Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
January 29, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Only a month's worth of games remain before the start of MHSAA girls basketball District tournaments. And the teams that made this week's list of high performers surely have hit their strides.
A few have been on point since opening night. Most of the rest this week have suffered only close losses to top competition or have avenged one of their early-season defeats.
Results and overall records below are drawn from our MHSAA Score Center. Are either incorrect? Please help us make the necessary fixes after filling in this brief registration.
1. Reese (13-0) – The Rockets are weeks away from finishing their second-straight perfect regular season, and highly-touted Saginaw Nouvel, by 10 points, was only opponent to come that close.
2. Lansing Christian (13-0) – This might be the best Pilgrims team since it won back-to-back Class D titles in 2003-04; Lansing Christian has played a number of larger schools, and only four total have come within 10 points.
3. Farmington Hills Harrison (13-1) – The Hawks have won 12 straight since falling to Oxford by three on the last day of November; Harrison avenged that with a 48-27 win over Oxford last week.
4. Kent City (12-1) – This level of success is the norm for Kent City, and it's perfect since falling by two to Class A Muskegon in the Eagles’ opener.
5. Petoskey (11-2) – The Northmen have won eight straight since their last loss, to Cadillac, on Dec. 14; they avenged that loss with a 41-40 win over Cadillac on Friday.
6. Haslett (10-2) – Only DeWitt and Saginaw Nouvel, by a combined nine points, have slowed the Vikings this season; Haslett has won six of its last seven.
7. Portland St. Patrick (12-1) – The Shamrocks, Class D Semifinalists last season, have won nine straight with their only loss to Class C Pewamo-Westphalia on Dec. 11.
8. St. Clair Shores South Lake (7-4) – South Lake has won seven straight since opening 0-4; the Cavaliers’ most recent win also was Center Line’s first loss, 45-40.
9. Carson City-Crystal (10-2) – It’s tough to remember the Eagles won only two games two seasons ago; they've lost only two this winter, and already avenged one defeat, to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
10. Dearborn Divine Child (8-2) – Divine Child’s 2-2 start included close losses to Nouvel and equally-talented Westland John Glenn. The Falcons have won the close ones too, with four wins by six or fewer points.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison (yellow and green uniforms) has won 12 straight games, including this one over Detroit Consortium earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Report Week 9
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 9, 2026
It’s league championship time this girls basketball season, and with less than a month until District play begins and some interesting clusters of games coming up thanks to winter-weather postponements, there will be at least a few wild finishes over the next few weeks.
Our report below includes news on a few teams that already have clinched, mentions of more that are closing in, and explanations of at least two pairs of contenders likely to decide their league titles while seeing each other twice over just a matter of days.
“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. Midland 38, Grand Haven 36 In the midst of a deadlocked Saginaw Valley League North race, co-leader Midland (13-4) took on another Division 1 contender in Grand Haven (13-2).
2. Birmingham Groves 73, Detroit Edison 62 This win over an annual power just adds to an incredible turnaround for Groves (13-2), which won six games last season and is guaranteed its first winning record since 2017-18.
3. Clarkston 52, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 45 This pulled the Wolves (12-5) even with Stoney Creek (12-2) atop the Oakland Activities Association Red standings, and these two face off again tonight.
4. Jackson Lumen Christi 55, Farmington Hills Mercy 49 The Titans (14-2) moved into the Catholic High School League Bishop final with this win over the Marlins (11-4).
5. Grand Rapids South Christian 50, Grand Rapids West Catholic 44 The Sailors (16-0) continued to pull away in an Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold where West Catholic (12-4) is one of three more teams with at least 10 wins.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Howell (17-1) The Highlanders have already clinched the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title with three league games left to play. The title is Howell’s second in three seasons, and the dominance has extended through its nonleague schedule with the only loss to Rockford (13-1) at Cornerstone University in December. Many statewide eyes will be turned toward the KLAA overall championship game Feb. 26 and the Highlanders’ anticipated matchup with reigning Division 1 champion Belleville.
Utica Eisenhower (12-2) The Eagles can clinch a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title with a win against Port Huron on Tuesday, and they are a combined 34-5 over the last two seasons having also shared the league title a year ago. Eisenhower has loaded up tough nonleague competition and no doubt benefitted even from losses to Goodrich and Detroit Renaissance – with a chance to head into the postseason on a roll with a trip to Flint Powers Catholic for the regular-season finale.
DIVISION 2
Big Rapids (10-3) The Cardinals have won 20 straight Central State Activities Association games and lead the Red after the first cycle through the schedule and after winning the title a year ago. They defeated CSAA White leader Morley Stanwood 57-53 and have lost to Grand Rapids Covenant Christian, Spring Lake and Mount Pleasant – which are either undefeated or contending for league titles. Matchups with Saginaw Heritage and Kent City on back-to-back days next week will be a valuable challenge.
Otsego (12-1) The Bulldogs are a one-point overtime December loss to Richland Gull Lake from perfection, and that’s while playing a schedule that’s included two wins over Sturgis (13-2) and one apiece against Marshall (10-5), Plainwell (10-3) and Saturday over Niles Brandywine (15-1). Otsego looks ready to climb after winning 12-14 games each of the last three seasons and has jumped from No. 15 to No. 4 in statewide Division 2 MPR over the last two weeks.
DIVISION 3
Cass City (12-3) The Red Hawks have won 10 of their last 11 and have a half-game lead on Caro in the Greater Thumb Conference White with Thursday’s matchup with the Tigers potentially for first place alone in the league. Cass City already handed Caro one of its two losses and Deckerville one of its two defeats, with wins over Sanford Meridian and Unionville-Sebewaing also especially of note. Two of the Red Hawks’ losses were back-to-back to Hemlock (15-1) and Kingston (15-0), but Cass City will have a similar opportunity against Sandusky (14-1) in the regular-season finale.
Morley Stanwood (12-2) As noted above, Morley Stanwood leads the CSAA White, with those losses nonleague to Big Rapids and Fremont (11-3). Both came during a string of four straight games against opponents now with double-digit wins, and Morley Stanwood also defeated Kent City and Mio during that string. The Kent City win was by a 64-62 score, and the rematch is set for Feb. 20. The team needs just one more win to equal last season’s total.
DIVISION 4
Au Gres-Sims (14-1) The Wolverines jumped 11 spots to No. 6 in statewide Division 4 MPR this week thanks in part to a 55-37 win over Hale (10-3) after they defeated Hale by just a point in overtime in their first meeting Jan. 8. Au Gres-Sims and Mio are the only undefeated teams left in North Star League Little Dipper play and meet Tuesday for the first time this season and then again Friday. The Wolverines’ only loss came to Tawas (11-2) in their season opener, by just four points.
Ishpeming (12-2) The Hematites are a half-game back of first-place Negaunee and a half-game ahead of Houghton atop the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference standings – and although it didn’t count toward the league title race, Ishpeming avenged its WestPAC loss Friday by downing the previously-undefeated Miners 51-39. The Hematites did that after falling to Gladstone 53-49 in overtime only three nights before. Baraga (14-2) and Munising (12-3) should be two more challenging opponents before Ishpeming finishes the regular season with Houghton (11-4).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Grass Lake (15-1) at Michigan Center (14-2) – There are a handful of Cascades Conference games left, but the East championship should come down to this matchup after Grass Lake won the first meeting 61-55.
Tuesday – Wayne Memorial (14-1) at Belleville (16-0) – The Tigers can clinch a share of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East championship with a win over the rival Zebras, who have lost only to Belleville.
Tuesday – Hanover-Horton (13-2) at Brooklyn Columbia Central (13-2) – These two are tied for first in the Cascades Conference West and will meet again Feb. 17.
Wednesday – New Lothrop (13-1) at Ovid-Elsie (12-2) – New Lothrop has a half-game lead on Ovid-Elsie in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference after winning their Jan. 5 meeting 47-34.
Friday – Jackson Lumen Christi (14-2) vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (15-2) at Oakland – The champions of the Catholic High School League Central-East and Central-West, respectively, will meet for the Bishop Tournament title.
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PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy’s Symone Brandt (1) drives during a 51-43 loss to Mio on Friday. (Middle) Houghton's Kate Filpus cuts between Marquette's Kylie Smith (25) and Hayley Taylor (22) and takes a shot. (SASA/Mio photo by Kolleth Photo. Houghton/Marquette photo by Cara Kamps.)