Century of School Sports: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 18, 2025
This weekend the MHSAA will conclude its second of three seasons during this “Century of School Sports” 100th-anniverary celebration with the last of its winter championships – the Girls Basketball Semifinals & Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
While boys basketball was the first sport to see its champions crowned by the newly-formed Michigan High School Athletic Association in 1925 – and girls have been playing basketball for their schools in Michigan for more than 130 years – girls basketball was actually the sixth girls sport to gain MHSAA postseason championships, with its first Finals played during the Fall 1973.
This weekend’s MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals actually will be the 51st – the tournament was not completed in 2020 due to COVID-19 – and leads us to our first trivia question:
Q: There have been 200 MHSAA Finals championships won in girls basketball. How many schools have won at least one?
A: 105 schools have won at least one beginning when Detroit Dominican, Hudsonville Unity Christian, Hamtramck St. Ladislaus and Ewen-Trout Creek earned the first.
Detroit Country Day remains atop the lists for most championship game appearances (17) and Finals titles won (13). Detroit Martin Luther King and Portland St. Patrick rank second in appearances with 12 apiece. Bloomfield Hills Marian, St. Patrick and now-closed Flint Northern rank second on the championships list with six apiece. Northern won the most consecutively – four straight in Class A from 1978-81.
Here's another potential stumper:
Q: In what sport was the MHSAA’s first statewide girls championship awarded?
A: Gymnastics, with its first Final on March 11, 1972, three months before Title IX was signed into law.
The first MHSAA Girls Gymnastics Final was followed during the 1972-73 school year by the additions of girls Finals in golf, swimming & diving, tennis and track & field. Then came basketball in 1973-74, skiing and softball in 1974-75 (although there were Girls Skiing Regionals beginning in 1952), volleyball in 1975-76 and cross country in 1978-79.
The 1980s saw girls soccer added in 1982-83, with competitive cheer joining the lineup in 1993-94. Bowling was added in 2003-04, lacrosse in 2004-05, and the first MHSAA Girls Wrestling Individual Finals were competed in 2021-22. Field hockey will be the next addition among girls championship sports, this upcoming fall.
Similar to this “Century of School Sports” series, MHSAA.com published a 57-part celebration of “Title IX at 50” during the 2021-22 school year building up to the 25th MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Conference that following fall. Click to read up on now nearly 53 years of MHSAA girls sports.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills Marian's Trina Govan (42) and teammates celebrate during the closing moments of their 71-49 win over Flint Powers Catholic in the 1988 Class A championship game. (MHSAA file photo)
Arbor Prep Earns Another Title Game Trip
March 15, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
GRAND RAPIDS – Ypsilanti Arbor Prep calls its championship pursuit a “4-mile run.” And the Gators got through about 3.9 a year ago.
They’ll get another chance to finish the final leg after a 53-35 Class C Semifinal win over Maple City Glen Lake on Thursday at Van Noord Arena.
The Gators, who won Class C in 2016 and then finished Class B runner-up a year ago, will face reigning Class C title winner Detroit Edison in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
Arbor Prep was the only team this season that defeated Edison, downing the Pioneers 54-49 on Jan. 11.
“Considering what happened with us last year, and the type of players we are and the type of team we have this year, we’re anxious that way,” Arbor Prep senior Jala Petree said. “We’re ambitious to get what we deserve. And I think we’re going to keep working. It isn’t over yet.”
Junior Mahri Petree – Jala and senior Lasha’s younger sister – said after she can feel “a different type of energy in our locker room and practices.”
Arbor Prep (21-5) came out with that drive, opening the Semifinal on a 12-1 run. Glen Lake (23-3) – a semifinalist last season as well – pulled to within four points with two minutes to go in the first half, but the Gators finished with another 7-0 surge.
“It’s like a roller coaster,” Glen Lake coach Jason Bradford said. “The first couple of buckets, (our) first two layups were in and out.
“We’ve been behind before, and the girls know how to work through the runs. We say it’s a roller coaster and just keep on fighting. We have confidence since these girls are used to fighting back, since freshman year, each tournament run … (they have) a lot of composure and a lot of heart.”
The Lakers played Arbor Prep even in the third quarter – notable especially because senior forward Jennifer LaCross, who scored 10 points during the first half, didn’t play at all during the second because of a broken nose.
But the Gators got rolling again in the fourth quarter, closing on a 12-5 run to earn the third straight championship game berth.
Jala and Mahri Petree both scored 12 points, Mahri grabbing seven rebounds with five assists and three steals. Lasha Petree, a Miss Basketball Award finalist this season, had eight points, five assists, five steals and four blocks.
“Last year, losing, that pain is still in my heart,” Lasha Petree said. “I want to avenge it, and I’m ready for it and want to help my teammates do whatever to win.”
Freshman Hailey Helling led Glen Lake with 11 points and five rebounds. LaCross, despite not playing the second half, was the second-leading scorer. The Lakers’ 35 points total were 10 fewer than their previous season low.
Guard Savannah Peplinski and forward Allie Bonzelet joined LaCross finishing four-year careers that included two league titles and two Semifinal trips – and many more memorable moments.
“As a team, it’s just fun the memories we make – not even during the games, but like at the hotel (during Finals weekends),” LaCross said. “I’ll probably be thinking about it when I’m missing basketball the rest of my life.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Maple City Glen Lake’s Allie Bonzelet (11) works to get past Arbor Prep’s Karli Waddell (11) and Lasha Petree. (Middle) Petree defends against Savannah Peplinski.