Cousino Ends Historic Run Atop Class A
March 19, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING — Kierra Fletcher hit the floor with her body, one of the hazards when driving to the basket, then slapped it with her hands when she realized her shot had fallen.
She got up and pumped her right fist in the air before going to the line and making the free throw.
These were just three of the 198 points she scored during Warren Cousino's eight-game run through the MHSAA Class A Girls Basketball Tournament, but they were arguably the most important.
A championship that seemed guaranteed when the Patriots held a 19-point third-quarter lead was slipping through the Patriots' grasp.
Detroit Martin Luther King had all of the momentum and a hot hand in senior guard Micaela Kelly, who virtually single-handedly willed the Crusaders back from the abyss.
A lead that had been chopped to five points was back to double figures at 57-47 when Fletcher made her 3-point play with 5:06 left in the Class A Final on Saturday at the Breslin Center. While King made one final push, coming back from double digits again was too much to ask of the Crusaders, who scored four points in the final seven seconds but ran out of time in a 67-65 loss to Cousino.
Fletcher, who had 27 points and averaged 28.4 over Cousino's last five games, picked up her fourth foul with 44.5 seconds left in the third quarter, then missed two free throws after her return. Her pent-up frustration was released when she made the huge momentum-stalling basket shortly after going 0 for 2 at the line.
"When I got my fourth foul, I was a little rattled," said Fletcher, a junior guard who is already being touted as a Miss Basketball favorite for next season. "Then I came back in the game and missed two free throws when it was crunch time. Once I got that and-one, it lifted my spirits up so we could go and win this game."
By holding off a furious rally by one of the state's most decorated programs, Cousino completed an unlikely championship run. The Patriots had been as far as the Regional Finals only once, losing 50-28 to Mount Clemens L'Anse Creuse North in 1979. They'd won only eight District titles before this season, going 1-8 in Regional games.
Their breakthrough moment came in the Regional championship game, where they beat two-time defending Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian, 43-39. Suddenly, Cousino girls basketball was on the radar.
"We figured, hey, if we can beat this team, we can beat any team," said forward Mackenzie Anderson, the team's only senior, after scoring 20 points Saturday. "Our defense was strong. We just didn't want to be done. We wanted one more day together."
Cousino (23-4) joined the 1999 Utica team as the only Class A champions from Macomb County in the 43-year history of the girls basketball tournament.
"Honestly, our team believed this was a realistic goal back in November," Fletcher said. "Our group message name was 'State champs, 2016.' I think at the time, even our parents didn't think we were going to be this far. We were the only ones who believed until we got to where we are today."
To earn their place in history, the Patriots had to knock off a King program that had more MHSAA Finals appearances (12) than Cousino had District titles (nine). King's last championship, its fifth, came in 2006.
It was Cousino that looked like the program accustomed to the big stage, as the Patriots scored the first five points of the game and built a 31-12 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter. They outrebounded King 16-3 in the first quarter, grabbing 13 of the game's first 14 boards.
"We played our game in the second half," 33rd-year King coach William Winfield said. "In the first half, not so good. We had some shots that did not fall and drives to the basket that did not go; that was about the size of it. They played an excellent game and were able to get the ball down the floor."
Cousino led 35-19 at halftime, with Fletcher scoring a relatively modest (by her standards) 12 points. Freshman Kate McArthur had nine points on three 3-pointers, while Anderson had eight to help the Patriots dominate the first half. In each of Cousino's previous four games, Fletcher scored more than half of the team's points, including 37 in a 60-45 Semifinal victory over Hudsonville on Friday.
"What's great about this victory is for the first half (Fletcher) played a big role, but there were other people who stepped up today, as well," Cousino coach Mike Lee said. "In a championship game, we said we needed people to step up, and they did. The sacrifice, the heart, the will and the belief — this team believed more than any other team. Once we got to a certain point in the Regionals, we felt good about at least giving this a good shot."
When Cousino began the second half by extending its lead back to 19 points three times, it looked like the fourth quarter would simply become a coronation ceremony for the Patriots.
Kelly had other ideas.
The DePaul-bound guard scored 11 points during the third quarter, as King (24-2) cut the lead to 50-40 heading into the fourth. Despite playing with four fouls, she kept it up in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 more points to finish with a game-high 34. Kelly's total tied the sixth-highest for an MHSAA championship game.
"Since I was supposed to be the leader, I just decided this is my time to put my team on my back before I leave," Kelly said. "I wanted to leave knowing I left it all on the floor."
Kelly, who was 11 for 11 from the line, hit two free throws with 5:53 left to put King back in the game at 52-47.
Fletcher held off the charge by making two free throws with 5:15 left, then making the three-point play with 5:06 to go. King got back to within five points with 1:11 left, but Aubrey Fetzer got a layup off a pass from Anderson on the press break with 1:02 to go.
A basket by King's Tia Tedford, who had 14 points, made it 66-61 with 46 seconds left. Anderson went 1 for 2 from the line with 22.6 seconds to go. King got two free throws from Erica Whitley-Jackson with 7 seconds on the clock to get within four. A shot at the buzzer made it a two-point final.
King was able to reverse the early rebounding discrepancy, trailing only 41-32 in that department by the end, but couldn't overcome its 5 for 31 shooting from 3-point range. Cousino attempted only nine shots from beyond the arc, with McArthur going 4 for 8 to finish with 13 points.
"Today we rushed our threes," Kelly said. "We didn't take our time."
The Girls Basketball Finals are presented by Sparrow Health System.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Warren Cousino bench erupts as the final seconds tick off the clock during the Class A Final on Saturday. (Middle) Mackenzie Cook works to get through the Martin Luther King defense on a drive to the hoop.
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Regional Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 9, 2026
After more than three months of working to get to this point, 128 girls basketball teams need to win only three more games to make it to MHSAA Finals weekend.
The next steps will come this week in Regionals, and we look closer at 12 of those below along with five District Finals among several that jumped off the page Friday.
Find everything you need to know this week about tickets, brackets and more as the tournament continues on the Girls Basketball page. To watch any of several games online, visit the NFHS Network. Host sites are in bold below.
“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. Muskegon 35, Rockford 27 The Big Reds (21-2) won their first Division 1 District title since 2023 and guaranteed Rockford (21-3) won’t play at Breslin Center this season for the first time since 2021.
2. Evart 45, McBain 37 The top two teams from the Highland Conference met one more time, and runner-up Evart (18-3) avenged losses of 24 and 11 points to the champion Ramblers (21-1) by handing them their lone defeat in this Division 3 District Final.
3. Jackson Lumen Christi 64, Grass Lake 53 The Titans (20-3) won this Division 3 matchup of league champions, downing Grass Lake (21-3) for the second-straight season in a District Final.
4. Petersburg Summerfield 37, Adrian Lenawee Christian 31 Two weeks after losing to Lenawee Christian (17-6) for the second time this season, Summerfield (18-6) avenged both defeats in a Division 4 District Final.
5. Livonia Stevenson 58, Farmington Hills Mercy 53 The Spartans (19-5) finished third behind perennial state powers Belleville and Wayne Memorial in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East, but brought home a trophy by downing Mercy (19-5) in Division 1.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Renaissance
Detroit Renaissance (19-2) vs. Livonia Stevenson (19-5)
Wayne Memorial (20-2) vs. Birmingham Groves (18-6)
Renaissance is coming off another Detroit Public School League championship, with both of its losses coming in December – the second to reigning Division 1 champion Belleville (23-1) and the first 55-33 to Wayne, its potential opponent Thursday. To set up that repeat of last year’s Regional Final – won by Wayne – the Phoenix must defeat a Groves team that has enjoyed one of the best turnaround seasons in the state after going 6-16 a year ago. The Zebras – who have lost only to Belleville this season – have defeated Stevenson by 15 and 22 but still must be wary of the familiar Spartans, who have added to their win total now five straight seasons.
Houghton Lake
Marquette (8-14) vs. Midland (19-5)
Saginaw Heritage (18-6) vs. Muskegon (21-2)
Muskegon has gone from 11-12 a year ago to losing this season to only Wayne Memorial (20-2) and Grand Haven (21-3) – and the District Final win over Rockford had statewide reverberations. Heritage and Midland finished first and second, respectively, in the Saginaw Valley League North and split during the regular season, with Midland winning the most recent meeting 46-41 on Jan. 30. Marquette is 6-5 over the second half of the season and coming off its first District title since 2020.
Northville
Saline (21-3) vs. South Lyon East (23-1)
Howell (23-1) vs. Belleville (23-1)
Howell’s 59-51 win over reigning Division 1 champion Belleville on Feb. 26 ended the Tigers’ 35-game winning streak and took this forecasted rematch to another level. But whichever team emerges from that side of the bracket will have to rev back up immediately as Saline and South Lyon East are both capable of moving on to next week as well. Saline’s losses all came to teams still alive – including 58-44 to South Lyon East on Dec. 12. East’s only loss was to Farmington Hills Mercy (19-5), and one more win will give the Cougars twice as many as a season ago.
DIVISION 2
Allendale
Grand Rapids West Catholic (18-5) vs. Spring Lake (15-7)
Sparta (6-18) vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (20-4)
An anticipated Regional Final between 2025 Division 2 runner-up West Catholic and Catholic Central makes this bracket jump off the page, as the Cougars won the Ottawa-Kent Conference White and West Catholic finished second in the Gold and won their Feb. 19 matchup 53-40. But the other two contenders this week definitely have earned some notice as well. Spring Lake finished third in the O-K Black but has won five of its last seven games (with a 47-38 loss to West Catholic mixed in) and dominated its District with 39 and 43-point victories. Sparta had one win since Jan. 2 before last week, but earned four and 27-point victories to advance.
Alma
Flint Powers Catholic (21-3) vs. Frankenmuth (16-8)
Alma (17-6) vs. Portland (20-4)
Powers is seeking its second Regional championship over the last three seasons and has lost only to Division 1 Detroit Renaissance, Midland and Utica Eisenhower while defeating several Division 1 opponents as well. The Chargers also downed Frankenmuth 69-45 on Dec. 15, but the Eagles have won 13 of their last 16 games after playing several more top teams from across the state. Alma finished third in the Tri-Valley Conference Red won by Frankenmuth, but defeated league runner-up Freeland on Friday to earn this Regional game on its home court. The Panthers have won 12 of their last 14. Portland won the Capital Area Activities Conference White with its only losses to Haslett, Frankenmuth and Division 1 Holt and East Lansing. The Frankenmuth defeat was by only two points in their season opener.
Tecumseh
Parma Western (17-7) vs. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (16-8)
Haslett (22-2) vs. Tecumseh (22-2)
Reigning Division 2 champion Tecumseh has hardly been slowed again this season, falling to West Catholic by two points on Jan. 3 and then to Ohio power program Cincinnati West Clermont on Jan. 19. But Haslett, playing in its third-straight Regional, should provide another challenge with its only losses this season to Division 1 DeWitt and Rockford. The Vikings’ run has included a 64-41 win over Parma Western in their regular-season finale. Western topped a strong Michigan Center team 56-42 to win its District last week and has faced several of the state’s best as well, and will take on a Father Gabriel Richard team that has navigated the same with three of its losses to Division 1 teams and two more to Division 3 contender Lumen Christi.
DIVISION 3
Bangor
Niles Brandywine (23-1) vs. Gobles (15-7)
Kalamazoo Christian (18-4) vs. Schoolcraft (16-7)
Brandywine has reached at least the Division 3 Semifinals the last two seasons and is a combined 50-2 over the last two with that lone loss this winter to Division 2 Otsego (19-2). The Bobcats’ schedule was filled with larger opponents and included a 73-14 win over Gobles from Jan. 6. The Tigers rebounded from three straight losses to end the regular season to win their District, and two of their defeats also game to Saugatuck (23-1) in Southwestern Athletic Conference Central play. K-Christian was first and Schoolcraft third in the SAC Valley, with Christian winning their games by 29 but then only two points Feb. 13. Schoolcraft impressively downed Centreville (18-5) and Union City (17-7) to win its District, while the Comets have won 11 of their last 12 games and surely have been circling this week after losing the Brandywine in Regional Finals the last two years.
Burton Bendle
Otisville LakeVille Memorial (19-5) vs. Cass City (17-5)
Sandusky (22-1) vs. Genesee (18-6)
The fact Otisville LakeVille finished only third in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference speaks well to the strength of that league, and that no doubt prepared the Falcons well although they now must face a Cass City team that finished second in the Big Thumb Conference White but downed league champion Caro 61-37 in their District Final rematch. Sandusky defeated Cass City 49-32 in its regular-season finale just 11 days ago and won the BTC Black, with its only loss this winter to Division 2 Yale (21-3). Sandusky will see a somewhat familiar opponent in Genesee, which Sandusky defeated in last year’s Regional Final. But Genesee also is a league champion this winter, from the Genesee Area Conference Red, and is keyed by 2,000-point scorer Averie Zinn.
New Lothrop
Laingsburg (20-4) vs. Pewamo-Westphalia (22-2)
New Lothrop (22-2) vs. Stockbridge (18-6)
As noted above with Otisville LakeVille, the MMAC as a league was powerful especially at the top this season, and New Lothrop won it with a 16-0 record. The Hornets’ only losses were to Division 1 Midland and Division 2 Freeland. Stockbridge has made an impressive jump this season after going 11-13 a year ago, and the Panthers finished behind only Division 4 contender Concord (22-2) in the Big 8 Conference. On the other side of the bracket are representatives from another top league, the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, which has sent three teams into Regionals and was won by P-W with an 18-0 record including victories of 13 and 23 over Laingsburg. The Pirates certainly are being cautious seeing Laingsburg for the third time, as the Wolfpack finished third in the CMAC but defeated runner-up Bath (19-5) to win their District.
DIVISION 4
Akron-Fairgrove
Kingston (24-0) vs. Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (16-4)
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (17-5) vs. Deckerville (20-4)
A pair of 20-win teams from the BTC Blue could meet again in the Regional Final as league champ Kingston would be seeking to add to 19 and seven-point wins over runner-up Deckerville – which otherwise lost to only Division 2 Yale and Division 3 Cass City this winter. But neither should look ahead. Parkway Christian won the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red ahead of Southfield Christian, which is also still playing this week. Everest Collegiate won the Catholic High School League Intersectional #1 title and the St. Anne Tournament, and total has 15 victories over its last 16 games after opening this winter with four losses over the first month including three to Division 1 and 2 teams.
Fowler
Portland St. Patrick (19-5) vs. Climax-Scotts (17-6)
Muskegon Catholic Central (15-5) vs. Whitmore Lake (18-7)
Three of these teams finished fourth in their leagues during the regular season, and the fourth – Climax-Scotts – was a league runner-up. But they all emerged with trophies last week and one will claim another over the next four days. The Panthers have won 10 of their last 11 games after finishing second in the Southern Central Athletic Association West to Mendon, which is also playing this week. Muskegon Catholic Central emerged from the middle of the Alliance League to defeat both co-champions – Byron Center Zion Christian (17-4) and Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (15-6) – to win their District. Whitmore Lake was fourth in the MIAC Blue but repeated as a District champ, and St. Patrick was fourth in the CMAC but also is a repeat District winner and has lost to only Division 3 opponents from its league this winter.
Johannesburg-Lewiston
Buckley (20-4) vs. Gaylord St. Mary (23-1)
Mio (20-4) vs. Frankfort (15-7)
This Regional features three league champs and a team that finished one game out of first place, plus another of the all-time leading scorers in Michigan history. Buckley – which has made an impressive climb after finishing 9-15 just two seasons ago – shared the Northwest Conference title and will take on Ski Valley Conference champion Gaylord St. Mary, which lost to only Division 2 Petoskey (20-3) two months ago. St. Mary has reached at least the Regional Final the last four seasons and fell to Frankfort the last two. Frankfort finished third in the Northwest Conference but only a game off the lead with two and seven-point losses to Buckley. The Panthers will be next to attempt to slow down Mio and Mia McGregor, who is averaging more than 40 points per game. The Thunderbolts have won 11 of their last 12 games and are making their third-straight Regional appearance.
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PHOTOS (Top) Laingsburg’s Mallory Woodbury (10) pulls away the ball and Harper Strouse (5) also defends during the Wolfpack’s 40-23 Division 3 District Final win over Bath on Friday. (Middle) Marquette's Avery Osborne goes up for a shot against Traverse City Central's Sienna Slack during the Sentinels’ 51-43 District Final victory in Division 1. (Below) A pair of Almont defenders block the passing lanes against North Branch during the Broncos' 47-44 Division 2 District win.(Laingsburg/Bath photo by John Johnson. Marquette/Traverse City Central photo by Cara Kamps. North Branch/Almont photo by Terry Lyons.)