Division 1 champion.
Friday – Grass Lake (4-1) at Saline (4-0) – Saline finished 21-4 last season, and one of those losses was 48-38 to the Warriors.
Friday – Lansing Catholic (2-1) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (4-0) – FGR has some notable wins already this winter, and downing the reigning Division 2 champion Cougars would be the Irish’s best achievement yet.
Dec. 27 – Grand Rapids West Catholic (2-0) vs. Rockford (3-0) at Cornerstone University – West Catholic’s 61-54 win over Rockford at last season’s Cornerstone Holiday Tournament was the Rams’ lone defeat of the season.
Dec. 29 – Hemlock (4-0) vs. Goodrich (4-0) at Romulus – This matchup of last season’s Division 3 champion Huskies and the Division 2 semifinalist Martians is the headliner from the Michigan Hardwood Classic.
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PHOTOS (Top) St. Louis' 4-1 start has included last week's 48-30 win over Lakeview. (Middle) Davison opens last week with a 36-28 win over North Branch. (Top photo by High School Sports Scene; middle photo by Terry Lyons.)
Power Pair - with Plenty of Help - Drives Belleville to Program-Defining Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 22, 2025
EAST LANSING – It’s no secret. The Belleville girls basketball team is certainly going to savour this moment.
Behind the superb play of sophomore Sydney Savoury and junior Se’Crette Carter, the Tigers claimed the program’s first Division 1 Finals championship Saturday with a 61-48 win over Rockford at Breslin Center.
Savoury scored a team-high 22 points, while Carter made four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
“We knew today that we could make history, and we were super excited to get out there and play,” said Savoury, who added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“It means everything, and it’s about legacy. We played our hardest and played for Belleville.”
Belleville reached the Semifinals for the first time last year, falling to Grand Blanc, but returned four starters this season.
“It feels amazing to be one of the great teams now,” Carter said. “Rockford is a great team with great players, but we wanted it more. You could tell we had moments where we had lapses, but our perseverance and passion pushed through.”
The Tigers (28-1) held a slim 18-14 lead after the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Savoury and Carter gave the Tigers a 24-16 lead midway through the second.
Belleville took a 26-20 advantage into the half and never relinquished the lead.
“I can’t even believe this, honestly,” Tigers head coach Jason Wilkins said. “When I first got the job at Belleville, I didn't think we would be in the position to be a top program, especially in our conference, so five years later to be a state champ is a great feeling. I’m proud of these kids. They bought into our system in the summer, and it all paid off.”
Savoury opened the second half with a 3-pointer after a Rockford turnover, making it 29-20. Late in the third quarter, Belleville scored six in a row, capped by a Jaida Qinn lay-up that added to a double-digit advantage (42-29).
Carter dropped in another 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 49-34.
While Savoury was the leading scorer, the Tigers received contributions throughout the lineup, as four players scored in double figures.
Senior Iyana Stephens was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor and scored 12 points while grabbing eight rebounds. The only other senior, Rylan Buschell, dished out six assists. Freshman guard Paisley Stephens added 10 points and three assists.
“I was really happy that I was able to step up today,” Iyana Stephens said. “It’s something everybody strives for and our coach says that everyone has a role and I just played my role and was able to help my team.”
This was the Rams’ second appearance in the Division 1 Final in three years. They won in 2023.
“Super proud of them and the fact that we were able to get to the final game of the season.” Rockford coach Brad Wilson said. “We came up a little bit short, but our three seniors are the face of our program and we wouldn't be anywhere without them.”
Rockford shot a dismal 3 of 21 from behind the 3-point arc and committed 12 turnovers. But Miss Basketball Award winner Anna Wypych connected on 9 of 15 shots to score a game-high 26 points for the Rams, who finished 27-2 overall.
PHOTOS (Top) Belleville players and fans begin celebrating the team’s Division 1 championship win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Tigers’ Sydney Savoury pulls up for a jumper. (Below) Rockford’s Desirae Donley (23) gets up a shot with Belleville’s Iyana Stephens defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)