Country Day Two-Time Champ Moore Building Perennial Winner at Harvard
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2026
Carrie Moore says her high school sports experience in Michigan has “left a lifetime impression on me.”
Back in the early 2000s, Moore certainly had a fulfilling one while starring as a two-sport standout at Detroit Country Day.
In basketball, she was a four-year varsity performer for legendary head coach Frank Orlando, helping guide Country Day to Class B titles in 1999 as a freshman and 2002 as a senior. During the latter, she was a first-team all-state performer and scored a team-high 18 points in a Semifinal win over Flint Powers Catholic.
Moore also was a standout soccer player on that Country Day varsity powerhouse for three years.
“Who I am as a leader, as a competitor, and a team player is because of what I learned about the process in high school as a student-athlete,” Moore said. “The pursuit of excellence isn’t always easy, but I learned at such a young age that I can do hard things. I was challenged because I was surrounded by the best on the court and in the classroom, but ultimately it brought out the best version of myself and I was so prepared for what came next after graduation.”
Make no mistake about it, Moore has continued to do great things since graduating from Country Day in 2003.
She is currently the head women’s basketball coach at Harvard, where she just completed her fourth season and has amassed an 80-41 record with the Crimson. This past season, she helped guide her team to a 20-12 record and the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament.
Moore was a terrific college player at Western Michigan, finishing as the school’s all-time scoring leader with 2,216 points and earning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2007 after averaging 25.4 points per game. But she initially wasn’t planning on being a coach once her time at Western was over.
After playing one season professionally in Poland and then being cut twice by WNBA teams during training camp, Moore had an opportunity to join the coaching staff at Princeton in 2010.
From there, the coaching bug bit her, so to speak.
“Being a part of that program allowed me to see the lasting impact I could have on young women in growing them as people and players, and ultimately, give back to the game that gave me so much,” Moore said.
Moore was on the staff for two seasons at Princeton, and then moved on to Creighton, where she spent five years as an assistant coach.
Following a second stint as an assistant coach at Princeton that lasted four years, Moore moved on to North Carolina, where she spent two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the program.
A native of Lathrup Village, Moore then briefly returned to her home state for the 2021-22 season, serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for University of Michigan’s team that went 25-7.
After that season, the opportunity at Harvard came about, and Moore has proved she can be successful running a program as well.
In her first season, Moore set a program record for most wins by a first-year head coach (20). Two years later, she guided the Crimson to its first Ivy League Tournament title and back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years.
Even to this day, Moore is influenced by her time at Country Day and in Michigan. She speaks regularly to Orlando, picking his brain for advice or an answer to any other question that might come up.
“I keep in touch with Coach O as often as I can,” Moore said. “He reaches out after big wins or tough losses and always reassures his belief in me as a leader of young women. His mantra ‘Believe It’ is living on within our program at Harvard, and I hope he feels deeply connected to it because of it. I will always honor him in any way that I can, as he has shaped me greatly as a human and coach.”
Moore hasn’t had a player from her home state on her Harvard roster. But she said Michigan is an important recruiting area, and she’s keeping an eye out for prospects.
“I’m very hopeful that it will happen one day,” Moore said.
2026 Made In Michigan
July 9: Multi-Sport Career at TC West Helps Gillis Thrive as Pro in Game She Once Left Behind - Report
July 2: Inspired by Home, Eager to Give Back, Spencer Hosts Hoop City Alumni Games - Report
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Detroit Country Day’s Carrie Moore (33) celebrates with her teammates at the end of a Class B Semifinal win over Flint Powers Catholic in 2002. At right, Moore holds up the net after making the last cut this past season to celebrate Harvard’s Ivy League Tournament championship. (Middle) Moore enjoys a moment with her Crimson players. (Harvard photos courtesy of the Harvard athletic department.)
Patient Muskegon Perseveres, Comes Back Twice to Claim 1st Finals Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2026
EAST LANSING – There was no panic Saturday on the Muskegon bench.
Not when the Big Reds trailed Detroit Renaissance 15-2 early in the second quarter of the Division 1 Girls Basketball Final. Not when their comeback was beat back and they fell behind by six midway through the fourth.
There was only belief that what they were doing would work, and they’d make plays when it was needed.
That belief was rewarded, as the Big Reds came through with those plays down the stretch, defeating Renaissance 34-29 at the Breslin Center.
“We never stopped playing and believing in each other, and playing hard-nosed defense,” Muskegon coach Bernard Loudermill said. “We had to get some more stops and get some more conversions on the offensive end. It was still just one possession at a time.”
Loudermill’s quiet confidence was in stark contrast to the raucous Muskegon crowd that watched the team win the first Finals title in program history.
“This championship means everything,” Big Reds senior Mariah Sain said. “We just made history. We made history yesterday (by winning a Semifinal for the first time), but we really just left our legacy at Muskegon High School. A lot of our community was out today from all areas of Muskegon, so it’s a really big moment for us and I’m truly blessed that I got to enjoy it with my team. I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Sain had 14 points and eight rebounds for Muskegon (26-2), capping off her career with one last victory and a parting lesson for the kids in the crowd who have looked up to her for years.
“To keep working, to fight through adversity,” Sain said. “I feel like that game we fought through a lot of adversity. There was a lot of highs in that game, but there were a lot of lows. I love the kids. A lot of kids look up to me, and I try to give them as much knowledge as I can and try to be in the community as much as I can.”
Muskegon didn’t score for the first 5½ minutes of the game, and trailed 15-2 early in the second quarter, but then went on a 10-0 run capped by a Sain 3-pointer to bring itself back.
“That was probably like the second time we’ve had a deficit like that,” Loudermill said. “We know with the types of players we have, we knew we had the ability to come back, but it still had to be one stop at a time. You can’t get it all back at once, so we had to be really patient, continue to believe in each other, and do more execution-wise on the offensive end.”
Muskegon did not lead in the game until junior center Dy’nasti Bell hit a layup with 58 seconds remaining in the game to make it 29-27.
The Big Reds wouldn’t trail again, as a defensive stop was followed by a three-point possession, courtesy in large part to Bell. While it was Sain making one free throw and senior Camiyah Bonner hitting the other two, it was a hustle play by Bell in between that kept Muskegon in possession and helped swell a three-point lead to five.
“I think I tried to push myself beyond my limits,” Bell said. “This was potentially the last time I would ever get to do that, so I just went at everything hard. When you give it your all, I think it pays off.”
Bell finished the night with seven points and 12 rebounds, including the final rebound on a desperation 3-point attempt from Renaissance with the clock winding down.
The Phoenix (23-3) were led by senior Jaebri’an Autry, who scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
It was Autry who stretched the Renaissance lead when Muskegon had first tied the game at 21 in the fourth quarter, finishing off back-to-back possessions to once again give her team control.
The second Big Reds comeback could not be fought off, however.
“I feel like we should have won that game,” Autry said. “We’ve been doubted all year, and this was the game to prove to everybody that we are capable. I love these girls. I love these girls. This is the best team that I’ve ever been on at this school. I’m just proud of how far we’ve come.”
Autry was the leader on what was an incredibly young Renaissance team, as underclassmen out-numbered upperclassmen 8-4.
That was mostly from a strong sophomore class, which Autry called the best in the state. Those teammates had plenty of good things to say about her, too.
“She’s just, (in) life, off the court, on the court, she’s taught me everything,” sophomore guard Kassidy Cain said. “That’s really my sister. Obviously I plan to keep up what she’s built and done here.”
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon’s Mariah Sain (10) drives hard to the basket Saturday with Renaissance’s Maria Walker (1) keeping in step. (Middle) Jaebri’an Autry (22) works to get a shot up over the Big Reds’ Dy’nasti Bell (24). (Photos by Keionna Banks and Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)