Hovey's Elite Talent on Track Helping Hart Hoops Continue to Fly High
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2025
HART – Addi Hovey has certainly shown she's built for speed – not only in track & field, but on the basketball court as well.
Hovey won three individual events at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Girls & Field Track Finals (leading the Hart girls to their third-consecutive team championship), and now the senior is using her unique blend of speed, jumping ability and aggressiveness to wreak havoc on the hardwood.
“All of us have grown up playing that style of basketball, just running all the time,” explained Hovey, who is the reigning LPD3 champion in the 100 meters, 200 meters and high jump.
“We are a short team, but we make up for it with speed. That’s our game.”
Hart, which has averaged better than 19 wins per season over the past three years, improved to 7-1 on Tuesday with a 62-42 win over Ravenna, led by a game-high 23 points from Hovey.
“We have great basketball players, but more than that, we have great athletes who can run and trap,” said seventh-year Hart coach Travis Rosema. “Addi is a huge part of that. We are undersized, so sometimes I need her to play post, and she is willing to do that.”
Hovey, a 5-foot-10 left-handed guard/forward, first made her mark on the state stage two years ago as a sophomore when the Pirates took on No. 1-ranked and heavily-favored Buchanan in a Division 3 Quarterfinal game.
Rosema needed someone to guard Buchanan’s 6-4 senior center Faith Carson, who now plays for Ohio State. Hovey, then a 5-8 sophomore, drew the assignment and battled Carson all night, making her work for all of her 22 points in Hart’s upset win (and Hovey also knocked down four free throws over the final 30 seconds).
Last week, she was assigned to a smaller player, Mason County Central guard Mallory Miller, and held her to 10 points – eight points below her average.
On Tuesday, Hovey was back to playing all over the court: trapping, cutting off dribblers with her speed and getting into passing lanes with her long arms.
It is that incredible athleticism which led Hovey, who already holds Hart school records in the 100 (12.27), 200 (25.51), high jump (5-11) and 400 relay (50.13), to receive offers from a variety of schools for both basketball and track. In August, she announced she would join her older sister Jayd at Indiana Wesleyan, an NAIA school in Marion, Ind., and play both sports.
“My family is very important to me, and basketball is something that brings us all together,” said Hovey, 17, the daughter of Jeff and Staci Hovey. “I felt like God was calling me to play at IW with my sister.”
Indiana Wesleyan is currently 16-0 and ranked No. 2 nationally in NAIA. Jayd, 21, is out for the season with an ACL tear after missing most of her senior basketball season at Hart with a torn ACL in her other knee.
Parker, 19, the only boy in the four-child family, is a 6-5 starting forward at Hope College, where he is having a strong season at nine points and seven rebounds per game.
The final piece of the Hovey puzzle is Mia, a 12-year-old seventh grader at Hart who serves as the varsity team’s manager – and will be a player to watch in the very near future.
Hart finished 17-6 last year and lost to Ludington in Districts after moving to Division 2. The Pirates have all five starters back from that team and are back in Division 3, sparking hope for another long tournament run.
The Pirates looked sharp in the first half Tuesday, when all five starters and several key reserves were involved in the scoring.
“I tell the girls all the time that we are a team of 10,” said Rosema. “I want to rotate through and wear the other team down, continue to press and keep that pressure on all game.”
Hovey is the tallest Hart starter at 5-10, followed by senior Kelsey Copenhaver (5-9), who averages seven points and six rebounds per game. The other senior in the starting lineup is guard Breslyn Porter, who averages five points and four rebounds.
The Pirates’ other starters are sophomores. Breslyn’s younger sister, point guard Rilynn Porter, who is off to a great start with nine points and 5.5 assists per game. Reese Smith does a little bit of everything for the team, contributing 8.7 points, 2.8 steals, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds.
But when push comes to shove, just like in the high jump, Hovey is the one best-suited to elevate her game.
Ravenna, which is having a strong year and dropped to 6-2 with the loss, outscored Hart in the third quarter to get within 10 points. That led to Hovey taking over at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring 10 consecutive points off a variety of steals and deflections to put the game away.
Last year, Hovey became the third player in Hart girls basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. Ironically, all three of those players – Amy Pickard Contreras, Landyn Lorenz and Hovey – are left-handed.
Hovey leads the Pirates in most statistical categories, averaging 16.3 points, nine rebounds, six steals, three assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.
The one question which Hovey had difficulty answering was to name the individual highlight of her Hart basketball career.
After a pause, she instead began talking about some of Hart’s many team breakthroughs over the past three seasons – such as finally breaking through and defeating Kent City in Regionals two years ago, which was followed up by the monumental upset of Buchanan that gave the Pirates their first-ever berth in the Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
“Basketball is my first love because it’s a team sport,” said Hovey, who is considering a career in teaching and coaching. “I don’t care about stats. I just want to do everything I can to help my team win.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Hart’s Addi Hovey (24) brings the ball upcourt during a game. (Middle) Hovey competes in the high jump during the spring. (Photos courtesy of the Local Sports Journal.)
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 8
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 24, 2022
With just less than half of this girls basketball regular season remaining, 25 teams (out of 700 teams statewide) are chasing perfection, including 16 that have achieved at least 10-0 records.
Ten of those undefeated teams are mentioned in this week’s “Breslin Bound” report – as are two which recently suffered their first defeat of the winter.
“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. Frankenmuth 63, Midland Dow 60 (OT) The Eagles (9-1), even without a top player on this night, continued to assert themselves as Division 2 contenders by handing Division 1 Dow (9-1) its only loss.
2. Calumet 66, Houghton 49 The Copper Kings (9-0) stand alone as the only undefeated team in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference after delivering a first loss to the Gremlins (11-1).
3. Dearborn Divine Child 47, Bloomfield Hills Marian 43 Divine Child (11-0) completed the first half of the Detroit Catholic League Central schedule undefeated with this win over the reigning champ Mustangs (7-3).
4. Harbor Springs 49, Elk Rapids 48 The Lake Michigan Conference ended the week with a three-way tie atop the standings after Elk Rapids (7-2) defeated Traverse City St. Francis (8-3) on Tuesday, and Harbor Springs (10-1) then edged the Elks on Friday.
5. Paw Paw 46, Otsego 43 The Red Wolves (8-2) moved to the top of the competitive Wolverine Conference North and sent Otsego (10-2) into second.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Grosse Pointe North (9-1) Three Macomb Area Conference Red teams have won nine games, and Grosse Pointe North and Macomb Dakota are both undefeated in league play heading into Tuesday’s matchup. North is the reigning Red champ and went 13-4 overall a year ago, losing twice to rival Grosse Pointe South – with the Norsemen winning their first matchup this season 56-41 on Jan. 11. North handed Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (11-1) its only defeat and also has wins over Port Huron (9-4), Utica Ford (9-3) and St. Clair Shores Lakeview (8-3) and an impressive loss to Farmington Hills Mercy (9-2).
Hudsonville (9-2) After winning the Division 1 championship last April with only one senior starter, the Eagles are gathering steam as expected with their only losses to Midland Dow (see above) and Division 2 power Detroit Edison. Hudsonville handed Rockford its lone loss, 62-48, on Jan. 14, and will face Holland West Ottawa on Friday potentially for the lead in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red (although Rockford could change the narrative facing West Ottawa on Tuesday, while Hudsonville must hold off Jenison). The Eagles also own a 79-51 win over reigning Division 3 champ Grass Lake and edged O-K White leader Byron Center 59-56 in overtime.
Division 2
Grand Rapids West Catholic (10-1) The Falcons are a combined 49-3 over the last three seasons and on the move again after suffering their only loss last season in a Regional Final to eventual Finals runner-up Newaygo. West Catholic is one game ahead of the field as it pursues a third-straight O-K Blue championship, with that lone defeat 50-46 to Rockford (10-1). West Catholic delivered O-K Silver co-leader Sparta its only defeat, on Dec. 10.
Lake Fenton (9-0) The Blue Devils are seeking to repeat as league champions in the Flint Metro League Stars and are tied for first with Goodrich. The first meeting between the two finishes off the first half of the league schedule tonight. No other opponent, league or non, has gotten closer than 17 points to catching Lake Fenton, which is giving up only 26 points per game.
Division 3
Blissfield (9-3) The Royals are playing for a first league championship since 2016-17, and they made the Lenawee County Athletic Association a three-team race with Friday’s 42-36 win over Onsted (8-4). Those two and Brooklyn Columbia Central are tied at the top of the standings with the second round of league games to play. Columbia Central (8-2) defeated Blissfield 41-21 on Dec. 10; the rematch is Tuesday. The Royals’ other losses were similarly strong, to Erie Mason (9-3) and Tecumseh (11-0).
Hart (9-1) The Pirates control their destiny in the West Michigan Conference as they pursue their first league title in at least a decade. After finishing second to Montague the last two seasons, Hart sits a game ahead heading into the second half of the league schedule thanks in part to a 37-36 win over the Wildcats on Jan. 11. The Pirates’ lone loss came to Division 2 contender Redford Westfield Prep on Dec. 4; Montague is the only other opponent to get closer than 12 points.
Division 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-3) The Cougars’ cast is different after graduating significant standouts over the last few seasons, but the results have remained similar. Lenawee Christian has six wins over teams with winning records, having handed Athens what remains the opening-night opponent’s lone defeat. The Cougars also defeated Division 2 Onsted (8-4) last week, and their losses are to Division 4 undefeated Portland St. Patrick, Division 1 Temperance Bedford and Division 2 Chelsea.
Mackinaw City (11-0) The Comets have won between 18-23 games the last three seasons, so success is nothing new. But they are lining up well for an opportunity to take the next step. Mackinaw City is again leading the Northern Lakes Conference as it pursues what would be a fourth-straight championship, and the Comets already have avenged one of their two defeats during last season’s 18-2 run in downing Cedarville 73-46 last week. The other team to defeat Mackinaw City last season, St. Ignace, crosses the Bridge on Saturday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Saline (10-0) at Dexter (7-2) – These two are tied for first in the Southeastern Conference Red, with the rest of the league’s teams all with two or more defeats.
Tuesday – Detroit Edison (4-1) at Parma Western (11-0) – The Pioneers have had nearly as many games canceled as played, but bring a win over East Lansing from last week into this challenge.
Tuesday – Rockford (10-1) at Holland West Ottawa (10-0) – Before the Panthers can think about Hudsonville (see above), they’ll need to avenge two 2021 losses to the Rams.
Wednesday – Hartford (9-0) at Watervliet (8-0) – A pair of league leaders face off in what could be a Regional preview.
Friday – Dearborn Divine Child (11-0) at Farmington Hills Mercy (9-2) – Divine Child also must get past Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard on Tuesday, but could be playing Mercy to all but clinch the Central title.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Mesick’s Kayla McCoy brings the ball upcourt this season. Mesick is 8-2, having already eclipsed last season’s seven victories. (Photo courtesy of the Mesick girls basketball program.)