Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 24, 2026
With Sunday’s announcement of this season’s Girls Basketball District seeds and matchups, more than 650 teams across the state now know their championship paths once the playoffs begin.
But the journey really started months ago – and there’s one more week left this regular season for contenders to build up momentum as they prepare to play for more. We detail some of what we've seen and what to expect below.
“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. Grass Lake 52, Brooklyn Columbia Central 42 These two have met in three straight Cascades Conference championship games, and Grass Lake (19-1) won its third straight title in adding to a previous victory this winter over Columbia Central (17-3).
2. Flint Powers Catholic 49, Saginaw Heritage 40 The Chargers (19-2) won this matchup of Saginaw Valley League division winners, sending Heritage to 15-6.
3. Goodrich 58, Fenton 27 The Martians (21-0) won their third-straight Flint Metro League overall championship, downing Fenton (14-8) for the second time this season.
4. Rockford 61, Grand Haven 41 The Rams (19-1) finished an outright championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and a season sweep of the Buccaneers (17-3).
5. Farmington Hills Mercy 60, South Lyon East 47 The Marlins (16-4) handed East (19-1) its only loss this season.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
DeWitt (16-4) The Panthers have wins over four teams with at least 15 victories this winter, and all four of DeWitt’s losses came to teams with at least 15 wins. Despite splitting with Holt, the Panthers finished just behind the Rams in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, but could see Holt again in a Regional Final. DeWitt also has an opportunity to see East Lansing again in their District Final after falling to the Trojans in their second of two regular-season meetings.
Holt (15-4) After finishing second and tied for second in the CAAC Blue to DeWitt the last two seasons, Holt celebrated clinching the outright championship by finishing a regular-season sweep of East Lansing on Feb. 13. The Rams then followed with an impressive 52-51 win over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richand and impressed as well despite falling to Haslett (18-2) by three points on Thursday. All four losses have come to opponents with at least 15 wins this season.
DIVISION 2
Warren Regina (15-5) The Saddlelites have tied last season’s win total with at least three more games to play, and one more victory will give them their highest total in at least 15 years. The losses came in clumps; Regina won its first seven games, lost five of the next seven, but have now won six straight. The Saddlelites finished third in a Catholic High School League Central West that also included Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (16-3) and Farmington Hills Mercy (16-4), both Division 1 teams.
Yale (19-1) The Bulldogs clinched a share of their third-straight Blue Water Area Conference title Friday and can make the championship outright Tuesday against second-place Armada – and after Yale and Armada shared the championship a year ago. The Bulldogs’ only loss this winter came to Division 1 New Baltimore Anchor Bay (17-2), and Armada in the teams’ first matchup is the only other opponent to get within single digits.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (15-3) Five of six teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley have winning records, and topping them is undefeated Kalamazoo Christian – which has won the title outright with an opportunity to finish a perfect league run against second-place Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep on Tuesday. The three Comets’ losses came to Division 1 and 2 opponents that are a combined 48-12, and K-Christian will be playing next week for a fourth-straight District title.
Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (15-4) The Crusaders made a memorable jump last season starting 1-3 and ending as the Division 3 runners-up. They got rolling a little more quickly this winter and have won eight straight while clinching the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue title outright despite playing in a league that has four of six teams with at least 13 wins. Lutheran Northwest also has tested itself nonleague with losses to Division 1 Clarkston and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and Division 2 St. Clair.
DIVISION 4
Mio (16-4) The Thunderbolts will seek to add to two straight trips to the Regional Semifinals when they begin their postseason march next week, and they’ll hope to secure a third-straight league title tonight when they play Hillman with a share of the North Star League Little Dipper championship on the line. Mio split back-to-back games with Au Gres-Sims, which has clinched a share of the title. Mia McGregor has passed 2,000 points this season as a junior and is in line to pursue the all-time MHSAA career scoring record next winter.
Portland St. Patrick (16-4) The Shamrocks have been championship contenders – and won their share – over the last several decades, but this season is a little different as past championship player and assistant coach Michelle Smith has taken over the program from longtime leader Al Schrauben. The success continues. While St. Patrick is fourth in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference – which features four teams with at least 16 wins – all of its losses have come to those other three teams, which all play in Division 3.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Kingston (21-0) at Deckerville (17-3) – This will finish determining one of the final league races still outstanding, as Kingston has clinched a share of the Big Thumb Conference Blue title but Deckerville can do the same by avenging an earlier 53-34 loss to the Cardinals.
Tuesday – Beaverton (17-2) at Standish-Sterling (17-3) – These two will face off for the overall Jack Pine Conference championship after also facing each other Friday, with Beaverton winning the first round 58-47.
Thursday – Belleville (21-0) vs. Howell (20-1) at Northville – This has been one of the most anticipated matchups in the state for weeks as the reigning Division 1 champion Tigers seek to finish as repeat overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association champs.
Thursday – Rockford (19-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (20-0) – Both are strong candidates to finish at Breslin Center next month, the Rams in Division 1 and the Sailors in Division 2.
Thursday – Negaunee (19-1) at Gladstone (17-3) – Gladstone will be seeking to avenge a 30-19 loss to the Miners from Jan. 27, and they’re lined up to potentially see each other in a Division 2 District Final next week as well.
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PHOTOS (Top) Mio’s Mia McGregor (33) handles the ball during a game against Saginaw Arts & Sciences earlier this month. (Middle) Baraga's Danica Jahfetson directs the offense against Ishpeming. (Mio/SASA photo by Kolleth Photo. Baraga/Ishpeming photo by Cara Kamps.)
Hudsonville Earns Historic Win with Signature Skill
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
April 7, 2021
EAST LANSING – Hudsonville head coach Casey Glass is beyond the point where he’ll mince words — particularly when it comes to his team’s defensive play.
He knows how good his Eagles are.
“It’s not a secret anymore, but I think we’re one of the best defensive teams in the state of Michigan,” Glass said. “We’ve got kids that come out every day ready to play and D it up.”
That was the case for Glass and his team during their Division 1 Semifinal game against Midland Dow Wednesday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Hudsonville put on a defensive clinic, holding the Chargers scoreless for the first 6½ minutes of the fourth quarter and limiting them to just 14 second-half points during a 49-35 victory which catapulted the Eagles into the championship game, where they’ll face Detroit Renaissance.
“You get Alaina (Diaz) and Eva Joldersma on their two best players, and we really just tried to use a little bit of extra height and athleticism to shut down their two best players and I thought we did a really good job of that,” Glass said.
Dow’s top two scorers, Alexa Kolnitys and Jada Garner, came into the game averaging a combined 30.6 points per contest. But they were limited to just 14 against the Eagles.
“I feel like most of our game is (about) defense, and every day at practice we push ourselves to play defense,” said Diaz, who finished with eight points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. “We play against each other and push each other to play harder.”
Hudsonville led by seven after one quarter and upped its lead to 17-8 moments into the second. But Dow went on a 10-0 run, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers by juniors Kennedy Caldwell and Abby Rey, a putback by Kolnitys and a pair of free throws by Rey, to take an 18-17 lead with 4:32 left in the first half.
“We make our run in the second quarter, when we hit a few 3s and you get on a roll and take a lead. Then in the second half, we go 0-for-9 from beyond the 3-point line,” Dow coach Kyle Theisen said. “All year long, we’ve said that when we’re making shots, we can beat anybody, and when we’re missing shots, anybody can beat us. That’s what the second half was. We were missing shots. We got good looks at 3s and they didn’t go down for us.”
For the game, Dow shot just 12 for 46 from the field, including 4 for 15 from 3-point range.
“We don’t usually shoot that poorly,” Theisen continued. “We got the shots we wanted, but sometimes they just don’t go down. I absolutely loved the effort of our girls. I loved the all-out hustle on every play and never giving up.
“Diaz did a good job. We tried to get some switches on ball screens and she did a really good job of getting over the top or underneath on those ball screens. We were trying to attack some of their bigs with our guards, and she made it difficult. She’s a really good defender on the ball.
“When you have that much height protecting the rim on the help side, there were no easy points to be had.”
Rey led Dow with 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Kolnitys had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Chargers, who finished their season 22-1.
“Got to give (Midland Dow) credit, they’re well coached,” Glass said. “Those girls gave everything they had. Fortunately for us tonight, we had a little bit more in the tank.”
Hudsonville sophomore Maddie Petroelje led her team with 15 points. Junior Jaci Tubergen had seven points and a team-best 11 rebounds, while senior Emmalynn Costen added six points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles (22-1) will now take on Renaissance (13-4) in Friday’s Division 1 championship game, a first-time appearance in the finale for Hudsonville. The Phoenix defeated Wayne Memorial, 75-72, in Wednesday’s first Semifinal.
“Renaissance is a team that puts a lot of pressure on you,” Glass said. “We’re fortunate to have kids on our team that can handle that pressure. We’ll get back to Hudsonville, watch some film and get back to the drawing board and come up with a game plan for Friday.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudsonville's Alaina Diaz (23) makes her move as Dow's Jada Garner defends Wednesday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Diaz works to grab a loose ball while surrounded by Chargers.(Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)