Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Report Week 6
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2026
The MHSAA girls basketball regular season has reached its halfway point, with six weeks done and six more until the start of District play March 2.
That makes it a good time for a quick review on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) – and how they’re used to seed that first round of the MHSAA playoffs.
MPR is determined by considering a team’s success (total wins) and strength of schedule based on games against opponents also playing in the MHSAA Tournament. You can follow how teams rank all season long on the MPR page, where you can search not only by Division and school, but District grouping as well.
“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. Belleville 77, Wayne Memorial 49 The Tigers (9-0) handed two Kensington Lakes Activities Association East rivals their first losses this season last week, first Livonia Stevenson and then the Zebras (8-1).
2. Grass Lake 61, Michigan 55 Grass Lake (9-1) moved into first place alone and Michigan Center (8-2) into second in the Cascades Conference East as the top two finishers from the last two seasons met for the first time this season.
3. Ewen-Trout Creek 40, Baraga 21 The Panthers (7-1) remain among the leaders in the overall Copper Mountain Conference standings after handing Baraga (9-1) its lone defeat.
4. DeWitt 50, Haslett 42 The Panthers (9-1) – No. 10 in Division 1 MPR – won one of the Lansing area’s best nonleague matchups of the regular season, as the Vikings (6-1) are No. 14 in Division 2.
5. Temperance Bedford 36, Saline 32 Reigning Southeastern Conference Red co-champ Bedford (6-3) is in first place alone after this win over the rival Hornets (8-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Renaissance (8-2) The Phoenix have put together another impressive first half, with their only losses to likewise Division 1 contenders Belleville and Wayne Memorial and both before the new year. Renaissance also edged Saginaw Heritage by a point in overtime and downed Flint Powers Catholic by 10 – the latter that teams’ only loss this winter. The Phoenix are perfect through the first half of the Detroit Public School League Blue schedule, winning those games all by at least 21 points.
Rockford (8-1) The reigning Division 1 runner-up graduated last season’s Miss Basketball but hasn’t lost a step, its only loss this season to one-loss Muskegon. The Rams also are the only team to defeat Howell and Grass Lake, and seven of nine opponents so far this winter currently have winning records. Haslett and Jackson Lumen Christi also are on the nonleague slate coming up, while Rockford will also navigate an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red that has all six teams .500 or better entering this week.
DIVISION 2
Goodrich (11-0) The Martians have won at least 23 games the last three seasons, and strong starts are nothing new. But Saturday’s 45-24 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s put an exclamation point on a first half that’s also included handing Rochester Hills Stoney Creek its only loss and Parma Western one of its two, with no game closer than 17 points. A major reason for that is Goodrich has held seven of its first 11 opponents under 20 points, and two more under 30.
Tecumseh (10-1) The reigning Division 2 champion is a combined 37-2 since the start of the 2024-25 season, its only loss this winter 54-52 to Grand Rapids West Catholic in a rematch of last year’s title game. Tecumseh jumped from No. 11 to No. 1 in statewide Division 2 MPR over the last week thanks to 30+ point wins over Chelsea and Pinckney and the continued success of several opponents from earlier this season. Home games against Saginaw Heritage on Feb. 3 and Dexter on Feb. 26 will be good tests heading into March.
DIVISION 3
McBain (8-0) Over the last two weeks, McBain has handed Roscommon and Evart their lone losses this season, allowing the Ramblers to take over first place alone in the Highland Conference as they seek a first league championship since 2021-22. A matchup this week with Traverse City St. Francis should tell us even more, and the first weeks of February will determine a lot as McBain faces undefeated Beaverton on Feb. 2, then Evart and Roscommon in back-to-back games Feb. 6 and 9, respectively.
Pewamo-Westphalia (8-1) The Pirates are one of four teams in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference with one loss this winter, but the only team undefeated in league play in part because they were the ones who downed Portland St. Patrick in mid-December and Bath 64-41 last week. P-W’s only loss last winter came in its Regional Final; its only loss so far this season came Jan. 5 to Flint Powers Catholic, and in addition to league play the Pirates have nice tests coming against Heritage and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
DIVISION 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-1) The Cougars are climbing again after going 10-14 two seasons ago and improving to 12-11 last winter. Three of last season’s losses came to Petersburg Summerfield, which Lenawee Christian defeated 55-40 last week, and LC will face undefeated Morenci on Friday for first place in the Tri-County Conference. The Cougars’ only loss this season came to Big 8 Conference leader Concord, 64-55 to start the new calendar year.
Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) The Bulldogs could take a big step on improving on last season’s 21-5 finish and run to the Regional Finals, as they face Gaylord St. Mary on Wednesday for the first time after finishing second to the Snowbirds in the Ski Valley Conference last season. Inland Lakes kept its perfect record intact with a 46-44 overtime win over Central Lake on Friday and also has a one-point overtime win over Elk Rapids and another one-pointer in regulation over Bellaire.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – St. Joseph (8-1) at Portage Central (7-1) – These are the only teams without a loss in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference, and Portage Central won their District Semifinal matchup last year after St. Joseph swept the regular-season series.
Wednesday – Gaylord St. Mary (8-1) at Indian River Inland Lakes (9-0) – As noted above, St. Mary won both of last season’s matchups, by four in overtime and seven, to take back the SVC title after Inland Lakes won it in 2023-24.
Thursday – Deckerville (8-1) at Kingston (9-0) – These two are both undefeated in the Big Thumb Conference Blue after Kingston finished first and Deckerville second a year ago.
Friday – Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-1) at Morenci (8-0) – Morenci claimed last year’s meetings by 17 and then only two points in winning the TCC on the way to ending the season in the Division 4 Quarterfinals.
Saturday – Grand Rapids West Catholic (9-2) at Detroit Edison (4-3) – Edison has played its usual schedule featuring several of the state’s best, and this rematch of last season’s Division 2 Semifinal won by West Catholic will finish up a three-game week.
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PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Heritage passes the ball around the perimeter during its 67-43 win at Frankenmuth on Jan. 12. (Middle) Ishpeming Westwood's Addelyn Hallum drives the lane for a layup against Negaunee on Friday during the Miners’ 46-36 win. (Heritage/Frankenmuth photo by Terry Lyons. Negaunee/Westwood photo by Cara Kamps.)
Coach Leads with Same Drive, New Perspective
February 20, 2019
By Steve Vedder
Special for Second Half
Colleen Nagel can only shake her head when one of her former Grand Rapids Catholic Central basketball players offers an observation after dropping by a Cougars practice.
Now in her 30th year of coaching, and first season of her second stint at Catholic Central, the former Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate admits to the subtle changes that three decades on the bench have brought.
Those changes don't include the lessening of competitive fires which still burn bright or the importance of the relationships with the players or teaching of the game.
But make no mistake, there are differences – changes that have only come through self-reflection. Known as one of the most fiery coaches in Grand Rapids, Nagel still has high expectations for her teams. But time, a shuffling of personal priorities and the wisdom of age has changed Nagel, who surpassed the career 360-win total last week.
"I'll have some of my former players stop by, and they say I'm nicer," Nagel laughs. "You get older and slow down, and it's a different kind of time now. I've always said if you can't evolve with time, you need to get out."
A case in point came a couple weeks ago when the Cougars, on the verge of taking charge of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship race, suffered a crushing one-point loss to Coopersville after inexplicably falling behind by 23 points at the half. The team also dropped a one-point decision to West Catholic after hammering the Falcons by 30 in the teams' first meeting.
Nagel said her reaction to those losses differs from how she would have handled them during her first seven-year coaching stint at Catholic Central. During that tenure, the Cougars went 167-19, including notching arguably the greatest win in Grand Rapids girls basketball history when the Cougars stunned then 10-time (now 13-time) MHSAA Finals champion Detroit Country Day 51-43 in the 2010 Class B championship game.
Instead of driving her teams even harder after such losses, Nagel said she has the wisdom to use them as a teaching tool.
It's all about age and reflection, she said. The combination of a second marriage, a new job outside basketball, the responsibility and joy of coaching her daughter, the experience of three years coaching at Ferris State University and the recognition that teenage athletes and their parents have changed over the years have caused Nagel to take a hard second look at how she coaches.
Nagel said her conclusions may have left her a better coach, but definitely a person who finds herself examining the big picture over her own immediate surroundings.
Which isn't to say the drive to win has passed her by. What she will say is that 30 years after her first bench position as West Catholic's freshmen coach in 1989, the game remains as fun as ever.
"Kids change, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all," she said. "I probably don't yell in practice and in the games like I used to. But I've always said you have to evaluate yourself, and I'm absolutely still having fun."
While winning still ranks near the top of her priorities, Nagel said what drives her now – both on the court and off – is the quest for balance. While still possessing a love of coaching, Nagel said family and professional happiness off the court is what she seeks. As for winning, that candle still burns – but it's no longer consuming.
"I will never think winning isn't important. I'll always think my team needs to be in it until the end," she said. "But you can be consumed with things when you should be trying to find a balance in your life. (College) was 24/7 for me, and because of that I began to reflect and I realized life should be a balance. My priority should be my family."
That's probably the No. 1 lesson that came out of coaching three years at Ferris State after leaving Catholic Central in 2012.
"You're always thinking the grass might be greener," Nagel said of making that move.
What she found was the grass wasn't greener. Nagel said the endless fundraising, the long recruiting trail and the year-round duties of a college coach wound up being more than she wanted.
Nagel was content to be out of the game while watching her daughter, Katie, play on the Catholic Central varsity as a freshman a year ago. But when then-coach Trevor Hinshaw decided to devote more time to his family and athletic director duties after going 120-28 in the six seasons after replacing Nagel, she saw an opportunity to return to a familiar post.
She had turned down the job once when she didn't want people thinking Katie had made varsity as a freshman because her mother was the coach. But Nagel couldn't pass on the opportunity when Hinshaw asked again.
"She's such a great competitor, coach and teacher," Hinshaw said of Nagel, who as a member of the search committee recommended Hinshaw for the job after leaving for Ferris State. "The relationship she builds with players is one of the keys why her teams excel on the court. It's the combination of a lot of things which make her a good coach."
Because she recognizes the growth in herself over the last few years, Nagel said she enjoys coaching as much as ever, particularly in the MHSAA Tournament. In addition to the win over Country Day in 2010, Catholic Central had a pair of Class B runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2012. Her 2002 East Grand Rapids team also finished second.
This season’s team is 11-5 overall and tied for first in the O-K Blue, with a chance at another postseason run when Districts begin in two weeks.
"It's the backbone of everything I coach for," she said of the postseason. "I want my teams to be as ready for the tournament like I always did.
"But you can drive yourself crazy in saying, 'This is what we should be doing. How can I create what we need to do?' You evolve with time. I'm not saying I still won't yell at referees or whomever. But like a parent, you should become smarter.
"You need to see that times change. There's still a right way to play – you hustle, have a good attitude and if you knock someone down you pick them up. But you evolve."
PHOTOS: (Top) Colleen Nagel returned to coaching Grand Rapids Catholic Central this season, including her sophomore daughter Katie Tate. (Middle) Nagel guides her team during the 2012 Class B Final. (Top photo courtesy of the Nagel family.)