Breslin Bound: Girls District Preview
February 29, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The girls basketball season starts over for every MHSAA team today as 128 Districts tip off all over the state.
Below is a look at four teams from each class that look good to be in the hunt when the final 16 converge on East Lansing in three weeks. Follow all of the scores and brackets in real time at MHSAA.com, and click for a glance at every team with three or fewer losses heading into the postseason.
Class A
Detroit Martin Luther King (17-1) – The Crusaders are annually in this conversation and defeated reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Marian last week to add a little more to the momentum. The only loss was in December to Detroit Renaissance, and King came back to beat Renaissance 68-66 in the Detroit Public School League Tournament championship game. King made the Class A Semifinals last season before falling the Marian.
Flushing (18-2) – It’s been a strong follow-up to last season’s 24-1 finish. After opening this season with losses to Saginaw Heritage and Midland Dow, Flushing hasn’t experienced defeat again – but has celebrated some significant victories including over Renaissance, Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-5) and Class C Flint Hamady (18-1).
Saginaw Heritage (19-1) – The Hawks looked like strong favorites before losing sophomore forward Jaela Richardson to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago, and then taking their only loss to Midland Dow right after. But Heritage has bounced back with four straight wins including over Carman-Ainsworth last week and still has plenty of talent and the experience of beating Flushing, Country Day, Dow (17-3) and making last season’s run to the Class A Semifinals.
Southfield Lathrup (17-3) – A loss or two more than the other favorites doesn’t mean much, considering the defeats came to Bay City John Glenn, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Detroit Country Day, all mentioned among Class B favorites below. The Chargers have 10 wins against teams with at least 13 victories, and finished 21-2 last season losing to Marian during the Regional.
Class B
Bay City John Glenn (19-1) – Aside from a three-point loss to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep on Feb. 6, John Glenn has been unstoppable with only two more games in single digits (wins over Southfield Lathrup and Class C Saginaw Nouvel). Most of the Bobcats' toughest games came nonleague at the beginning of the year, but they finished up last week with Class A Saginaw Arthur Hill and a 13-point win over Nouvel (after beating the Panthers by only four Dec. 16).
Detroit Country Day (18-1) – The Yellowjackets have beaten their usual slate of strong teams including Arbor Prep, Haslett, Detroit Renaissance, Midland Dow and Marysville. The only loss was to Saginaw Heritage on Dec. 29, and the reigning Class B champions bounced back for a perfect 2016 so far.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (17-2) – The Cougars closed the regular season by avenging an earlier loss to Grand Rapids South Christian, earning a shared Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold championship with the Sailors. GRCC also fell to Class A Grand Rapids Christian, but has 10 wins over Class A schools, including 69-62 over Southfield-Lathrup on Dec. 12.
Marshall (19-1) – One more win would give Marshall its second straight and third in four seasons with at least 20 victories, and the slate was anything but easy. After falling to Williamston (17-3) in their opener, the Redhawks rattled off 11 wins against teams with 10 or more victories, including Otsego (17-3), Battle Creek Harper Creek (15-5) twice and Class A Jackson Northwest (18-2) also twice to win a strong Interstate 8 Athletic Conference.
Class C
Calumet (20-0) – The reigning Class C champion has done two better, at least during the regular season, finishing undefeated by sweeping Class B Houghton – which beat Calumet twice a year ago. Total, the Copper Kings have 12 wins against teams with at least 10 victories, and only Houghton and Hancock (16-4) have come within single digits of catching them. Calumet starts District play tonight against Hancock on Hancock’s home floor.
Gobles (20-0) – The Tigers haven’t lost a regular-season game since Feb. 21, 2013, and made the Class C Semifinals in 2014 thanks in part to a strong group of now-seniors looking to return next month in their final try. Among the most impressive wins this fall were a sweep of Saugatuck (16-4) and a 10-point win over Class B Otsego.
Napoleon (20-0) – The Pirates took another step after last season’s 13-win and District title season by running through a Cascades Conference that had three more teams win at least 12 games. Napoleon hasn’t had a single-digit game since beating Manchester in overtime Dec. 15, and also picked up a nice win last week over Class B Brooklyn Columbia Central (17-3).
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (18-2) – Arbor Prep gets the slight edge on Traverse City St. Francis as the only team not undefeated to be mentioned here because of a slightly tougher schedule (although the Gladiators’ was quite strong as well). Arbor Prep’s only losses were to Class A Ann Arbor Huron (15-4) and Country Day (18-1). And the Gators have six wins over Class A teams including Marian, plus beat Bay City John Glenn 50-47 on Feb. 6.
Class D
Bark River-Harris (19-1) – The Broncos have followed up last season’s 18-2 regular-season finish by going one win better, and now hope to build on that District title from a year ago. The only loss came to Munising – the team that eliminated Bark River-Harris in last season’s Regional Semifinal – and only two weeks ago. But the Broncos do have seven wins over teams with at least 11 victories, including beating Stephenson (18-2) in their only meeting and Crystal Falls Forest Park (16-4) twice.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (18-1) – The Irish are seeking their second Class D championship in three seasons and have one of the top post players regardless of class in Averi Gamble. Sacred Heart plays Big Rapids Crossroads Academy (18-1) on Wednesday, but beat Crossroads 54-24 on Jan. 4 and owns impressive wins over Class C Beaverton, Morley Stanwood and Carson City-Crystal with the only loss to Saginaw Nouvel.
Newberry (19-1) – The Indians already are six wins better than last season, when they went out of the tournament in their first District game. Newberry also is on one of the strongest surges in the state thanks in large part to a 54-50 win over Class C contender St. Ignace on Feb. 18 that gave the Indians the Straits Area Conference title to go with an outright championship in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference. Newberry also swept Class B Sault Ste. Marie (15-5).
Pittsford (20-0) – After suffering its only loss last season, and in overtime, to St. Ignace in the Class D Final, Pittsford is the likely favorite after another dominating run. While the Wildcats played mostly Class D teams over a 16-game league schedule in the Southern Central Athletic Association, they also posted solid wins over Class A Belleville and Class C Manchester – and had only one game in single digits, a 71-62 win over Class C Grass Lake on Dec. 8.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s Averi Gamble, here attempting a free throw, will lead one of the top teams in Class D into the tournament for the final time. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Turner Leaving Her Mark at Port Huron with Leadership, Scoring Record
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2026
Putting her name atop the single-season scoring list at Port Huron High was a proud moment for Mariah Turner.
But it took a note from her father to realize the magnitude of breaking a record that had stood for 29 years.
“I didn’t really think about that, but my dad texted me before he went to sleep one night, and he was saying how proud he was of me, and how great it is to do something like that that had lasted over so many years,” Turner said. “That kind of made me think more of it, that it is more important.”
Turner finished the regular season with 442 points, averaging just over 20 points per game. Her total passed Kesha Bradford, who scored 429 points during the 1997 season before going to play at Valparaiso and Purdue-Fort Wayne.
A 3-point shot in the regular-season finale against Croswell-Lexington, a 63-39 win for the Red Hawks, gave Turner the record.
“As soon as I shot the 3, Coach called a timeout and we celebrated as a team,” Turner said. “It felt really great and relieving. It made me realize how much work I put in, both in-season and the offseason, to make history.”
During her senior season, Turner has led Port Huron to a 14-9 record and a spot in the Division 1 District Finals. The Red Hawks will play New Baltimore Anchor Bay tonight at Macomb Dakota.
As this season progressed, breaking a 30-year-old record wasn’t on her mind.
“It was later into the season, my coach (Jermaine Drake), he must have had his eye on it,” she said. “Because he was telling me, ‘You need 70 more points to beat the school record,’ or whatever. But I couldn’t let it affect me. I had to let it come to me and play my normal game.”
Turner’s normal game is being a do-everything guard for the Red Hawks. Not only did she set the school record for points this season, but also had a record 82 steals during the regular season. She had an eight-steal game, as well, which is tied for best in school history.
“She’s our best defender, our best scorer, third in assists, first in steals, first in 3s, top three in rebounds – she kind of just does everything for us,” Drake said. “She has a motor and never gets tired. She’s kind of like the whole engine of the team.”
Drake, who is in his first year as varsity coach, moved Turner off the ball to the wing this season – as she had shared point guard duties before – opening up the Port Huron offense.
But much of the Red Hawks’ offense is created through its defense, and the transition game is where Turner really shines.
“We press a lot, and she plays the passing lanes and kind of double teams if she’s able to,” Drake said. “Even off defensive rebounds, she’ll read it and leak out and get up the court. I try to implement us getting out as quick as possible to not let the defense set up.”
Turner’s combination of speed and smarts fits perfectly into what Drake wants to do. She’s one of the Red Hawks’ top performers on the track, an all-Macomb Area Conference performer in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
She’s also a 4.0 student and four-year varsity player.
“She leads by example every single time she’s on the court,” Drake said. “I don’t think she’s lost a sprint in conditioning this year. She hasn’t missed a practice. She’s like the perfect player you can ask for as a coach – no attitude, doesn’t complain.”
Turner plans to continue playing after high school. Basketball will likely be the deciding factor for the school she attends, as she wants to be a flight attendant, which will require training after she’s done with college.
“I like to travel a lot,” she said. “I went on a plane in like eighth grade for the first time, and I was watching the flight attendant the whole time. They help people, and they get to travel.”
Before she takes off, there’s still business to finish during what's been a rewarding season for Turner and the Red Hawks.
“We had some ups and downs and we had to figure each other out as a team, because we had a lot of people from JV come up this year, and we’re younger,” she said. “It was hard to adjust, but we just had to work on it and take practice seriously to bond more and learn how each player plays.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Port Huron’s Mariah Turner (10) goes to the basket against Utica this season. (Middle) Turner warms up prior to a game. (Photos by Ryan Dowd/Blue Leprechaun Photography.)