McLaughlin Building Meridian Legacy with Record Scoring, Unmatched Success
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 15, 2025
Halen McLaughlin wasn’t aware she had broken the Sanford Meridian career scoring record when her coach called timeout to make sure the accomplishment was properly recognized.
She just knew she had hit a layup and was about to go to the free-throw line for a chance at a 3-point play, and she wasn’t super thrilled about the interruption.
“She was like, ‘Why are you calling a timeout? Are you trying to ice me?’” Meridian girls basketball coach Tanner Smith said. “I was like, ‘No, you just broke the record.’ For me, that shows she’s more of a team-first kid. She just knew she had to score to help us.”
McLaughlin has been scoring to help Meridian win games for three-plus seasons, and now she’s done it more than anyone to ever wear a Mustangs uniform. As a junior, she became the first girls basketball player in school history to eclipse 1,000 points, and on Jan. 9 she passed Ron Fillmore for the most in school history regardless of gender. Filmore’s old record was set at 1,641 in the early 1980s, and McLaughlin scored 30 in a win against Pinconning on a night she needed just 10 to break it. Her total is up to 1,689 with more than half this season to play.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” McLaughlin said. “I couldn’t have done it on my own. … It means a lot (to pass Fillmore). I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done. I was told that he played three sports and was really solid at all of them. It’s cool that I was able to accomplish something like that, but honestly for me it was so surreal because I’ve put in so much time and effort and energy into this game.”
McLaughlin is averaging 28 points per game for the Mustangs, who are 7-2 on the season. For her career, she’s averaging 21.4 ppg.
But more important for her, she has a career winning percentage of .886, as Meridian is 70-9 during her time. The Mustangs haven’t lost a Jack Pine Conference game during McLaughlin’s career, a win streak that has reached 48 games, and they’ve won 20 or more games all of her three full seasons.
That’s a remarkable record on its own, but even more so when considering her freshman season was the first winning season for the program since 2011-12.
“Coming into high school, I knew how their record was and I wanted to change that,” she said. “I’ve never been one that liked losing. I’m a big competitor, and I definitely wanted to get more wins than they had been. So much has changed, and I’ve been so happy to be a part of that, to help put in the work and be a part of that, and help show the younger players how hard work can help change a program and impact a game.”
Smith knew before McLaughlin enrolled in the high school that she had the potential, along with a strong Class of 2024, to lead a program renaissance.
“I saw her back in seventh grade,” Smith said. “They were double-, triple-teaming her, and she’s got her head up, making all the right passes.”
By that time, years of work had already been put in by McLaughlin, who began playing as a second grader and moved on to travel ball as a fifth grader after being noticed by Tim Kolnytis with Fast Break out of Midland. She’d eventually move to the Michigan Mystics, but credits Kolnytis for helping jump-start her career.
While her parents are not basketball players, she also credits them. Her mom coached her first rec team, and her dad has spent countless hours with her in their driveway, working on her game.
“I always say that’s where I get my handle, from playing on rocks,” McLaughlin said. “There were times where we were out there until 12 at night, 1 in the morning. I fell in love with it. There’s just something about the ball bouncing up to me. If I’m having a rough day at school or anything, I would go outside and play basketball. It was an escape for me, and I just loved it.”
As ready as she was when she got to high school, her first game still provided a rude awakening, as McLaughlin managed just six points in a 36-20 loss against Freeland.
“(Coach Smith) got into me right away,” McLaughlin said. “He said, ‘You’re scoring the ball. That’s what we need you to do.’ It hit hard, but I knew I was better than what I showed. Ever since then, it was a reminder to me that no matter what, you have to give it your all. That was definitely a turning point for me.”
It was a turning point for the program, too. The Mustangs won their next 18 games, and McLaughlin averaged 17.5 points per game as a freshman.
She’s only improved, averaging between 23 and 24 points per game both of her next two seasons before settling in near 30 this year. She’s also filling the stat sheet in other ways, averaging 4.5 assists, eight rebounds and 5.1 steals per game this winter.
“You’re not going to take the ball from her; she’s that good of a dribbler,” said Smith, who called McLaughlin a three-level scorer who can finish equally well with either hand at the rim. “I think one huge trait that people overlook is that she’s a phenomenal passer. … I think some people question her top-end speed, but to me, she’s like a comparison to Luka Doncic. She’s not going to blow you away with super speed, but she plays with pace and has a variety of moves and counters to get her to where she needs to be.”
McLaughlin is zeroing in on a college decision, with Lake Superior State and Wayne State as her finalists. When that announcement is out of the way, all her focus can turn to helping the Mustangs win a third District title during her four years. Her main goal, however, is to win the program’s first Regional title, something she and her teammates were a game away from accomplishing a year ago.
“Since I was a freshman in high school, I always wanted to have a Regional win on the board,” McLaughlin said. “All these achievements, all these awards are amazing, and I’m so blessed and grateful. But for me, it’s about winning. I want Meridian, these girls, to have a Regional win on the board. That’s the goal for me.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Sanford Meridian’s Halen McLaughlin puts up a layup against Hemlock during last season’s District Final win at Pinconning. (Middle) McLaughlin holds up the celebratory basketball she received after becoming her school’s all-time leading scorer. (Photos courtesy of the Sanford Meridian girls basketball program.)
Concord Basketball Celebrates Rare Feat: Foursome of 1,000-Point Scorers
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
Concord has a rich basketball tradition, but something has happened this year that no one could have predicted.
The Yellow Jackets have had four players – two girls and two boys – reach the career 1,000-point milestone.
“It seems like a pretty rare occurrence,” Concord athletic director Matt Lehman said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a time where we’d go years without having one player do it. To have four players do it in one season is crazy.”
Senior Cieara Barrett started the avalanche when she reached the milestone just after Christmas against Adrian Lenawee Christian.
A couple weeks later, during the same game, Concord seniors Connor Stevens and Jett Smith both scored their 1,000th points on back-to-back possessions during the Yellow Jackets’ win over Quincy. It was also Senior Night.
“It was a close game, too,” said Smith. “I got it, then the next time down the court, Jett got his 1,000th point. We called timeouts both times. It was pretty cool.”
Stevens went into the game needing just six points to reach 1,000. “I knew I should get it that game,” he said.
Smith needed a bigger night to accomplish it the same game – and he came through, pouring in 35 points in the Concord win.
“It was cool,” Smith said. “A lot of people said they’ve never seen that before.”
Against Vermontville Maple Valley on Feb. 18, junior Bradie Lehman reached 1,000 points on a pass from Barrett off a steal.
Barrett, who is also Concord’s all-time assists leader, has played for three coaches over her four varsity seasons. After a 4-17 season her freshman year, Concord has won 20, 22 and 20 games. This year’s team is 20-2 heading into the District Semifinals on Wednesday.
“I’ve had multiple coaches, and they all have had a different style,” Barrett said. “I’ve had to learn how to play in all of them. I think they each have given me something different I can use in my game.”
Reaching 1,000 points, she said, “wasn’t my focus, but once I knew I was close it became a goal.”
Lehman, the daughter of the athletic director, also was brought up to the varsity at the start of her freshman season. She said that season she wasn’t a big scorer.
Concord’s girls play an up-tempo offense, averaging 55.7 points a game. Lehman said the team plays tough defense, too, which sets up the offense.
“We score a lot in transition, off turnovers,” she said.
Reaching 1,000 points took a burden off of her, she noted.
“I was out for a lot of games last year, so I didn’t think I could get it this year,” she said. “Once I got there, it was kind of a relief. I was thinking about it so much. I just wanted to get it done and move on.”
Lehman thinks the Yellow Jackets are poised for a deep tournament run again. Last season they reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
“I definitely think we can make it there (again),” she said. “We have a lot of pieces.”
The Concord boys (20-4) put the finishing touches on their Division 4 District title Friday.
During his four seasons on the varsity, Stevens – also Concord’s all-time leading rebounder – said he’s grown as a player.
“I’ve gotten stronger and better,” he said. “I’m more aggressive now. That has helped my confidence, too.”
Smith said he’s always had a shooters mentality. He had 36 points in the District Final and is among the top scorers in his area. The success of this year’s team is no surprise, he said, given the bulk of the team has been playing together since middle school. The Yellow Jackets have won 67 games over the past four years.
“We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade,” he said.
Concord boys basketball coach Marcus Gill said Smith and Stevens are polar opposites in terms of personalities, but they make it work.
“They couldn’t be more different dudes,” he said. “Jett is wired to score. From day one, he was wired to score. He never met a shot he didn’t like. Connor, he’s so unselfish it’s almost selfish. I tell him we need him to score more.”
All four players now have banners hanging up in the Concord gym recognizing their accomplishment. The athletic department also has a Wall of Fame outside the gym that all of them may someday join.
Gill summed it up: “It’s a special time for Concord basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Four Concord basketball players have reached 1,000 career points this season – from left: Bradie Lehman, Cieara Barrett, Connor Stevens and Jett Smith. (Middle) Lehman brings the ball upcourt. (Group photo by Doug Donnelly. Lehman action photo courtesy of the Concord athletic department.)