Breslin Bound: 2024-25 Girls Report Week 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 3, 2025
Several girls basketball leagues across Michigan are being paced this season not just by a couple of top teams locally, but by top local teams that also have worthwhile statewide aspirations.
We saw several of that caliber of matchup this past week, with many more on the way, and we’ve highlighted some of the most intriguing below in our looks back and forward as we continue to push toward March.
“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. Wayne Memorial 57, Belleville 52 Wayne (10-5) took over first place alone in the Kensington Lakes Activities Associate East with this stunner, handing Belleville (14-1) its only defeat.
2. Negaunee 45, Gladstone 28 Negaunee (15-0) remains undefeated after handing Gladstone (12-1) its only loss, and they meet again Feb. 27.
3. Rockford 45, Grand Haven 34 The Rams (15-1) strengthened their spot atop the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red by finishing a season sweep of Grand Haven (12-2) – no other opponent has defeated the Buccaneers this winter.
4. Tecumseh 56, Chelsea 39 Tecumseh (12-1) also finished a season sweep of a league rival, in the Southeastern Conference White, and remains the only team to defeat Chelsea (11-2).
5. Yale 69, Armada 62 Yale (13-1) moved into first alone in the Blue Water Area Conference by handing Armada (12-1) its only defeat in league play and overall. They meet again Feb. 20.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Northville (10-5) The Mustangs have moved to the top of a competitive KLAA West that has six of eight teams playing above .500 overall. Northville took over the top spot alone with a week that saw a 49-43 win over Howell and then a 51-44 victory over Hartland; Howell is now third and Hartland second, and Hartland had won the first meeting with the Mustangs 47-24. Northville has won seven straight, with notable early losses to Clarkston (11-5), South Lyon (13-1) and Midland (12-1) and another impressive win to start this month over Farmington Hills Mercy (11-3).
Wayne Memorial (10-5) The Zebras had lost last year’s matchups with Belleville by 28 and 11 points, but Saturday’s 57-52 win over the Tigers was their eighth in nine games this winter and boosted them up to No. 8 in statewide Division 1 MPR. A 2-4 start this season was filed with valuable losses to Rockford, Detroit Edison (48-46 in overtime) and a pair of Indiana teams, and the only loss since was to an Ohio opponent. Wayne’s rematch with Belleville (14-1) is Feb. 14, and the Zebras also have a key KLAA East win over third-place Livonia Stevenson, 60-53, and will see the Spartans (12-4) again Feb. 18.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Edison (11-3) The reigning Division 2 champion has put together another run to set up a potential playoff push, with its only losses in double overtime to Tecumseh (12-1), by two to Detroit Renaissance (15-1), and to another Division 2 contender Parma Western (13-1). Balance that out with wins over Wayne, Clarkston, Utica Eisenhower (14-1), Detroit Cass Tech (10-5) and most recently annual Illinois contender Bolingbrook. Five of the Pioneers’ six nonleague opponents remaining are 11-3 or better, and the sixth is reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield. Circle Feb. 21 at Belleville and Feb. 22 home against Frankenmuth as arguably the best weekend of basketball in the state before the MHSAA Finals.
Frankenmuth (13-2) The Eagles also are gearing up for another potential tournament run, riding an 11-game winning streak with those early losses by a combed five points against Portland (12-3) and Midland Dow over the first two weeks of December. Frankenmuth clinched a share of another Tri-Valley Conference Red title last week against Saginaw Swan Valley and can finish the championship outright by closing out a season sweep this week against Freeland (11-2). The Eagles also have notable wins over Flint Powers Catholic (10-3), Detroit Country Day (12-3) and Saginaw Heritage (12-3), and will head toward March with a string of seven opponents that have all won at last nine games and includes matchups with Goodrich, Rockford, Edison and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
DIVISION 3
Cass City (12-1) The Red Hawks moved up five spots to No. 6 in statewide Division 3 MPR this week as they pulled within two more wins of clinching the inaugural Big Thumb Conference White championship. They’ve jumped from 14-11 a year ago and won eight straight since suffering their lone loss, 53-46 to Division 4 contender Kingston (9-1). Cass City also had a solid early win over Deckerville (10-4) and cleared Caro and Unionville-Sebewaing by impressive margins in the first meetings against their closest league challengers. Cass City closes against undefeated Sandusky, a rematch of last season’s Regional Semifinal that ended the Red Hawks’ season.
Harbor Springs (12-2) As 2,000-point scorer Olivia Flynn surges toward the conclusion of her high school career, Harbor Springs is looking like a great possibility to surpass its longest tournament run of her career so far, to the Regional Semifinals a year ago. The Rams shared the Lake Michigan Conference title last season and lead the Northern Shores Conference by two games, with their only losses overall to Division 2 Sault Ste. Marie and Division 4 contender St. Ignace. Harbor Springs also has downed Indian River Inland Lakes (10-3) and East Jordan (10-4), and has an intriguing matchup with Gaylord St. Mary (11-1) to finish the regular season.
DIVISION 4
Baraga (10-4) Although the Vikings will need help to catch Ewen-Trout Creek in the Copper Mountain Conference, they also put L’Anse a game back in the standings with a 52-49 overtime win over the Purple Hornets (11-2) last week. That victory avenged a 68-50 loss to L’Anse from mid-December and came after Baraga opened last week with a 49-46 revenge win over Lake Linden-Hubbell (11-4) – which had won their first meeting 49-37. Baraga will hope to keep that rebound streak going if they see E-TC in a Regional Semifinal – E-TC won the regular-season matchup 61-34 – but in the meantime the Vikings will face last season’s champion Ishpeming on Feb. 10 in what should be their toughest regular-season game the rest of the way.
Gaylord St. Mary (11-1) A mid-December loss to Division 1 Muskegon Mona Shores has been the only flaw in an otherwise perfect run for the Snowbirds, who own a one-game lead in the Ski Valley Conference thanks to a 51-47 victory over Indian River Inland Lakes (10-3) two weeks ago. Those two will meet again Feb. 25, and St. Mary also has a rematch coming up with East Jordan (10-4) after winning their first game impressively. As noted above, The Snowbirds will test themselves against Harbor Springs on Feb. 27, which could provide a nice momentum boost as they pursue a potential fifth-straight District title and possible first Regional championship since 2022.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – New Lothrop (13-1) at Ovid-Elsie (13-2) – A third meeting might be ahead in Division 3 District play, but for now these two are likely the decide the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference title with New Lothrop leading thanks to a 46-37 win in their first meeting Dec. 20.
Tuesday – Shelby (12-2) at Hart (12-1) – Hart has a slim lead in the West Michigan Conference Rivers thanks to a 37-34 win over second-place Shelby from Dec. 10, and these two also could meet again in Division 3 District action.
Wednesday – Pewamo-Westphalia (14-0) at Fowler (12-1) – The Central Michigan Athletic Conference has at least two Finals contenders again this season, and the Division 3 Pirates defeated the Division 4 Eagles 46-43 in their first meeting Dec. 17 to earn their current one-game lead in the league.
Friday – Grand Rapids South Christian (13-2) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (13-1) – The O-K Gold title is almost assuredly coming down to these two, and West Catholic has a one-game lead after winning their Jan. 10 matchup 62-49.
Friday – Michigan Center (13-1) at Grass Lake (12-3) – The Cascades Conference East has two intriguing playoff contenders as well, and Division 3 Grass Lake tops the standings after downing Division 2 Michigan Center 56-46 on Jan. 9.
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PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Jenessa Eagle brings the ball into the paint against Gwinn during Wednesday’s 54-30 Hematites win. Eagle scored her 1,000th career point in the victory. (Middle) Flint Powers’ Kendyl Smith (23) powers to the basket during her team’s 71-41 win over Davison on Tuesday. (Ishpeming/Gwinn photo by Cara Kamps. Powers/Davison photo by Terry Lyons.)
Scislowicz Selected to MHSCA Hall of Fame After Decades Serving in Multiple Sports
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 18, 2025
Fran Scislowicz admitted he went back and forth about what to say in his speech as he was inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Sunday.
But as the time approached to deliver it, he just harkened back to what was a principal trait during his coaching career: making sure everything was about others and not himself.
“It was a neat experience to be able to say thank you back,” Scislowicz said of what he primarily said in his speech in front of family and friends, including a brother who drove from Colorado for the ceremony. “I can’t find a head coach that doesn’t have that village behind them to support them in so many different ways.”
Scislowicz certainly had a big village throughout a long career in several sports at Rochester Adams. He was the head varsity softball coach for 37 years before retiring from that post in 2024, the head girls basketball coach for 23 years before retiring in 2013, the defensive coordinator on the varsity football team in the late 1980s and early 90s and this season is in his 28th year serving on the chain gang at Adams’ football games.
In this modern age, it’s not easy to find coaches who stick around one school in one sport for a great length of time. It should be noted that the two other coaches from the Detroit area who were inducted Sunday – Troy basketball coach Gary Fralick and Richmond softball coach Howard Stuart – fit that bill perfectly as well.
But having a coach stick around in several sports for such a long time is even rarer, which made Scislowicz an obvious choice to be inducted.
A retired elementary physical education teacher in the Rochester district, Scislowicz developed the dream to teach and coach as a youth while attending practices and games his older brothers were involved in.
“I go, ‘If I could be a physical education teacher during the day and then coach after school, that would be wonderful,’” he said. “I kind of had that passion and idea to do it really young.”
The highlight of his coaching career on the field came during the 1993-94 school year, when both his Adams girls basketball and softball teams made the MHSAA Semifinals. It was the only time those programs made the semifinals during his tenure, and they did so over a span of months.
“I was told back then by some wise, veteran coaches, ‘Fran, you don’t realize how hard it is to do what you just did, and you might never get back,’” he said. “And we didn’t.”
Scislowicz is listed among the state’s winningest coaches on the diamond with a record of 803-487 from 1988-2024. But if his original ambitions had played out, he wouldn’t have had long careers coaching softball and girls basketball at Adams.
While serving as the football team’s defensive coordinator under then-head coach Jack Runchey during the late 1980s and early 90s, he thought he was next in line to become the program’s head coach.
But in 1991, the girls basketball program was a blossoming state power in need of a leader, so Scislowicz gave up football to focus his fall seasons (girls basketball was played during the fall then) on hoops.
More important than his coaching on the court or field was his faith-based mentoring off of it.
Scislowicz to this day is actively involved in the area’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization and put together regular meetings before school for students and athletes to attend.
In the end, that’s what he hopes his biggest coaching legacy remains.
“We had a saying that you don’t have to be great to serve, but you have to serve to be great,” he said. “We really tried to give back to kids that way, by serving and doing that way. The wins and losses were going to take care of themselves. It’s the impact of seeing what kids are like at 30, 40 or 50 years old. As I’ve been around one community, trying to be a difference maker is what I enjoy most.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
(Photo courtesy of Fran Scislowicz.)