Girls Basketball Builds Century-Long Legacy
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
February 1, 2016
A stroll through old high school yearbooks illustrates the amazing history of sports in Michigan.
Here one can see evolution. We see the influence of fashion, technology and the norms of society on uniform design, equipment and the games that we play. We see how photography changed.
Look cautiously, and with additional investigation, we can catch glimpses into the effects of migration patterns in our country. Turning pages, we can sometimes catch the building of gymnasiums, stadiums and fields of play.
With careful study and research, we can also gain knowledge on how education handled the female athlete.
Dr. James Naismith created the game of basketball back in 1891 in Massachusetts at the Springfield YMCA. In Michigan, the sport dates back to at least 1898, when some senior girls at Lansing Central High School raised money for “baskets” and wine color “suits” trimmed in white braid and formed a basketball team.
“Their four games were played against the (Michigan Agricultural College) girls’ team. Two of these games were played before the public in the Lansing Armory,” wrote Lewis L. Forsythe, president of the MHSAA from 1924 to 1942, in his book, Athletics in Michigan High Schools: The First Hundred Years.
Hence, it is believed that the girls game predates the boys version at the high school level in the Great Lakes state. While we don’t know what rules were used by the Lansing Central girls, initially, girls played basketball by the same 13 rules created by Naismith. Senda Berenson, director of physical training at Smith College in Massachusetts, had read about Naismith’s game.
“As the game was first played it was almost too rough for girls or women to play,” states an article in the December 24, 1899, Springfield, MA Republican newspaper. Based on the suggestions from the players and the stamina of the girls she taught, Berenson altered Naismith’s original 13 rules to make the game more suitable for women. Her rules allowed 5-10 players on the court at a time on a court divided into three sections. By design, the players could not leave their section of the court. Like the men’s game, it was played during the winter sports season.
“So, at the conference of physical training held here last June,” continued the article in the Republican, “a committee of prominent physical directors of women’s colleges was appointed to draw up a set of rules.” The guidelines were adopted and the American Sports Publishing Company published “Basket Ball for Women” as part of their Spalding athletic library. Spalding guides were used by physical directors at colleges and schools across the country. Berenson would serve as editor of the Spalding guide until 1917.
“Basketball as an interscholastic game developed rapidly between 1913 and 1920,” wrote Forsythe in his book. “And quite naturally, as had been the case in other sports, the schools … came to talk about their status as ‘champions,’ or were acclaimed such by admiring followers or the press. Inevitably and perhaps with some ulterior motive, a college or a city came forward and proposed to conduct a ‘tournament’ to decide the issue among several schools.”
State Championships
Boys basketball tournaments in Michigan, designed to identify a state champion, date back to 1917 and perhaps before. Yet the governing bodies for high school sports did not sponsor a girls basketball championship tournament until 1973.
Why the difference?
As noted, it’s not that girls didn’t play basketball. The sport remained quite popular into the late 1920s. Like the boys prior to the arrival of the tournaments, local newspapers were quick to proclaim “state championship” honors for successful squads.
The 1914 Grand Haven girls team listed nine players on the team, with six positions listed: Running Center; Jumping Center; Left Guard; Right Guard; Left Forward; Right Forward. The team traveled by train to away games that winter and posted a 5-1 record against regional opponents. (The Grand Haven boys played eight games that year). The Grand Haven Daily Tribune proclaimed the girls “one of the best teams in Western Michigan if not the entire state.”
“Though hindered by lack of proper gymnasium room, 40 Central high school girls are practicing faithfully for basketball, now that a first class schedule has been arranged,” came word in a late December 1921 issue of the Flint Journal. The girls team from East Lansing High School occupied one of the spots on the published Flint Central schedule.
East Lansing’s girls were considered defending state champions after posting consecutive undefeated seasons in the winters of 1919 and 1920. The 1921 team continued the tradition, posting nine straight victories before falling 38-26 to Birmingham, another state power. East Lansing finished the regular season with a 13-1 record (although, it appears the contest with Flint never occurred).
In April 1921, for the first time, four of the state’s strongest girls squads were invited to Michigan Agricultural College for a tournament. Although unsanctioned by the state’s high school athletic governing body, the old Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association, the press felt that this invitational would decide a girls state champion. The games were played at the same time as the boys Class A tournament games at M.A.C. On Friday, Birmingham’s girls downed Saginaw, while East Lansing defeated Onaway. In the tournament final Saturday night, East Lansing avenged a regular season loss to Birmingham by a score of 50-15.
“There was little doubt in the minds of those that saw the return game but what East Lansing could rightfully claim the State’s championship for this, the third consecutive year,” wrote Raynor Hall, the athletic editor of the Ceniad, in the East Lansing annual.
Plans were in place to host another invitational in 1922, but were abandoned by the Agricultural College when more than 30 teams requested entry into the tournament. Without preliminary games for elimination, it became impossible to select representative teams. That, however, did not prevent squads from laying claim to state honors.
With the defeat of Onaway in its season finale before a crowd of 400, the Tawas City girls team proclaimed itself 1922 champion of northeastern Michigan and beyond. While newspapers around the state debated assertions on the crown by Tawas City, Muskegon and Saginaw Eastern, all once beaten during the season, the Three Rivers girls tossed their achievements into the ring. It was tough to question their merit. According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, the girls scored 518 points to their opponents’ 126 over 11 straight wins, including a 40-4 victory over Decatur, a team previously unbeaten in 13 games.
Following a victory over East Lansing on their home floor in March of 1923, the Birmingham Eccentric wrote, “This was the last game of the season for the Birmingham girls. They have won all their high school games and lost two independent games to the Central Methodist team. They may, for the third consecutive year, claim the championship of Michigan.”
Changes afoot
Activities at the 1923 convention of the American Physical Education Association would soon impact athletics for females in Michigan and across the United States. With the publication of the Official Handbook of the National Committee on Women’s Athletics, approaches began to shift as society wrestled with who should control athletic instruction for women. Despite the popularity, many academics, superintendents and school administrators felt that interscholastic competition was inappropriate for females, and suggested that it should differ from that of men. An emphasis on “play for play’s sake” and “a sport for every girl and every girl in a sport” gripped athletic instruction and administration.
Still, in Traverse City, a total of 50 girls tried out for the high school basketball team in 1925, “making it possible to select a team of unusual skill,” according to the editors of the school’s yearbook, The Pines. That same season, Coach Tena Nelson’s Muskegon Heights squad tallied 14 straight victories, and laid claim to the state’s mythical crown following a season-ending victory over that Traverse City team.
One year later, the 1926 Aurora annual from Saginaw High School (also known as Saginaw Eastern) described that philosophical shift that had swept across the state.
“This year girls’ athletic contests have been conducted under a plan very different from that of former years. Under the old system of inter-scholastic athletics very few girls could participate in the various sports. Now, under the new plan of intramural athletics, it is possible to include a large number of girls because each class has several teams. Thus the various classes compete with each other. Although the varsity girls have had to give up out of town games they have retained their enthusiasm for athletics.”
The 1926 Saginaw Arthur Hill yearbook, Legenda, summed it up more bluntly: “Due to an agreement made by the girls’ physical directors of Saginaw Valley to discontinue interscholastic games, only interclass games and those with Saginaw Eastern were played.”
Under the banners like Girls Athletic Association or Girls Athletic Club, intermural programs were established by administrators at numerous high schools across the state. In many cases, a point system was set up, based on participation, designed to determine the awarding of varsity letters. As more schools moved to this model, which often featured competition between sophomore, junior and senior classes, there were fewer schools to compete against interscholastically.
The 1928 edition of Grand Haven High School’s annual, Blue & Gold, noted that the girls basketball team won only two of seven games that school year. The 1929 edition of the yearbook stated, “No regular High School girls’ team was organized this year, but rather than giving a few the privilege of playing, Miss Smith organized a (intramural) league giving all girls a chance to play.”
At Muskegon Heights, the 1928 team finished with a 4-2 record. In 1929, the school had switched to inter-class basketball, with the school title won by the junior class.
Intra-Mural competition over Interscholastic
While by no means was the approach universal, for the next 30 years plus, girls across Michigan saw options to compete against other schools decrease.
With the 1929 arrival of Vaughn Blanchard, who served as director of health and physical education in Detroit, city league schools withdrew from statewide competition following the 1929-30 school year. As the state’s largest city, Detroit schools offered a broad range of competitive athletics, including competition in sports not offered by many outstate schools. Blanchard believed there was an overemphasis on competitive athletics, and chose to focus on a program of greater intra-school intramural activity.
Strong “house” programs of intramural athletics were added in Detroit and girls varsity basketball was retained. However, unlike past seasons, no city championships were played beginning with the 1930-31 season.
“Will intramural sports eventually replace interscholastic contests?” was the question raised in the 1933 Detroit Southeastern annual under the banner Girls’ Sports. “This is the question which will be answered in the very near future; in fact, there have been several decisive steps taken in this direction.”
Girls basketball competition among Detroit Public School League teams did continue in Detroit. Hamtramck completed a seven game schedule undefeated in 1935 against teams from Detroit Central, Northeastern, Western, Southeastern, Eastern, Northern, and Cass Tech.
Outside Detroit, competition did remain between some smaller rural schools across pockets of Michigan, where intramural might not be practical due to small class sizes. For example between 1937 and 1942, White Cloud’s girls played a changing array of teams from Hesperia, Newaygo, Grant, Ravenna and Baldwin.
In 1938, girls basketball rules were officially changed to state that teams were made up of six players per side and the court was divided into two with three players on the offensive and three players on the defensive end.
“In the years following World War II, attitudes concerning women in general, and their participation in sports, had begun to change”, stated Joan S. Hult in the book, A Century of Women’s Basketball. Those changing attitudes, combined with the prosperity of the war years, did see girls interscholastic basketball return to some Michigan schools in fits and starts.
In Fremont, “the Packerettes, with Mrs. Miller as coach, entered their second year of existence with several losses to their credit,” noted a writer in the school’s 1946 annual, Mogul. “Only two of the players were back from last year’s team.”
Detroit Southeastern ended the 1945 season with two victories and two losses. The 1948 Detroit Cass Tech girls played games against teams from other Detroit school: Mackenzie, Eastern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Detroit Commerce.
However, in the 1949 yearbook, it appears Fremont’s girls basketball team had changed to a girls sports club teaching the fundamentals of basketball. Based on 1955 annuals from Hesperia, Ravenna and Newaygo, it appears girls basketball disappeared from the varsity sports menu at those schools as well.
While the boys continued to explore an expanded menu of sports activities (including football, basketball, swimming, baseball, track, wrestling, tennis and golf), many yearbooks featured girls only as cheerleaders (which prior to the war had also been dominated by men). Competitive athletics didn’t always fit well with the "sugar and spice and everything nice" viewpoints of the time.
Still, the game found a home in some places. In the 1954 New Lothrop annual, the senior class celebrates its class history.
“The fall of 1953 finally arrived. … In this year our school got its gym, and we started our first year of Girls Basketball, by winning the first game from Byron.”
Girls basketball teams can also be found in cities like Morrice, Corunna, Fowler, and Holt, as well as in Detroit-area parochial schools like Detroit Servite and Harper Woods Regina and the Detroit PSL.
Changing Times
In 1966, the MHSAA formed the Girls Athletics Committee to look at the growth in girls high school sports in Michigan and across America. The group held its first meeting in October of that year with the intent of offering guidelines for schools choosing to offer girls athletic programs. For many, it signified the start on the long road back.
Advancements were slow but steady. For example, prior to the 1968-69 season the MHSAA Representative Council took action to increase the allowable number of varsity high school games from eight to 10 per team. In April of 1969, a move was made to sponsor a two-year experimentation using five-player basketball contests (involving extensive changes to the rules outlined in the official guide for the Michigan Division of Girls and Womens Sports). In 1971, the number of basketball games allowed for junior high school teams was increased from five to eight. Finally, the official rules of the game were changed to five-player, full-court basketball.
Still schools were not required to offer interscholastic athletics programs for females in 1971. A survey by the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations showed 707 high schools in Michigan offered boys basketball, while 296 sponsored girls basketball. Post-high school opportunities within the sport were slim. In addition, there were relatively few four-year colleges offering scholarships for women basketball players.
The arrival of Title IX on June 23, 1972 changed that. Legislation prohibiting discrimination against students based on race, sex, or religion, Title IX forced the creation of women’s athletic programs at high schools and colleges across the nation. With that, according to a survey by the National Federation, 699 high schools in Michigan sponsored boys basketball, while 627 offered girls basketball.
Oklahoma began tournament play for girls in 1919, missing one state championship in 1934 because of the depression. In Iowa (where the girls often outdrew the boys during March Madness), the women's tourney began in 1920. In December 1973, eight high school teams gathered at each of four sites around Michigan to compete for the first MHSAA Girls Basketball titles. In addition, many schools now offered softball, tennis, swimming, volleyball and track & field programs. With the stroke of a president’s pen, the world of high school athletics, and the view of the female, changed.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Lansing Central girls basketball team, in 1898, is believed to be the first girls high school team in Michigan. (Middle top) This Spalding guide outlined the rules for girls basketball. (Middle) The 1921 East Lansing girls team was a force of its time. (Middle below) The 1946 Fremont team played the second season of girls basketball at that school. (Below) The 1957 Detroit Northern team was among those representing Detroit Public School League member schools. (Photos collected by Ron Pesch.)
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Girls Finals Weekend Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 18, 2026
There’s an extraordinary amount of anticipation for this weekend’s Girls Basketball Semifinals & Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
For starters, snowstorms pushed one of last week’s Regionals into the weekend, and two of this week’s Quarterfinals a day later into Wednesday (and we’ll update this preview after those winners advance).
And then there’s the field. Seven teams are seeking their first Finals championships, and six of those hope to play in title games for the first time. Tecumseh is back after winning Division 2 last season, but two more past champions are seeking their first title since the first decade of the 2000s, two more their first since the 1980s, and DeWitt its first since 1977.
Semifinals will be played Thursday and Friday, with all four championships games set for Saturday.
DIVISION 1 - Friday
Muskegon (24-2) vs Utica Eisenhower (24-2) - Noon
DeWitt (22-4) vs Detroit Renaissance (22-2) - 2 p.m.
DIVISION 2 - Friday
Flint Powers Catholic (24-3)/Petoskey (23-3) vs Tecumseh (25-2) - 5:30 p.m.
Goodrich (27-0) vs Grand Rapids South Christian (27-0) - 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 3 - Thursday
Pewamo-Westphalia (25-2) vs Roscommon (21-3) - Noon
Jackson Lumen Christi (23-3) vs Niles Brandywine (26-1) - 2 p.m.
DIVISION 4 - Thursday
Ishpeming (23-3)/Inland Lakes (23-3) vs Morenci (26-1) - 5:30 p.m.
Portland St. Patrick (22-5) vs Onekama (19-7) - 7:30 p.m.
Finals – Saturday
Division 1 - 12:15 p.m.
Division 2 - 6:15 p.m.
Division 3 - 4 p.m.
Division 4 - 10 a.m.
Tickets for this weekend’s games are $14 for both Semifinals and Finals and available via the Breslin Center ticket office; please note the ticket office does not accept contactless/tap-to-pay payments such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, and it is strongly recommended that tickets be purchased in advance and added to mobile wallets prior to arrival at the Breslin Center. For ticket information and links visit the Girls Basketball page.
All Semifinals and Finals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription on the NFHS Network. Audio broadcasts of all Semifinals and Finals will be available free of charge from the MHSAA Network.
The Girls Basketball Semifinals & Finals are sponsored by Michigan Achievement Scholarship/MI Student Aid.
Here’s a look at the 16 semifinalists (with rankings by regular-season MPR and statistics through Regional Finals):
Division 1
DETROIT RENAISSANCE
Record/MPR: 22-2, No. 2
League finish: First in Detroit Public School League Blue
Coach: DaShaun Wood, fourth season (87-11)
Championship history: Class B champion 2005, four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 62-60 (OT) over No. 8 Wayne Memorial in Regional Final, 58-42 over No. 31 Livonia Stevenson in Regional Semifinal, 57-36 over No. 6 Utica Eisenhower, 49-48 (OT) over No. 3 Saginaw Heritage, 59-38 over Division 2 No. 17 Detroit Edison.
Players to watch: Maria Walker, 5-9 soph. G (9.9 ppg, 3.3 spg); Kassidy Cain, 5-5 soph. G, (10.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.4 spg); Jaebri’an Autry, 6-0 sr. F (15 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 bpg).
Outlook: Renaissance is making the trip to the Semifinals for the first time since 2023 and most recently finished Division 1 runner-up in 2021. Autry played 15 minutes in that 2023 Semifinal loss to Rockford and senior Alehia Wade got on the court briefly, and they are two of only three seniors for a team that should continue to contend. Cain runs the point and Walker is the shooting guard, and they are among four sophomore starters who line up with Autry. Sophomore 6-foot-4 center Jayla Adams adds another 8.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
DEWITT
Record/MPR: 22-4, No. 14
League finish: Second in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Coach: Bill McCullen, 30th season (575-118)
Championship history: Class C champion 1977, Class A runner-up 2015.
Best wins: 48-41 over No. 13 Belleville in Quarterfinal, 43-32 (Regional Final) and 51-40 over No. 15 Holt, 39-38 over No. 18 Sturgis in Regional Semifinal, 51-41 (District Final) and 51-44 over No. 28 East Lansing, 37-29 over No. 23 Mount Pleasant, 62-38 over No. 29 Coldwater, 50-42 over Division 2 No. 8 Haslett.
Players to watch: Carly Dennis, 5-8 sr. F (12.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg); Jaynie English, 5-7 jr. G (8.5 ppg, 45 3-pointers); Golden Nicholson, 5-8 jr. G (8.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg).
Outlook: The Panthers are making their first Semifinal run since 2015 after not only stunning reigning champion Belleville on Tuesday but graduating a pair of all-staters last spring. DeWitt avenged midseason losses to both Holt and East Lansing during the tournament and has done it all with a balanced lineup that has eight players averaging at least four points per game. During the playoffs alone, the Panthers are allowing just 38.6 points per game, and for the season they’ve held teams to 44 or fewer in all but two games. Guard Sophia Beland (7.1 ppg, 4.2 apg) joins Dennis as the team’s only seniors.
MUSKEGON
Record/MPR: 24-2, No. 9
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green
Coach: Bernard Loudermill, fourth season (66-26)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 54-28 over No. 7 Grand Haven in Quarterfinal, 48-30 over No. 5 Midland in Regional Final, 52-34 over No. 3 Saginaw Heritage in Regional Semifinal, 35-27 (District Final) and 58-51 over No. 1 Rockford, 36-6 over No. 15 Holt, 52-37 over No. 19 Hudsonville, 58-34 over No. 25 East Kentwood, 47-25 over Division 2 No. 5 Grand Rapids West Catholic.
Players to watch: Mariah Sain, 5-9 sr. G (20.2 ppg, 42 3-pointers); Camiyah Bonner, 5-5 sr. G (13.2 ppg, 4.5 apg); Dy’nasti Bell, 6-4 jr. C (9.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg).
Outlook: An exceptional run through the regular season has gotten even better during the playoffs as the Big Reds have not only defeated Rockford a second time but downed two of the Saginaw Valley League’s best by double digits and then avenged a one-point regular-season loss to Grand Haven in a big way. Muskegon has held its five playoff opponents to an average of 29 points per game, just under its magnificent season average of 29.5 allowed. Sain, who will continue at Charlotte (N.C.), was the Miss Basketball Award runner-up and is one of three senior starters and six who are part of the rotation.
UTICA EISENHOWER
Record/MPR: 24-2, No. 6
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Coach: Madison Ristovski, second season (46-5)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 57-43 over No. 34 Fraser in Quarterfinal, 74-69 over No. 17 Clarkston in Regional Final, 53-46 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in Regional Semifinal, 44-34 over No. 12 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in District Final, 50-31 and 55-39 over No. 33 Port Huron, 50-44 over Division 2 No. 7 Flint Powers Catholic, 64-15 over Division 2 No. 25 Armada.
Players to watch: Janielle Turner, 5-7 soph G (13 ppg); Leah Poggiolo, 5-10 soph. G (12 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.0 spg); Gabriella Gojcaj, 5-9 sr. G (11 ppg, 7.0 ppg, 4.0 spg, 1.0 bpg).
Outlook: In just her second season, Ristovski – who led Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett to two Class C runner-up finishes as a player – has brought Eisenhower to the Quarterfinals and now Semifinals for the first time since 1982. The team’s only losses – both over the first six games of the season – came to opponents still playing, Renaissance and Goodrich. Sophomore point guard Madison Repicky (10 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.0 spg) and senior guard Natalya Stojcevski (8.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg) round out the starting lineup, and total eight players have scored 11 or more points in a game this season.
Division 2
GOODRICH
Record/MPR: 27-0, No. 4
League finish: First in Flint Metro League Stars
Coach: Jason Gray, 27th season (549-99)
Championship history: Class B champion 2012 and 2013.
Best wins: 52-35 over No. 13 Warren Regina in Regional Final, 43-27 over No. 12 Frankenmuth, 68-46 over No. 16 Parma Western, 53-37 over Division 1 No. 3 Saginaw Heritage, 45-24 over Division 1 No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 45-28 over Division 1 No. 12 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 61-39 over Division 1 No. 6 Utica Eisenhower.
Players to watch: Tanner Schramm, 5-9 sr. G (12.7 ppg, 57 3-pointers); Baylor Lauinger, 5-7 jr. G (15.5 ppg, 4.2 apg, 4.6 spg); Kayla Hairston, 5-2 sr. G (14.1 ppg, 55 3-pointers).
Outlook: Goodrich is making its first trip to the Semifinals since 2023 but is always orbiting the possibility of a deep run, with a combined 100-9 record over the last four seasons and last week’s Regional title its fourth straight. Hairston made the all-state first team last season, and she and Schramm have Breslin experience as Schramm started and Hairston was the top sub as freshmen on that 2023 semifinalist team. The Martians also are unrelenting defensively, giving up an average of 24.8 points per game during the postseason and holding teams to fewer than 20 in 11 games this winter.
GRAND RAPIDS SOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/MPR: 27-0 No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Gold
Coach: Erika Brown, third season (66-13)
Championship history: Class B champion 1988, three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 61-48 (Quarterfinal), 50-44 and 73-62 over No. 5 Grand Rapids West Catholic, 67-38 over No. 6 Otsego in Regional Final, 73-45 over No. 28 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 62-47 and 49-27 over No. 19 Wayland, 73-37 and 70-62 over Division 1 No. 27 Wyoming, 52-50 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford, 49-47 over Division 1 No. 14 DeWitt.
Players to watch: Lizzie Wolthuis, 6-0 sr. G (12 ppg, 64 3-pointers); Sophia Prins, 5-6 sr. G (13.2 ppg, 39 3-pointers); Abby Prins, 6-0 soph. F (12.5 ppg, 4,1 apg).
Outlook: South Christian got past league rival West Catholic one more time Tuesday to reach the Semifinals for the first time since their Class B runner-up season of 2015-16. Sophia Prins made the all-state second team last season, and in addition to the starters above the Sailors get contributions from all over the lineup with Meredith Helmus adding another 10 ppg, Lexi Vermaas (5.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) second in rebounding, freshman guard Kinley Regnery (39 3-pointers) one of the team’s top shooters and 6-foot-3 sophomore Avery Lutke (6.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg) joining Regnery giving a boost off the bench.
TECUMSEH
Record/MPR: 25-2, 20-2
League finish: First in Southeastern Conference White
Coach: Kristy Zajac, ninth season (162-46)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2025), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 75-44 over No. 10 Carleton Airport in Quarterfinal, 59-39 over No. 16 Parma Western in Regional Final, 60-44 over No. 8 Haslett in Regional Semifinal, 58-25 and 60-27 over No. 23 Chelsea, 41-28 over No. 17 Detroit Edison, 55-39 over Division 1 No. 3 Saginaw Heritage, 55-39 over Division 1 No. 5 Midland, 71-44 over Division 1 No. 29 Coldwater, 71-30 over Division 3 No. 6 Blissfield.
Players to watch: Addi Zajac, 6-0 jr. C (13.2 ppg, 11 rpg, 1.2 bpg); Chloe Bullinger, 5-9 sr. G (9.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.1 spg); Avery Zajac, 5-11 fr. G/F (13.3 ppg).
Outlook: The reigning champion lost just once to an in-state opponent this season – 54-52 to Grand Rapids West Catholic in a Jan. 3 rematch from last year’s title game – with the other defeat against an opponent from Cincinnati. No one else has come within single digits of catching Tecumseh, which has allowed more than 44 points in game only three times while topping 70 in 12 contests. Addi Zajac earned an all-state honorable mention last season, and she, Bullinger and senior guard Makayla Schlorf (11.7 ppg, 45 3-pointers) all started in last year’s Final. Freshman guard Delaney Brown adds another 9.2 ppg.
Division 3
JACKSON LUMEN CHRISTI
Record/MPR: 23-3, No. 2
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Central East
Coach: Scott Stine, first season (23-3)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 60-39 over No. 13 Brooklyn Columbia Central in Regional Semifinal, 64-53 over No. 9 Grass Lake in District Final, 60-39 over No. 30 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in Regional Final, 58-56 over No. 12 Beaverton, 48-36 over Division 1 No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 55-49 over Division 1 No. 24 Farmington Hills Mercy, 50-49 over Division 2 No. 17 Detroit Edison, 50-28 over Division 2 No. 20 Michigan Center, 67-41 over Division 4 No. 5 Mio.
Players to watch: Kenna Hunt, 5-9 soph. G (19.9 ppg, 31 3-pointers, 6.2 rpg, 3.8 spg); Lucy Wrozek, 5-6 soph. G (12.6 ppg, 38 3-pointers); Ruby Boyce, 5-9 sr. F (4.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg).
Outlook: The Titans have broken through to make the Semifinals for the first time after reaching the Quarterfinals on Tuesday for the second-straight season. They’re coached by Stine, who won three of the last four Division 3 titles coaching Ypsilanti Arbor Prep including last year’s after defeating Lumen Christi in a Quarterfinal. The Titans played almost all larger schools during this regular season, losing only to Division 1 Rockford and two Ohio opponents. Hunt made the all-state first team last year.
NILES BRANDYWINE
Record/MPR: 26-1, No. 4
League finish: First in Lakeland Conference
Coach: Josh Hood, 17th season (376-39)
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2024.
Best wins: 62-50 over No. 5 Kalamazoo Christian in Regional Final, 52-28 over No. 27 Lawton, 60-42 over No. 32 Kent City, 56-38 over Division 1 No. 49 Kalamazoo Central.
Players to watch: Lily Gill, 5-6 jr. G (13.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.6 spg); Mackenna Price, 5-6 jr. G (10.8 ppg, 3.6 apg, 6.0 spg); Karleigh Byrd, 5-6 sr. G (9.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.9 spg).
Outlook: Brandywine has reached the Semifinals the last three seasons with a combined record of 79-4 over that time. The lone loss this winter came to Division 2 Otsego, which fell in a Regional Final last week, and no other opponent has gotten within single digits. Only four opponents have reached 40 points. Gill and Byrd started in last season’s Semifinal, and Price was the top sub, and they are joined among leading scorers this time by freshman forward Zaya Price (12.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.0 spg).
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
Record/MPR: 25-2, No. 3
League finish: First in Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Steve Eklund, 17th season (327-74)
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2019, three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 55-33 over No. 20 Cass City in Quarterfinal, 39-24 (Regional Semifinal), 59-36 and 47-34 over No. 19 Laingsburg, 49-24 and 64-41 over No. 25 Bath, 58-50 over Division 1 No. 28 East Lansing, 55-53 over Division 2 No. 28 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 45-29 and 45-21 over Division 4 No. 14 Portland St. Patrick.
Players to watch: Alonna Thelen, 5-9 sr. F (10.2 ppg, 36 3-pointers); Elly Bengel, 5-7 sr. G (12 ppg, 40 3-pointers); Adrianna Eklund, 5-11 soph. F (12.8 ppg, 33 3-pointers, 5.6 rpg, 3.1 apg).
Outlook: The Pirates are back at the Semifinals for the first time since their 2019 championship run and after losing last season only in their Regional Final. P-W has more defeats this time, but they came to Division 1 Saginaw Heritage and Division 2 Flint Powers Catholic, and they’ve won all but two of their games by at least 10 points. Bengel made the all-state first team last year and leads a potent perimeter attack that also includes junior guard Peyton Eklund (34 3-pointers) off the bench.
ROSCOMMON
Record/MPR: 21-3, No. 14
League finish: Third in Highland Conference
Coach: Greg Kauffman, fourth season (59-36)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-63 (OT) over No. 16 Morley Stanwood in Quarterfinal, 47-30 over No. 17 Harbor Springs in Regional Semifinal, 40-37 over Division 1 No. 23 Mount Pleasant, 57-29 over Division 4 No. 11 Frankfort.
Players to watch: Zoey Kauffman, 5-9 sr. G/F (14.5 ppg, 30 3-pointers, 6.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.5 spg); Alexis Carper, 5-9 jr. F (11.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.7 bpg); Mara Williams, 5-7 jr. G (7.2 ppg, 3.5 apg).
Outlook: Roscommon will play in its first Semifinal since 1996 after also winning its first Quarterfinal since that season, and the Bucks have done so emerging from a league that had three teams win at least 19 games this winter. They’ve held teams to 30 or fewer points 12 times including in three of five postseason games, and their lone on-court losses were to league champ McBain, which finished 21-1. Junior 6-0 center Nemiah Carper adds six points and just under seven rebounds per game, and senior guard Kylie Traver chips in 8.5 ppg.
Division 4
MORENCI
Record/MPR: 26-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Tri-County Conference
Coach: Ashley Joughin, fifth season (102-20)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 42-25 over No. 3 Kingston in Quarterfinal, 40-31 over No. 19 Allen Park Inter-City Baptist in Regional Semifinal, 58-25 over No. 4 Concord, 42-35 and 45-12 over No. 9 Adrian Lenawee Christian, 39-38 over Division 3 No. 6 Blissfield, 45-37 over Division 3 No. 30 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
Players to watch: Colbie Ekins, 5-11 jr. C (12 ppg, 8.6 rpg); Evelyn Joughin, 5-5 sr. G (8.4 ppg, 30 3-pointers, 5.8 apg, 3.3 spg); Emersyn Bachelder, 5-7 sr. G (18.1 ppg, 31 3-pointers, 5.2 rpg, 3.4 spg).
Outlook: Morenci is a combined 71-7 over the last three seasons after also reaching the Quarterfinals the last two, and this time advanced to their first Semifinal since 2011. Bachelder made the all-state first team last season and has helped pace a run that has seen the lone loss to Division 3 Brooklyn Columbia Central and 20 wins by double digits. The victory Tuesday was Kingston’s lone loss this winter, and Morenci also earned three over Petersburg Summerfield (19-7), including in the Regional Final.
ONEKAMA
Record/MPR: 19-7, No. 21
League finish: Fourth in Northwest Conference
Coach: Dan Mesyar, first season (19-7)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 38-33 No. 11 Frankfort in Quarterfinal, 54-42 over No. 18 St. Charles in Regional Semifinal, 47-38 over No. 15 Buckley, 43-36 over Division 3 No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
Players to watch: Callie Sinke, 5-3 soph. G (9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.4 spg); Delaney McCarthy, 5-8 jr. C (9.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg,1.1 bpg); Ava Mauntler, 5-4 jr. G (10.5 ppg).
Outlook: Onekama has been another of the most intriguing stories this tournament, as the Portagers emerged from fourth in their league to reach their first Quarterfinal and now Semifinal since 1997. To do so they avenged two regular-season losses to Frankfort with Tuesday’s victory, and they’ve now won nine of their last 11 games and bounced back from those two defeats leading right into Districts. Forward Hailey Hart (5.2 ppg) is the only senior starter for Mesyar, who is in his first year coaching varsity basketball after previously coaching younger levels and varsity baseball at Ludington.
PORTLAND ST. PATRICK
Record/MPR: 22-5, No. 14
League finish: Fourth in CMAC
Coach: Michelle Smith, second season (39-12)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2002), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 29-21 over No. 4 Concord in Quarterfinal, 41-20 over No. 8 Climax-Scotts in Regional Final, 57-39 over Division 3 No. 19 Laingsburg.
Players to watch: Macie Smith, 5-8 jr. F (6.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg); Gracelyn Rockey, 5-7 jr. G (15.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.4 spg); Lily Sandborn, 5-5 sr. G (7.9 ppg).
Outlook: With this first Semifinal appearance in 14 years, Portland St. Patrick is adding to a tradition that saw the Shamrocks win 16 Regional titles from 1982-2012, with Smith part of 1999 and 2000 Class D Finals championships as a player. St. Patrick has done it emerging from a CMAC that has Pewamo-Westphalia here in Division 3 and saw two other Division 3 teams win at least 19 games this winter; all five of St. Pat’s losses were to those opponents. The Shamrocks also have emerged despite losing senior center Maddie Honsowitz (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) to a season-ending injury after only five games played. Freshman guard Macie Leonard adds another 6.4 ppg.
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PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Renaissance’s Zahra Richardson (2) drives into the lane during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal win over Dearborn. (Middle) Goodrich’s Tanner Schramm (0) makes her move toward the basket during a Quarterfinal win over Detroit Country Day. (Below) A pair of Pewamo-Westphalia defenders, including Adrianna Eklund, close in on a Bath ball handler during a regular-season win. (Renaissance/Dearborn photo by KMS Photography. Goodrich/Country Day photo by Terry Lyons. P-W/Bath photo by Click by Christine McCallister.)