D4 Preview: 2021 Champ Fowler Back Leading 2022 Title Charge
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 16, 2022
The four remaining contenders for the MHSAA Division 4 girls basketball championship won’t be complete strangers when they arrive at Breslin Center for Thursday’s Semifinals.
All three opponents should have some knowledge of reigning champion Fowler, which returns three starters from last year’s title run. The Eagles also faced and defeated Plymouth Christian Academy this regular season, while PCA defeated Adrian Lenawee Christian just a month ago.
The lone outlier in this conversation is Baraga – the only Upper Peninsula team making the trip downstate this postseason. But the Vikings have seen their share of top competition too defeating two of the other three U.P. teams among the final top 20 by the MHSAA’s Michigan Power Ratings (MPR).
DIVISON 4 Semifinals – Thursday
Baraga (23-1) vs. Fowler (22-3), 5:30 p.m.
Adrian Lenawee Christian (19-6) vs. Plymouth Christian Academy (21-4), 7:30 p.m.
FINAL – Saturday – 10 a.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s games are $12 for both Semifinals and Finals and are available via the Breslin Center ticket office. All Semifinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription to MHSAA.tv, and all four Finals will air live Saturday on Bally Sports Detroit’s primary channel as well as on the BSD website and app. Audio broadcasts of all Semifinals and Finals will be available free of charge from the MHSAA Network.
Here’s a look at the four Division 4 semifinals (with rankings by MPR and statistics through Regional Finals):
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-6, No. 4
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Jamie Salenbien, fifth season (104-16)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 36-27 (Regional Final) and 48-32 over Athens, 63-31 over Genesee Christian, 38-29 over Onsted.
Players to watch: Kylie Summer, 5-9 sr. G (11.3 ppg, 62 3-pointers); Lizzy Scharer, 5-4 sr. G (10.3 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.7 spg); Avery Sluss, 5-8 jr. F (8.8 ppg, 42 3-pointers).
Outlook: After ending last season in the Division 3 Regional Semifinals, Lenawee Christian has added another impressive achievement to several over the last half-decade by earning this Semifinal trip after graduating four-time all-stater Bree Salenbien last spring. Four seniors start, and Scharer and forward Cara Anderson saw time during the 2019 championship game win over St. Ignace. Three of Lenawee Christian’s five in-state losses this winter came to opponents in larger-school divisions; the other two were to the top two teams in final Division 4 MPR (PCA and Portland St. Patrick).
BARAGA
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 10
League finish: First in Copper Mountain Conference Copper Country
Coach: Tyler Larson, first season (23-1)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 57-40 over No. 7 Pickford in Quarterfinal, 61-47 over No. 14 Carney-Nadeau in Regional Final, 50-29 (Regional Semifinal) and 40-28 over Ontonagon.
Players to watch: Reide Osterman, 5-8 sr. G (16.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, 6.7 spg); Cori Jahfetson, 5-3 sr. G (13.8 ppg, 62 3-pointers, 3.5 apg); Makenna Hendrickson, 5-4 soph. G (8.4 ppg).
Outlook: Baraga is making its first Semifinal trip since 1992, with its only loss this season to Division 2 No. 9 Houghton on Jan. 6. All but two wins came by double digits, including all five during the postseason. Larson coached at every level of the girls basketball program before taking over the varsity this winter, and he inherited a program that has now won four straight league titles and made the Quarterfinals in 2019. Osterman earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
FOWLER
Record/rank: 22-3, No. 3
League finish: Second in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Nathan Goerge, 12th season (156-114)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 58-26 over No. 8 Gaylord St. Mary in Quarterfinal, 52-42 (Regional Final) and 60-44 over No. 6 Saginaw Nouvel, 50-41 over No. 2 Portland St. Patrick in District Final, 43-35 over No. 1 Plymouth Christian Academy.
Players to watch: Mia Riley, sr. G; Emma Riley, 5-7 jr. G. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: The Eagles avenged a pair of losses to league rival St. Patrick to win the District, and the only other defeat this winter was to 2021 Division 2 champ Portland High. Both Riley sisters made the all-state first team last season, and Mia was the Division 4 Player of the Year by The Associated Press and will continue at Ferris State. Junior guard Avery Koenigsknecht also started in last season’s championship game, and junior Grace Epkey supplied the second-most minutes off the bench and has joined the starting lineup this winter.
PLYMOUTH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Record/rank: 21-4, No. 1
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Rod Windle, 17th season (191-174)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 45-39 (OT – Regional Final), 35-29 and 34-25 over No. 11 Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, 58-56 over No. 4 Adrian Lenawee Christian, 51-36 over Division 3 No. 6 Schoolcraft, 65-49 over Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Anna Fernandez, 5-7 sr. G (17.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.3 apg, 3.6 spg); Morganne Houk, 5-7 jr. G (14.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.2 apg, 3.3 spg); Hailey Maulbetsch, 5-8 jr. F (12.6 ppg).
Outlook: PCA is making its first trip to the Semifinals since 2013 paced by returning all-state first-teamer Fernandez and honorable mention Houk. The Eagles loaded their schedule this winter; in addition to the wins above and loss to Fowler, PCA also lost to Division 3 top seed Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, Dearborn Divine Child and Wixom St. Catherine and defeated Genesee Christian during the regular season before also winning the rematch in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. Fernandez is the only senior.
PHOTO Fowler’s Mia Riley (25) drives do the basket during last season’s Division 4 championship game win over Bellaire. (Photo by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Tecumseh Finds 2nd-Half Stride Again to Reach 1st Final in 50 Years
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
EAST LANSING – Tecumseh coach Kristy Zajac wasn’t too worried when her team got off to a sluggish start during the first half of Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal.
The second half has proved to be when her team is at its best.
Tecumseh overcame a double-digit deficit and rallied to defeat Frankenmuth 52-43 at the Breslin Center, earning the program’s first championship game appearance in 50 years.
“Every game all year we start slow, but finish strong, and we were able to pull it out tonight,” Zajac said. “I’m super proud of these girls because they fought back, and this is a great win for our program.”
Tecumseh will play for the Division 2 championship at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, seeking its first Finals title since 1974 and after also finishing Class B runner-up in 1975.
Tecumseh, which outscored Frankenmuth 34-20 during the second half Friday, improved to 26-1. It's only loss was to Division 1 finalist Rockford.
The win was bittersweet, though, after junior Maddy VanBlack suffered an apparent leg injury during the final minute.
“Super special for our girls, but that last play of the game is just so hard,” Zajac said. “She’s worked so hard to get back to us after missing almost two years of seasons, and that’s why these girls are all in tears. I feel so terrible for her, and we’re hoping she’s OK.”
Frankenmuth led 30-20 midway through the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Clare Conzelmann. However, Tecumseh slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied it at 32-32 with a 10-2 run to end the third quarter.
Miss Basketball Award finalist Alli Zajac struggled with foul trouble, but her teammates picked her up and ignited the second-half blitz.
“It’s not a great thing that I was in foul trouble, but I’m kind of glad that I was just so I can see how well they work together when I'm not in there with them,” Alli Zajac said. “It was amazing to see other girls step up.”
One was senior Ashlyn Moorhead, who drained 4-of-6 3-point attempts and finished with 14 points.
“I loved seeing her knock down those 3s and hit those pull-up jumpers,” Kristy Zajac said. “She stepped into beast mode in the second half. She started slow, but I knew she had it in her and stepped up that confidence.”
Said Moorhead: “I knew that my teammates and coaches had confidence in me. I just went up and let it fly.”
Sophomore Addi Zajac also fueled the comeback with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
“She’s one of the best rebounders I’ve ever seen, and we knew that other people had to step up and they did,” Kristy Zajac said. “That’s what is great about this team. There’s not one person you can shut down and then try to beat us. You have to beat all of us.”
An 11-0 run in the fourth quarter sealed the win.
“These girls deserve this,” Kristy Zajac said. “They’ve worked hard for this, and they’ve put in the time.”
The Eagles were in search of a return trip to the Final after finishing runner-up in 2023, but suffered through a five-minute scoring drought during the final quarter and shot a dismal 8-of-27 during the second half.
“One day short of what our goal was,” Frankenmuth coach Joe Jacobs said. “The first half went in our favor, but then they made shots in the second half and the game got away from us. But it doesn’t take away from what these girls accomplished, and we have three seniors that have been here two times, so it was a special opportunity for them.”
Conzelmann led the Eagles with 15 points and three blocked shots. Macy Donovan and Isabelle Bernthal finished with nine and eight points, respectively.
PHOTOS: Tecumseh’s Makayla Schlorf (3) makes her move toward the basket with Frankenmuth’s Grace Brenner guarding her Friday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Chloe Bullinger (10) keeps the ball inbounds, sending it over Brenner’s outstretched arms. (Photos by Keionna Banks/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)