Performance: Midland Dow's Molly Davis
February 8, 2019
Molly Davis
Midland Dow senior – Basketball
The Chargers’ 5-foot-7 shooting guard seemingly couldn’t miss Friday, making 9 of 11 shots from the floor including 6 of 8 from 3-point range for 29 points as Dow “upset” reigning Class A champion and previously undefeated Saginaw Heritage 52-48 on the Hawks’ home floor. Davis also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the victory in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The upset, if any, was slim, as Dow now sits 13-1 and first in the Saginaw Valley League Red coming off Wednesday’s one-point win over Bay City John Glenn – which Davis clinched by draining a 30-footer at the buzzer. Those big-game heroics have become Davis’ norm over her four-year varsity career. This winter she’s averaging 18.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, making 64 percent of her shots from the floor including 42 percent of her 3-point attempts. She’s upped her scoring average nearly two points from a season ago, and for her career Davis has scored 1,096 points – good for fifth all-time for an annually strong Chargers program. Dow is 70-14 since she joined the team, with two shared league titles and a District championship.
Davis carries a 3.7 unweighted and 4.0 weighted grade-point average. She has signed to continue her basketball and academic careers at Central Michigan University and is considering studying criminal justice – she’d like to eventually become a police officer. But in the immediate future, Davis is focused on leading the Chargers to another league title and then a Division 1 tournament run, which could include a rematch with Heritage in the Regional.
Coach Kyle Theisen said: “Molly has been an impact player for our program since she started her first game as a freshman. She will most likely graduate as our all-time leader in games played. Her role though has changed over the years. In her first two years, she was part of star-heavy teams with future college players and she found her role as a defender and scorer when we needed. But after some graduations of key players and injuries to teammates, her junior year was much different. Our team her junior year consisted of Molly and not one other player with a minute of varsity experience. She carried our team and our program with quiet strength. She worked hard every day to put our team in a good spot to win and allowed our young players to grow and develop. That has paid off huge this season with the improvement of the younger players now able to contribute at a higher level. Molly’s impact on our program is immeasurable. She has been able to bridge our past success with our future success. Molly is such a deserving candidate for Miss Basketball. She can do things on the court no one else can. She is a complete player that cannot be guarded with one player.”
Performance Point: “We came into that game with a grudge, knowing they ended our season last year,” Davis said. “We put in a lot of time and watched a lot of film, knew their tendencies and came out and executed our gameplan. I couldn't be more proud of the team and the way we came out for that game. ... I had a chance to go back and watch the film, and I could just tell that we had a lot more energy, that we kinda wanted that game more. I think we were a little underestimated, and I think we came out with a lot of energy and that really helped us. I don't really call it an upset. I knew coming into that game that we had that ability to win. People are going to say it was an upset, but we don't really look at it like that.”
Sharp shooting: “I saw my second shot go in, my third shot go in, and I really got in my rhythm and my teammates did a good job of driving and kicking out to me. All I really had to do was shoot. They set really good screens to get me open. Once I got in my rhythm, I just kept shooting and my teammates kept getting me the ball. A great point guard like Maizie (Taylor) just feeds me the ball, and once I start hitting and getting in my rhythm, I just keep shooting.”
Time to lead: “One big thing (I’ve improved on) more is my leadership. We have a lot of young kids; I knew I would have to be the one in big situations like that and make sure their heads are always in the game and not focusing on what's going on outside the game. I think my leadership is one of those big things I tend to work on, and just try to become a better teammate. Watching the seniors before me like Ellie (Taylor) and Kaylee (Wasco, both 2017 grads) I just kinda learned from them.”
Clutch and competitive: “I try to do whatever it takes to get the win. If it takes me scoring that many points, then I'll try to do that. If another teammate's on fire, I'm going to try to feed her the ball. … I think it's just the competitive nature (of the sport). I've kinda grown up around basketball. I love competing, and I think that's what makes it a lot more fun for me. No matter what it is, maybe even cards, I'll be probably the most competitive person out there.”
Dreaming big in Division 1: “There's a lot of great teams on that list, and we're coming off two big wins and I like the way we're playing right now. I think we have a bright future ahead. To hit our shots and execute whatever gameplan Coach has for us – I think that's what we've done in the big situations, and that's what gets us those big wins.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Midland Dow's Molly Davis breaks past Saginaw Heritage defenders to get to the basket during Friday's win. (Middle) Davis pulls up for one of her 11 shots in the game; she connected on nine. (Photos courtesy of the Dow girls basketball program.)
Genesee's Zinn Setting School, Family Records While Climbing MHSAA All-Time Lists
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 7, 2026
Averie Zinn had a front-row seat as her sister Ryleigh re-wrote the Genesee girls basketball record book.
As a middle school student, and then freshman teammate whose parents are the Genesee coaches, Averie saw exactly what it took for Ryleigh to get there.
She also had a pretty good idea of what would be required to overtake her.
“I remember when I was little I was like, ‘Yep, I’m breaking all her records,’” Averie said. “My mom’s sister, she held all of those before. But I just remember when Ryleigh was getting those records, I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to break them.’”
Averie Zinn has broken those records and then some, splashing her name across the MHSAA record book with most of her senior season still to go.
She’s scored a school-record 1,892 points during her career, and with a per-game average this season of 39.8, could surpass 2,000 by the end of next week – making her the 34th girls basketball player in state history to eclipse it.
If that average holds throughout the season, and even if the Wolves play the minimum number of games remaining, Zinn could become just the seventh female in the state to hit 2,500 points.
That, of course, is a projection of where she could be, but she already appears 20 times in the MHSAA record book.
Her 851 points scored a year ago are third highest in a single MHSAA season. Seven of her single-game scoring performances are listed, including five games of 50 or more (she’s added another 53-point performance already this season that is not yet listed).
Her 21 points in a single quarter are tied for third all-time – she’s since hit 22, which will tie her for second.
She made 186 free throws a year ago, 10th-most in a single season, and has three games of 15 or more makes from the free-throw line.
Then there’s the steals: Two seasons in the top 12 all-time with 218 a year ago (third) and 170 as a sophomore (tied for 12th), and five games with 15-plus.
“I just think it’s such a blessing,” Zinn said. “No one really gets that opportunity, it’s such a select few amount of people. I almost don’t even think I’ve processed it. I think it’s really cool, and the fact that it’s happening with my parents coaching me, it’s really cool.”
Zinn, a 5-foot-10 point guard who also takes the opening tip for the Wolves, has scored 199 points through five games this season, going over 30 in four games and over 40 in two of those four.
She’s recorded 48 steals, as well, going for double digits (11, 12, 16) in each of her first three games.
“I mean, she’s 100-percent locked in,” said Genesee coach, and Zinn’s dad, Mike Zinn. “She’s been training hard with strength and conditioning, working on her range – a different range. Normally, she shoots from pretty deep, from nearly halfcourt like it’s nothing. But she’s been wanting to work on her mid-range game a little bit.”
As the Zinns have had their successes, so has the Genesee program. This year’s team is off to a 4-1 start, and last year the Wolves won a District title and advanced to a Regional Final in Division 3 for the second time in program history. The first came during the 2022 postseason.
Both of those seasons resulted in 17 wins, which is a school record.
The District title in 2022 was the program’s first since the mid-1990s, when their mom, Megan was playing.
“Mike and I graduated from Genesee High School, and we were the last ones to win a District title,” Megan Zinn said. “We decided to stay in the community, raise our kids in the community and coach here. It’s bigger than basketball. We believe we could work to put Genesee on the map, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Last year, going to the Sweet 16 was the furthest we’ve ever gone. We lost both times, but just to say that we could get there while coaching both of our daughters is pretty special.”
When Averie Zinn is done breaking records at Genesee, she will continue her basketball career at Wayne State University.
She committed this past summer to play for the Warriors, a program she’s felt connected to for years. Not only is assistant coach Andy Ayrault a family friend, but Zinn caught the eye of head coach Carrie Lohr while hitting deep 3-pointers as an eighth grader at a team camp.
“I’m really excited,” Zinn said. “I’m getting more and more excited, especially since the new year is here and knowing this is the year that I’m going away and playing there. I know a lot of my teammates already. Wayne State feels like another home to me. That’s what was most important in my decision.”
Genesee won’t be without Zinns, either. While Mike and Megan will continue coaching, there’s also another player coming through, as Averie and Ryleigh's younger sister Maylee Zinn will be a freshman next season.
“I’d say the (age) gap for me and Maylee is like one year too far,” Averie said. “Me and Ryleigh played together, we would go to trainings together. We got super close that year (they were teammates). I always say that to my mom, that I wish I was back a year so I could get that year with Maylee. She’s pretty good.”
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) Genesee’s Averie Zinn (0) gets to the rim during her team’s 71-30 win over Birch Run on Dec. 22. (Middle) Zinn elevates for a shot while defended by a pair of Panthers. (Photos by McInchak Family Photography.)