Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 6, 2025
There’s really no such thing as a holiday “break” for many of the state’s basketball teams – and instead of slowing down, several seemed to move closer to top speed with impressive runs over the last three weeks.
Today’s “Breslin Bound” covers that final week of the full schedule before school let out to finish December and the two weeks of break that rolled us into January and a few strides closer to the midpoint of this season.
“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. Detroit Renaissance 50, Detroit Edison 48 The Phoenix (9-0) began a 4-0 run through the break by avenging last season’s eight-point loss to the reigning Division 2 champion Pioneers (6-2).
2. Belleville 46, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 45 The Tigers (7-0) claimed arguably their most impressive win yet this winter over last year’s Division 2 runner-up Irish (8-1) at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest at Wayne Memorial.
3. Pewamo-Westphalia 53, Flint Powers Catholic 50 The Pirates (7-0) have impressed winning four games this season by three points or fewer, claiming this one over a Powers team (5-2) coming off a run to the Division 2 Quarterfinals last year.
4. Rockford 52, Howell 35 Two days after Howell (4-3) made some impressive noise with a win over Saginaw Heritage, the Rams (7-1) showed again they are still one of the teams to chase with this victory at the Michigan Winter Hoopfest.
5. Greenville 54, Kent City 35 Greenville (7-1) tied its win total from last year (six) with this Cornerstone Holiday Classic victory over Kent City (6-2), then surpassed last season’s success by defeating Grand Rapids Covenant Christian two days later.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Belleville (7-0) The Tigers are coming off a drive to the Division 1 Semifinals last season and haven’t slowed a step. They added a 3-0 run at Metro Detroit events over the break to an impressive start, downing Parma Western and East Kentwood in addition to the win over Father Gabriel Richard noted above – with the wins over Western and FGR those teams’ only losses this season. All this season but the FGR victory have come by at least 15 points, including as well impressive showings against Muskegon and reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield.
Midland (6-1) The Chemics welcomed back past coach Elaine Mahabir after seven seasons away and three straight sub-.500 finishes, and they already are approaching last season’s nine wins coming off defeating rival Dow 55-52 and Northville 65-63 in overtime to close December. Midland’s 42-37 win over Flint Hamady to open this winter remains Hamady’s only loss, and the Chemics’ lone defeat came to one-loss Grand Haven. The win over the Chargers broke an 11-game losing streak against Midland’s rival going back to the 2019-20 season.
DIVISION 2
Negaunee (9-0) A Division 2 semifinalist last season, Negaunee has made at least the Regional Finals the last three years and is keeping to that high standard again. The Miners’ performance at their Irontown Holiday Bash at the end of December especially sticks out – Negaunee handed previously-undefeated Ewen-Trout Creek a 47-30 defeat before downing Ludington 50-41 in a rematch of last year’s Regional championship game. On Friday, the Miners will play their first of two games against reigning Division 4 champion Ishpeming, the only team to defeat Negaunee during the 2023-24 regular season as they split matchups and shared the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East title.
Sault Ste. Marie (6-1) The Blue Devils have run into Negaunee in the postseason two of the last three, and they may be on a collision course again especially given the Sault’s great start which has included wins over St. Ignace and Harbor Springs and the only loss to still-undefeated Chelsea at Aquinas College. The 57-41 Harbor Springs win Friday avenged a loss from a year ago, and the 50-49 win over the Saints on Dec. 13 remains St. Ignace’s only defeat with a rematch coming up Friday. Sault Ste. Marie finished 14-7 a year ago and won the Straits Area Conference but is playing as an independent this season and has a remaining schedule loaded primarily with Division 1 opponents.
DIVISION 3
Blissfield (7-1) A loss in another well-planned test against undefeated Division 2 Tecumseh left the only flaw on an otherwise perfect record so far as the Royals look to build on seasons of 27 and 22 victories, respectively. Blissfield’s start also has included a 43-35 defeat of Brooklyn Columbia Central – avenging last year’s Regional Semifinal loss – and most recently a 45-43 close call against Leslie. The Royals have won two straight Lenawee County Athletic Association titles and this time should face some serious competition from undefeated Ida and Adrian Madison (also 7-1). The first matchup with Ida is Thursday.
Sandusky (7-0) A 38-14 win over Deckerville at Little Caesars Arena was the latest for this undefeated contender and the state’s all-time winningest girls basketball coach Al DeMott. The Wolves reached the Division 3 Quarterfinals a year ago with their only regular-season loss coming in the first of two meetings with league rival Harbor Beach – which Sandusky plays for the first time this season Thursday as both seek to win the first-year Big Thumb Conference Black. Caro and Unionville-Sebewaing, with 11-point losses, have come closest to approaching Sandusky so far.
DIVISION 4
Munising (6-0) The Mustangs could be on the verge of equaling their 8-0 start from last season, when they went on to finish 21-5. But to do so, they must begin this week Tuesday with a win over Bark River-Harris, which finished just ahead of Munising for the Skyline Central Conference Large-school division title last winter. The Mustangs should be ready to give it a go; they’ve defeated four teams that are 4-2 so far and have won all but one of their games by at least 16 points.
Onekama (6-0) The Portagers have jumped from three to five to eight to 14 wins over the last four seasons, respectively, and could add to that run this winter after a start that’s included a pair of victories over Maple City Glen Lake – after splitting with the eventual Northwest Conference co-champion last season – plus single wins over Traverse City St. Francis and Elk Rapids. Onekama will have two more chances to avenge 2023-24 losses this week, Thursday against Benzie Central and Saturday against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Country Day (8-0) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-0) – Both own notable wins from the first five weeks, but whichever comes out on top will have its best victory yet this winter.
Thursday – Ewen-Trout Creek (7-1) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (7-0) – There’s intense recent history here as LL-H was second and E-TC third in the Copper Mountain Conference last year, with E-TC then ending the Lakes’ 23-2 season in the Regional Semifinals.
Thursday – Chelsea (6-0) at Tecumseh (6-0) – The Southeastern Conference White may come down to these two again after they split last season’s two meetings – and the championship.
Friday – Grand Rapids West Catholic (6-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (7-1) – The Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold has five teams at 5-3 or better, and these two look to be among top contenders with West Catholic coming off winning the O-K Blue last year.
Saturday – Tecumseh (6-0) at Rockford (7-1) – Two days after the Chelsea matchup, Division 2 title hopeful Tecumseh will test itself against a Division 1 championship contender.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTOS (Top) Belleville's Paisley Stephens (4) gets to the basket during a win over Parma Western on Dec. 21 at Detroit Renaissance. (Middle) Tecumseh's Faith Wiedyk (2) drives the baseline against West Bloomfield also at the Lady Phoenix Shootout. (Photos by Team Arreguin Photos.)
Carson Making Up For Lost Time, Making Buchanan Contender as Districts Begin
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
February 23, 2023
There’s really nothing about Faith Carson’s high school basketball career that went according to script.
Yet, it has developed into quite a compelling story with one last chapter to be penned.
When asked if she felt four years ago that she would have ended up as arguably the top college prospect in the state of Michigan despite missing more than 30 games due to a pandemic-shortened sophomore season and a junior campaign mostly wiped out by an ankle injury, the Buchanan High School phenom and Ohio State University signee said all of that would have been laughable.
However, there were plenty of times, particularly last winter when the 6-foot-4 center was relegated to a walking boot and a chair on the sideline, when it was difficult simply to remain upbeat.
“I was talking to my mom the other day and said I never really realized how much I loved basketball until I couldn’t play,” said Carson, who did return in time last season to help the Bucks win a second consecutive Division 3 District championship before falling to Schoolcraft in the Regional Finals. “Going to practice every day and watching them play, it was a struggle.
“At first it was really hard. I do have a lot of individual goals for myself, but you just have to support your teammates and put a smile on your face. You never want to show up and be the person that is negative.”
Before school and after volleyball practice throughout the fall, Carson put in around three hours a day working on her shot in preparation for this season.
With the MHSAA Tournament set to commence, the Bucks benefitted greatly by Carson’s strong return to the tune of a 19-1 record, a Lakeland Conference title and No. 3 ranking in the latest Associated Press Division 3 poll. The Bucks opened the year with a five-point loss to still-undefeated Vicksburg and have mostly dominated ever since.
Carson is averaging 19.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game as Buchanan gears up for a District Semifinal on Wednesday against the winner of the Bridgman/Cassopolis opener Monday.
“She spent her spring and summer playing with her travel team and playing with us at the high school level trying to work herself back into shape,” Buchanan coach Gabe Miller said. “She really ramped it up in August and in the fall while simultaneously working her butt off on the volleyball court.”
Carson was named Lakeland Conference MVP after the Bucks’ volleyball squad went undefeated in league play en route to a District crown.
“She was getting up at 5 a.m. and lifting weights at the local fitness center and then coming in and shooting baskets with me from 6:30-7:15 about four or five days a week,” Miller said. “It wore me out, but I welcomed it. It was good to see. And she’d come in on Sundays, too. She was really adamant about making up for lost time the best she could.”
This year’s Buchanan group is primed for a postseason run as Carson combines with some savvy players who helped keep the wheels on last year in her absence, including junior point guard LaBria Austin, versatile senior forward Hannah Tompkins, junior defensive specialist Hannah Herman and sophomore forward (and sister) Alyssa Carson just to name a few.
Clearly, though, the Bucks are a decidedly more ferocious group with Faith Carson back in the lineup.
“The things that get overlooked, unless you coach basketball, you might not see right off the bat is she always had really good hands and feet, even when she was younger,” Miller explained. “She spent a lot of time, especially this last year, working on her diet and researching things, being in the weight room and adding to her physicality and conditioning.
“I think she’s got good court vision as far as seeing plays, seeing cutters, which helps her game out with double- and triple-teams. She wants to play basketball, so she spends a lot of time on it. Losing as much time as she lost last year — a full season — could have been a hindrance. But she definitely made up for it this year. When you take her love for the game with her God-given talents, her size, feet and hands, the work ethic she has put in, and the fact that she wants to work to meet her goals when she goes to college, that’s kind of got us to the player we have today.”
And now, after all the hours working on her shooting, that includes being a threat from range.
“In a game — I can’t remember which one — I had the ball at the 3-point line and their coach was yelling, ‘shooter!’” Carson recalled. “My whole family started to laugh because I’ve never really been called a shooter. It felt great.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help us go really far in the postseason. This is one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been a part of. I’m just really excited because I know what we’re capable of.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Buchanan’s Faith Carson (54) gets a hand up on defense against St. Joseph. (Middle) Carson elevates for a shot against Schoolcraft. (Photos courtesy of the Buchanan girls basketball program.)