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.)
Ishpeming Standouts Close Magnificent Careers, Wild Week by Leading Team to 2nd Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2026
EAST LANSING – Mya Hemmer and Jenessa Eagle put on one final show in an Ishpeming uniform Saturday.
The Hematites seniors were dominant in leading their team to a 48-28 victory against Portland St. Patrick in the Division 4 Girls Basketball Final at the Breslin Center, winning their second title in three years.
“This is my last organized basketball game, which is really sad for me – this is my first sport, my first love,” said Hemmer, who will play volleyball at Baylor. “I just changed to volleyball freshman year, so it’s kind of a shock that I’m going to be done. It’s just such a great opportunity to be able to play, and that was just amazing. Who could have asked for a better end to their season? That’s the goal, right?”
Hemmer had 18 points, 17 rebounds, nine blocks and six steals, while Eagle had 19 points and 11 rebounds. It was a repeat of 2024, when Ishpeming won its only other championship with the then-sophomores leading the team in points and rebounds.
“I really wasn’t nervous this time around,” said Eagle, who will continue her career at Michigan Tech. “I remember the first time we came here, I was shaking, sweating, I was on the verge of tears the first time two years ago. Coming back here, it helped with our maturity, not being nervous and then helping other teammates who haven’t played here to be less nervous.”
This year’s road to the Final was a tough one, and not necessarily on the court. The Hematites (25-3) won all but one of their postseason games by double digits, with the Semifinal against Morenci the lone exception.
Much of the struggle was simply getting to East Lansing, as the Upper Peninsula was buried in several feet of snow earlier in the week, forcing Ishpeming to play its Quarterfinal on Wednesday and Semifinal on Thursday.
“We had a grueling stretch here,” Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel said. “Leave on a Wednesday, four days in a hotel, snowstorms, lack of practice, some of the things you take for granted in the regular season. Us having two games basically starting within a 24-hour period at this high of a level is not easy, and they showed that UP grit, that Hematite grit in (the Semifinal). Then, this morning you got to see them do it with fresh legs and energy.”
Their classmates also got to see it, something they weren’t able to do Thursday because of the weather. Having them in attendance Saturday provided another boost for the Hematites.
“It was amazing. I love our fans,” Eagle said. “They’re amazing and they showed out today, leaving at 12:30 in the morning, that’s ridiculous. I think that proves how diehard the UP is.”
A 15-0 second quarter blew the game open for the Hematites, giving them a 29-13 lead at the half.
Ishpeming forced five turnovers and blocked four shots, and St. Patrick was 0-for-11 from the field in the quarter.
Hemmer had three of those blocks, as her mere presence in the paint was clearly affecting the Shamrocks. She had a double-double – 14 points, 10 rebounds – by halftime, along with five blocks and three steals.
“It’s hard, because you can see her coming and you don’t think she is that tall, but she is really tall and blocks you,” St. Patrick junior guard Gracelyn Rockey said. “It makes it harder, because we get a lot of rebounds and putbacks, so it was hard for us not to get those.”
St. Patrick went 10 minutes of game time without scoring, as Ishpeming’s run reached 20-0. When Rockey finished off a three-point play with 18 seconds to play in the first quarter, the score was 14-13. By the time Lily Sandborn hit a 3-pointer just under two minutes into the third quarter, it was Ishpeming 34-16.
“We struggled to make shots, and I think we tried to challenge them maybe a little more than we should have underneath the basket,” St. Patrick coach Michelle Smith said. “When we don’t make shots, it’s difficult for us to settle into our zone defense, which is what we hang our hats on. In the second quarter, they got a lot of long outlets which made it difficult for us to settle in defensively and created a number of open looks for them.”
Rockey had 10 points and six rebounds to lead the way for the Shamrocks (23-6), who were making their 13th Finals appearance, but first since 2006.
“It’s been a great journey,” said senior Mattie Honsowitz, who was lost to injury early in the season. “I think it’s 20 years since the last time we made it this far, and we just worked as a team this entire year – that was our goal. We rebound, we communicate, and that’s what led us here. We’re really proud of that.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming’s Jenessa Eagle (3) drives toward the lane while a teammate cuts to the basket during their Division 4 Final win over Portland St. Patrick at Breslin Center. (Middle) Mya Hemmer (14) and Brittanie Piotrowski (5) surround St. Patrick’s Gracelyn Rockey as she drives. (Photos by Keionna Banks and Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)