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.)
200 Wins Later, Lusk's 'Yes' Still Paying Off as Hanover-Horton Surges
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
February 3, 2026
Joe Lusk has had to be talked into coaching a couple of times.
But that hasn’t stopped him from being a winner.
The Hanover-Horton girls basketball coach picked up career victory No. 200 last week when the Comets improved to 12-1 with a victory over Homer. It’s the best start to the season for Hanover-Horton since girls basketball transitioned from a fall sport to winter two decades ago.
“He holds his girls accountable and wants to get the best out of each and every one of them,” said Comets athletic director Chris VanEpps. “We are very lucky to have him here at Hanover-Horton.”
Lusk’s career spans two Cascades Conference schools – his alma mater Michigan Center, and Hanover-Horton for the past five seasons. He was also on the bench at Michigan Center when the Cardinals enjoyed incredible success under coach Scott Furman.
Lusk’s story isn’t the typical one about a high school athlete growing up wanting to be a coach. The Consumers Energy retiree, in fact, never considered coaching basketball until his daughter Courtney came home one day and told him he was coaching her team.
“She was in the fifth grade,” Joe Lusk said. “She told me there was a tournament at Vandercook Lake, she was playing and I was going to coach. I told her no way.”
That no slowly turned into a yes.
After coaching the youth basketball team for several years, Lusk was asked by Furman to join his varsity staff.
“He probably asked me 20 times,” Lusk said. “I kept telling him no. Ten years later, I was still coaching.”
Courtney grew into a varsity player and Lusk became an assistant coach.
“The joke at our house was she was either going to be a good basketball player or she was going to be in therapy,” Lusk said. “She would come home after a tough game and say, ‘Is tonight a therapy night?’”
Not much therapy was needed. The Cardinals went through a remarkable run during which they reached the MHSAA Finals twice and Semifinals another season before Courtney graduated in 2006.
Joe Lusk remained an assistant but, in 2012, Furman died, shocking the Michigan Center community. The ultra-successful coach had won more than 350 games during his career. Lusk took over the job, although he had reservations about becoming head coach.
Over the next nine seasons those reservations were put to rest as the Cardinals won 149 games. In 2018, they went 23-3 and made a run to the Division 3 Semifinals.
Lusk’s last season at Michigan Center was 2020-21. In June 2021, he was hired at Hanover-Horton.
“They found out there was an opening at Hanover and my wife (Cindy) and Courtney put together my resume and sent it in,” Lusk said. “They told me they were doing it. They wouldn’t let me quit (coaching).”
He was hired.
“Having an experienced coach like Coach Lusk is very important for our program,” VanEpps said. “His consistency and effort to make things better, not just for his teams, but for Hanover-Horton in general, give our younger staff someone to model themselves after. As for the girls on his team, he is stern but fair, which is something that can be lost on our younger generations.”
As for his current team being 12-1, Lusk knows the Comets have difficult games coming up. The Comets face Michigan Center (12-2) on Wednesday, Brooklyn Columbia Central (9-2) in a Cascades Conference West game in two weeks and state-ranked Concord in a nonconference matchup. Hanover-Horton also is in a District with powerhouses like Jackson Lumen Christi and Grass Lake. If the Comets win the Cascades West, they will likely face Grass Lake in the conference title game.
“We know the second half of our schedule is loaded,” he said.
Through it all, basketball remains a family sport. Courtney is the Comets’ junior varsity coach. Cindy keeps the scorebook for every game, something she has done for years.
“We are a basketball family,” Lusk said. “If Cindy didn’t do what she does, I wouldn’t be here today. She does a lot of work. For our juniors program, she keeps track of everything, all of the kids, what their shirt sizes are. If I had to do all of that, I wouldn’t be doing it. She loves 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) Hanover-Horton girls basketball coach Joe Lusk monitors the action during a game this season. (Middle) Lila Hamisfar (1) puts up a shot against Homer. (Below) Lusk carries balloons celebrating his 200th win alongside Hanover-Horton teacher and basketball parent Courtney Toteff. (Top and middle photos by Hannah Tacy/JTV. Below photo courtesy of Cindy Lusk.)