Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls District Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 2, 2026
This month's girls basketball championships will once again cap the MHSAA winter tournament schedule, and nearly 670 teams will play in Districts this week with dreams of finishing this three-week run on the season's final day.
We always switch up our “Breslin Bound” format once the MHSAA Tournament starts, as last week’s most intriguing results below are followed this time by glances at three District brackets of note in each division. Host sites are bolded, and teams playing in those brackets are listed by seed as determined by Michigan Power Ratings (MPR).
Everything you could want to know this week about tickets, brackets and more can be found on the Girls Basketball page. To watch any of several games online, visit the NFHS Network.
“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. Howell 59, Belleville 51 The Highlanders (21-1) claimed the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title by handing reigning Division 1 champion Belleville (21-1) its first loss since Feb. 1, 2025, breaking the Tigers’ 35-game winning streak.
2. Grand Rapids South Christian 52, Rockford 50 The Sailors (22-0) capped a perfect regular-season run by handing the Rams (20-2) their first defeat since Dec. 16.
3. Morenci 39, Blissfield 38 The Tri-County Conference champions Bulldogs completed a 21-1 regular season by edging the Lenawee County Athletic Association-winning Royals (18-3).
4. Negaunee 41, Gladstone 36 Negaunee also capped its regular season at 21-1 by finishing a series sweep of Gladstone (18-4) in a matchup of two more league champs and arguably the best teams in the Upper Peninsula.
5. Beaverton 53, Standish-Sterling 29 Four days after defeating Standish-Sterling (17-4) by 11 in league play, the Beavers (19-2) claimed the overall Jack Pine Conference title by winning this rematch as well.
Districts at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold, and teams are listed by seed:
DIVISION 1
Midland
1. Midland (17-5), 2. Mount Pleasant (16-6), 3. Midland Dow (14-8), 4. Bay City Western (12-10), 5. Bay City Central (1-21).
This bracket includes the entire Saginaw Valley League North except for champion Saginaw Heritage. Midland finished second to the Hawks, a game back, with Mount Pleasant third although those two split their series, the Chemics winning 44-29 on Jan. 9 and the Oilers taking the rematch 48-41 on Feb. 10. Dow lost twice to both of those teams but only by a point to Mount Pleasant the second time.
Muskegon Mona Shores
1. Rockford (20-2), 2. Muskegon (19-2), 3. Cedar Springs (16-5), 4. Greenville (16-6), 5. Muskegon Mona Shores (12-10), 6. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (12-9).
The Rams were Division 1 runners-up last season and have reached at least the Semifinals the last four year. But Muskegon is one of only two teams to defeat Rockford this winter, 58-51 on Dec. 16, and has made an eight-win jump from a year ago. This bracket also includes the River Cities Alliance champion (Cedar Springs) and runner-up (Greenville) among six teams all with winning records.
Utica Eisenhower
1. Utica Eisenhower (19-2), 2. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (18-4), 3. Romeo (16-6), 4. Rochester (10-11), 5. Utica (4-18).
The District bracket is headlined by a pair of league champions – Eisenhower from the Macomb Area Conference Red and Stoney Creek after sharing the Oakland Activities Association Red title. But MAC White runner-up Romeo also is an intriguing contender despite a Dec. 19 loss to Eisenhower, 50-32, and Rochester defeated Stoney Creek 48-29 in their rematch just nine days ago. Eisenhower did also end the regular season with an impressive 50-44 win over Saginaw Valley League South champion Flint Powers Catholic.
DIVISION 2
Non-Traditional (top line hosts)
1. Negaunee (21-1), 2. Kingsford (15-5), 3. Gladstone (18-4), 4. Houghton (16-6), 5. Escanaba (2-17).
There’s an argument to be made that Negaunee and Gladstone – the respective champions of the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference and Great Northern Conference – have been the best in the Upper Peninsula this season. But the top four teams in this bracket are so close statistically that in the week since Districts were seeded Houghton has moved up to second in MPR and Kingsford down to fourth. Negaunee finished a regular-season sweep of Gladstone on Thursday, but last year did the same and Gladstone downed the Miners for the District title. Houghton finished second in the West PAC, and Kingsford was runner-up in the GNC – and Houghton defeated the Flivvers 40-36 on Feb. 19.
Cadillac
1. Big Rapids (17-4), 2. Fremont (19-3), 3. Cadillac (13-8), 4. Ludington (14-8), 5. Reed City (12-10), 6. Newaygo (12-9).
This rare bracket with six teams with winning records seems full of possibilities. Big Rapids, Newaygo and Reed City were the top three teams in the Central State Activities Association Red, respectively, while Ludington and Fremont shared the West Michigan Conference Lakes title and Cadillac is coming off a third-place finish in the Big North Conference. Cadillac defeated Ludington 44-31 on Feb. 9, which will be notable if both reach Friday. But any number of scenarios could play out, including a rematch of those Lakes champs after Fremont won their first meeting by 12 but Ludington won the second by a point in double overtime.
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills
1. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (21-0), 2. Grand Rapids West Catholic (16-5), 3. Allendale (10-12), 4. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (9-13), 5. Wyoming Lee (1-17).
The intrigue of this bracket centers on the expected championship matchup between the top seeds. Covenant Christian has nine wins over opponents with at least 14 this winter, including league champs Cedar Springs, Big Rapids, Kalamazoo Christian, Shelby and Holland Christian. West Catholic – the Division 2 runner-up last year – finished second in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold to undefeated South Christian but has its share of wins over league champs as well, downing Parma Western, Saginaw Heritage, Tecumseh, Frankenmuth and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep
1. Kalamazoo Christian (16-4), 2. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (18-4), 3. Lawton (13-8), 4. Comstock (1-21).
Kalamazoo Christian finished one game ahead of Hackett in winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley title, claiming their Jan. 23 meeting by 32 points – but losing the rematch by one last Tuesday. Still, that was the Comets’ first defeat in over a month, breaking an eight-game winning streak. Similarly, that win was part of an 11-game winning streak for the Irish that ended with a loss to Hopkins on Friday. Lawton is another intriguing contender; it’s won seven of its last eight games, with defeats by only one to K-Christian in the midst and two to Hackett before starting the run.
Napoleon
1. Jackson Lumen Christi (18-3), 2. Grass Lake (20-2), 3. Hanover-Horton (17-5), 4. Springport (8-12), 5. Napoleon (5-17), 6. East Jackson (4-18).
The Titans capped their regular season with a 58-56 win over Beaverton (19-3) on Saturday and just as impressively lost to Rockford by only five last Tuesday. They reached the Quarterfinals last season having defeated Grass Lake in the District Final. Grass Lake fell in its regular-season finale to another Division 1 power, Wayne Memorial, by six points, but that was the Warriors’ first defeat since losing to Rockford on Dec. 13. Grass Lake had a big win over Hanover-Horton to start January, but the Comets’ only other losses were two apiece to Brooklyn Columbia Central (18-4) and Division 2 Michigan Center (19-3).
Ovid-Elsie
1. Pewamo-Westphalia (20-2), 2. Hemlock (20-2), 3. Ovid-Elsie (15-6), 4. Ithaca (12-10), 5. St. Louis (11-11), 6. Chesaning (10-11).
A pair of league champions with significant tournament experience anchor both sides of this bracket, with the Central Michigan Athletic Conference’s Pirates having lost to only Division 1 Saginaw Heritage (16-6) and Division 2 Flint Powers Catholic (19-3), and the Tri-Valley Conference Blue’s Huskies fell only to Division 1 Midland Dow (14-8) and Division 2 Freeland (16-6). P-W and Hemlock both won District titles last season. Ovid-Elsie has won at least 18 games the last four seasons and will get to that number again with a championship this week. The Marauders played a good handful of Division 1 and 2 teams as well this season and finished second in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference.
DIVISION 4
Hale
1. Mio (18-4), 2. Au Gres-Sims (19-3), 3. Hale (14-5), 4. Fairview (4-12), 5. Whittemore-Prescott (2-12).
The expected District Final in this bracket would be the third matchup this season between Au Gres-Sims and Mio, which played each other twice over four days in mid-February with Au Gres winning the first by seven and Mio the rematch by four. That led to their sharing the North Star League Little Dipper title. Placing third was Hale, which is a combined 31-11 over the last two seasons and took Au Gres to overtime in their first meeting this winter.
Ishpeming
1. Ishpeming (18-3), 2. Munising (16-5), 3. Cooks Big Bay de Noc (18-2), 4. Eben Junction Superior Central (5-12), 5. Rapid River (5-16).
The Hematites are only two seasons removed from winning the Division 4 title, and they’ve looked to be in similar form most of this season with losses to only Division 2 Negaunee (21-1), Gladstone (18-4) and Houghton (16-6). Ishpeming also defeat Munising significantly in their lone regular-season matchup Feb. 16, but the Mustangs have won three straight District titles and know what it takes as well at this time of year. Big Bay de Noc is intriguing and takes on Munising on Wednesday. The Black Bears won the Northern Lights League and have totaled at least 16 victories four straight seasons.
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
1. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (16-6), 2. St. Charles (17-5), 3. Bay City All Saints (14-7), 4. Merrill (15-7), 5. Saginaw Arts & Sciences (10-10), 6. Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central (4-18).
St. Charles and Merrill finished first and second, respectively, in the Mid-State Activities Conference East, while MLS was runner-up to Hemlock in the TVC Blue and All Saints won the Big Thumb Conference Red title. MLS opened this season with a 53-44 win over St. Charles, defeated All Saints 60-51 on Jan. 29 and Merrill 54-34 a week later, and may have to see two of those again with Merrill playing SASA tonight on their side of the bracket and St. Charles and All Saints possible Friday opponents.
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PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming's Jenessa Eagle is defended by Bark River-Harris's Emma Zawada (14) and Melinah Cortez (21) during the Hematites’ 77-45 victory last Tuesday. (Middle) Davison’s Samantha Beller (22) works to get past her Linden defender during the Cardinals’ 49-33 victory also Tuesday. (Ishpeming/Bark River-Harris photo by Cara Kamps. Davison/Linden photo by Terry Lyons.)
Hudsonville Holds On to Clinch 1st Finals Championship
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
April 9, 2021
EAST LANSING — To say Hudsonville’s Jaci Tubergen and Alaina Diaz were locked in during Friday’s Division 1 Final would be an extreme understatement.
One of them went on an 11-0 personal run, while the other had ice water in her veins during a three-minute stretch that helped her team fend off Detroit Renaissance, 65-61, to capture the first girls basketball state championship in Hudsonville history.
Tubergen broke open what had been a tie game just minutes earlier. The junior took a pass from senior Ashlynn Bailey and drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to give her team a five-point lead with 4:37 remaining in the first half. On their next possession, the Eagles once again found Turbergan open, this time from the opposite wing. She hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to eight. A traditional three-point play and baseline jumper by Tubergen capped off a personal 11-point run to push Hudsonville’s lead to 47-34.
“To see shots go in, it’s a good feeling,” said Tubergen, who finished with a game-high 28 points. “Alaina handling the pressure as the point guard and other girls attacking and kicking (out), they got me pretty open. I’m lucky to have teammates who are willing to drive in and draw the defenders, leaving people open on the wings.”
Tubergen would finish with 16 points in the third quarter alone, as the Eagles saw a one-point halftime lead balloon to 14 points heading into the fourth.
But Renaissance, which battled back from a big deficit in Wednesday’s Semifinal against Wayne Memorial to make it to Friday’s Final, wasn’t finished. The Phoenix scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to two points at 54-52. Senior Shannon Wheeler had three steals and senior Mikyah Finley had two herself during the run to help their team get back into the game. Senior Kailee Davis had five of her team-high 26 points over that stretch.
“They did a great job of mixing up defenses,” Hudsonville head coach Casey Glass said. “I think when you play in the moment like that, you let one thing lead to another. The big thing for us was to weather the storm. We knew that they were going to apply pressure. We knew there were going to be spurts in the game.”
The Eagles certainly did weather the storm. Moments after missing the front end of a one-and-one, Diaz calmly stepped back up to the line and sank a pair of free throws which gave her team a 56-52 lead with 2:44 to play. Those were the first points of the fourth quarter for Hudsonville.
Diaz wasn’t done. She would go on to make six more free throws without a miss to help her team pull out the victory.
“I’m just used to the pressure because at practice we usually have pressure free throws and I’m just thinking that I have to do it for my family, my teammates,” said Diaz, who finished 9 of 10 from the line. “I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
Renaissance would make another late push, but came up short. The Phoenix were just 18 of 30 from the free throw line.
“The press eventually starts to get to you, and it eventually started to get to them,” Lawal said. “I just think that we had a few chances after they turned it over (to us), or when we kind of got them to take a rushed shot that led to a rebound and fast break, we weren’t able to convert like we did Wednesday (against Wayne Memorial). I think that’s the biggest difference.”
And he did touch on his team’s missed opportunities at the line:
“I’m not going to give coach (Greg) Kampe credit for this quote, because I’m sure he stole it from someone, but he said, ‘Two things in this world that don’t last, dogs that chase cars and teams that don’t make free throws.’ We didn’t make free throws, so we didn’t last. We got away with it Wednesday against Wayne Memorial. God said you’re not going to get away with it twice.”
Finley finished with 13 points and Wheeler added nine points and eight rebounds for Renaissance, which finished 13-5.
Hudsonville capped off a magical season which saw it finish 23-1. Diaz ended the day with 15 points and seven rebounds, while junior Eva Joldersma had four points and 11 rebounds in her team’s win.
“Going into tonight, I said to myself, ‘I’m the luckiest coach in the state of Michigan,’ ” Glass said. “I’ve gotten more time with my team this year, being in a state championship (game), than any other coach. When you coach, you’re looking for how much time you can spend with your players, or how much impact you can make as a coach. Our team has always been like family. We play together, we push each other.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville's Emmalynn Costen (5) establishes position in the post during Friday's Division 1 Final. (Middle) Renaissance's Nika Dorsey (12) works to get the ball upcourt. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)