Plan Plays Out Well for Cousino Standout
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
December 1, 2016
WARREN – As a teacher at Carter Middle School, Mike Lee, the varsity girls basketball coach at Warren Cousino, was approached by one of his students who made a rather boisterous statement.
“There was this girl,” Lee said. “She was in the sixth grade and she came up to me and said, ‘I’m going to play for you as a freshman.’ No, I didn’t believe her. She was long, but she was a bean pole.”
Intrigued, Lee went to watch this skinny 10-year-old play and was impressed but not yet sold.
This girl is now one of the state’s best basketball players. Her name is Kierra Fletcher, and she won the hearts of everyone in the Warren Consolidated School system – which includes high schools Cousino, Mott and Sterling Heights – by leading the Patriots, and the Warren district as a whole, to their first girls MHSAA Finals basketball title.
By the time Fletcher was in the eighth grade, Lee knew Fletcher’s bold statement would come to fruition. She was that good.
“She was still skinny,” Lee said. “It wasn’t until her junior year that she bulked up.
“Obviously, she’s talented. I am pretty lucky to have someone like Fletch. But it’s what she does for the other players that makes her special. She makes them better. She puts them in spots to succeed. They want to play faster. There’s a higher energy. On the defensive side, you know she’s out there, getting steals and such. The others feed off of her.”
Fletcher, 16, is 5-foot-9 and a bundle of energy. And that energy was there from the start.
“I was out in (first grade) early,” Fletcher said. “My mom said I was talking all of the time. The teachers (in preschool) told her I was way ahead of the other kids.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Fletcher attended Dove Academy until the third grade, when her family moved to Warren. She attended Siersma Elementary within the Warren Consolidated district and then went to Carter.
Fletcher was also ahead of the curve when it came to basketball. She started playing competitively in the Warren recreation leagues, but before that she got the itch playing in her grandmother’s driveway.
“She had a basket in her backyard,” Fletcher said. “I would play by myself, and sometimes I’d play with an older cousin and my dad (Anthony Fletcher). My dad used to be really good. He played in college and he could have gone pro, but he had a bad heart and had to stop playing.”
Fletcher began playing AAU basketball in the fifth grade. It took less than a week for the coaches to move Fletcher up to play with the sixth grade team. That was nothing new for her. And she said it’s one reason why she continued to improve.
“I had been playing up for a while,” she said. “I always played with older kids. They had more experience, and I learned from it. What I learned was it doesn’t matter how old or how big you are. I’d play well and they wouldn’t know I was younger, and they’d tell me to keep playing and that made me feel good.”
Fletcher was on the bench for her first varsity game as a freshman, but she didn’t stay there long. Lee put her in the game in the first quarter, much to Fletcher’s surprise.
“I’ll never forget it,” she said. “It was against Romeo, and it was our home opener. I was nervous. I didn’t want to mess up.”
That nervousness and her coming off the bench didn’t last long. Soon she was in the starting lineup gaining more confidence as the season progressed.
As a sophomore she was one of the top players in the Detroit area, as she averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds per game. That fine season placed her in at least one publication’s 2015-16 preseason top 25 (State Champs! ranked her No. 14), and soon everyone who followed the sport knew about her.
Fletcher averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 5.5 steals as Cousino (23-4) made its run on the way to eventually defeating Detroit Martin Luther King, 67-65, in the Class A Final to complete a remarkable season for the Patriots and Fletcher.
Fletcher saved her best for last, as she had 37 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the Semifinal (a 60-45 win over Hudsonville), and had 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists against King.
“I love to compete,” she said. “I love the friendships. I’ve met a lot of people playing basketball. Sports teaches you discipline, in the way you live life. Sports has a way of bringing people together.”
Fletcher turned down a number of other college scholarship offers, including one from University of Michigan, to sign with Georgia Tech. She has a 3.7 grade-point average and plans on majoring in public policy and working for the U.S. Government.
“I also have aspirations of playing professionally,” she said. “Overseas or in the WNBA.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kierra Fletcher (3) poses for a photo with her teammates after Warren Cousino won last season’s Class A championship. (Middle) Fletcher brings the ball up the court during her team’s Semifinal win over Hudsonville.
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Semifinal Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 15, 2023
We can make some guarantees about this weekend’s MHSAA Girls Basketball Semifinals & Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
We will depart Saturday night with a first-time champion in Division 3, as all four contenders are seeking their first Finals title.
We will watch two reigning champions try to win it all again – West Bloomfield and Fowler – and a returning runner-up in Grand Rapids West Catholic led by a Miss Basketball Award finalist, Cadence Dykstra.
And we can almost guarantee – or at least excitedly anticipate – an incredibly lively Finals atmosphere as six teams attempt to reach Saturday’s championship games for the first time, and 11 of 16 teams playing this weekend pursue either their first titles or first in at least 25 years.
DIVISION 1 - Friday
Salem vs West Bloomfield - Noon
Detroit Renaissance vs Rockford - 2 p.m
DIVISION 2 - Friday
Frankenmuth vs Goodrich - 5:30 p.m.
Grand Rapids West Catholic vs Lansing Catholic - 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 3 - Thursday
Madison Heights Bishop Foley vs Blissfield - Noon
Hemlock vs Hart - 2 p.m.
DIVISION 4 - Thursday
Baraga vs Fowler - 5:30 p.m.
Glen Lake vs Lenawee Christian - 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 $12 for both Semifinals and Finals and available via the Breslin Center ticket office; for information and links visit the Girls Basketball page.
All Semifinals will be broadcast and viewable with subscription on MHSAA.tv, and all four Finals will air live Saturday on Bally Sports Detroit – Divisions 4 and 2 on the primary channel and Divisions 1 and 3 on BSD Extra – as well as on the BSD website and app. 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 Sparrow Health System.
Here’s a look at the 16 semifinalists (with rankings by MPR and statistics through Regional Finals unless noted):
Division 1
DETROIT RENAISSANCE
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Detroit Public School League Blue and overall
Coach: Dashaun Wood, first season (23-1)
Championship history: Class B champion 2005, four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 52-37 over No. 6 Grosse Pointe North in Quarterfinal, 43-33 over No. 3 Farmington Hills Mercy in Regional Final, 41-39 over No. 19 Wayne Memorial, 66-54 over Division 2 No. 12 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Anaya Hardy, 6-3 jr. SF/PF (12.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg); Christian Sanders, 5-7 jr. PG (14.1 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.3 spg); Amyah Espanol, 5-7 PG/SG sr. (11.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.2 spg). (Statistics through 18 games.)
Outlook: The Phoenix most recently finished Division 1 runner-up in 2021, and Sanders started on that team as a freshman. Wood, a 2003 Detroit Crocket grad, took over the program having starred at Wright State and enjoyed a successful professional career in Europe. Renaissance’s only loss this season was 53-52 in overtime to Detroit Catholic League champion Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, and the Phoenix also earned notable wins over East Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Lake Orion among others. Espanol is one of only three seniors, so there likely are big things to come next season as well.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 26-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Coach: Brad Wilson, sixth season (106-33)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 53-43 (Regional Final) and 61-44 over No. 5 Byron Center, 59-40 and 45-28 over No. 8 Hudsonville, 61-49 and 40-28 over No. 12 East Kentwood, 61-47 and 52-30 over No. 18 Holland West Ottawa, 50-36 over Division 2 No. 9 Haslett, 71-39 over Division 2 No. 12 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: Anna Wypych, 6-0 soph. G (14.2 ppg, 47 3-pointers); Grace Lyons, 5-8 jr. G (11.7 ppg, 47 3-pointers); Alyssa Wypych, 5-10 sr. G (12.8 ppg, 65 3-pointers).
Outlook: Lyons and Alyssa Wypych started and Anna Wypych came off the bench last season as Rockford fell just three points shy of defeating eventual champion West Bloomfield in a Semifinal, 66-63. Alyssa Wypych and Lyons earned all-state honorable mentions, and the trio this season has keyed a lineup that went undefeated in one of the toughest leagues in the state and also picked up solid wins over Muskegon, Lowell and Holt – with the Rams’ only loss to Division 2 semifinalist Grand Rapids West Catholic. Rockford’s 231 made 3-pointers entering the Quarterfinal ranked sixth all-time, with freshman guard Sienna Wolfe (9.6 ppg) connecting on another 32.
SALEM
Record/rank: 21-6, No. 13
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West and overall
Coach: Rod Wells, second season (32-16)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 55-52 over No. 17 Riverview in Quarterfinal, 46-42 over Saline in Regional Semifinal, 67-64 (OT) over No. 19 Wayne Memorial, 59-37 over No. 14 Brighton.
Players to watch: Shahd Bakkar, 5-7 sr. G (11.2 ppg, 3.9 spg); Madison Morson, 5-9 jr. G (22.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg); Ashley Kopacko, 5-8 sr. G (8.2 ppg).
Outlook: Salem will be playing in its first Semifinal since 1990 and finished 2-15 only two seasons ago. Wells previously led Ypsilanti Arbor Prep to the Class C championship in 2016 and has guided the turnaround and a bounce-back as well after a 2-5 start this season. Salem finished first in a KLAA that saw five teams win 14 or more games, with a sweep of Howell and split with Northville also among strong performances and the Brighton win avenging an early loss. Morson earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
WEST BLOOMFIELD
Record/rank: 25-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Darrin McAllister, second season (50-3)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2022, Class A runner-up 1989.
Best wins: 66-34 over No. 7 Flint Carman-Ainsworth in Quarterfinal, 59-49 over Division 2 No. 1 Detroit Edison, 86-83 over Chicago Kenwood Academy, 48-30 and 60-20 over Lake Orion, 81-40 and 53-33 over Rochester.
Players to watch: Summer Davis, 5-9 jr. G (19.1 ppg, 3.3 apg, 4.0 spg, 74 3-pointers); Indya Davis, 5-9 jr. G (15.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.3 spg); Sydney Hendrix, 5-11 sr. F (10.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg).
Outlook: West Bloomfield returns to Breslin Center with three starters and its top two subs from last year’s championship team. Both Davis twins earned all-state honorable mentions last season and have committed to sign with Michigan State, and Hendrix has signed with Florida A&M. Juniors Destiny Washington (8.1 ppg) and Kendall Hendrix (7.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) were those top subs and successfully have moved into the starting lineup. The Lakers’ only losses were in December, to Arbor Prep by four and Indiana power South Bend Washington.
Division 2
FRANKENMUTH
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 7
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference 8
Coach: Joe Jacobs, third season (65-7)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 1996), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 51-36 over No. 16 Houghton in Quarterfinal, 54-27 (Regional Final), 46-39 (OT) and 62-31 over Freeland, 41-37 over Division 1 No. 9 Grand Blanc, 55-35 over Division 3 No. 4 Hemlock.
Players to watch: Lexi Boyke, 6-1 sr. F/G (13 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.9 bpg); Mia McLaughlin, 5-8 jr. G (10.6 ppg, 3.9 apg, 41 3-pointers); Clare Conzelmann, 5-8 soph. G (9.8 ppg, 3.2 spg).
Outlook: The Eagles are making their first trip to the Semifinals since that last championship season of 1996 but have reached at least the Regional Finals all three seasons under Jacobs, who formerly coached the boys varsities at Saginaw Nouvel, Clio and Flushing before returning to his alma mater. McLaughlin made the all-state second team last season and is committed to Ferris State, and Boyke made the all-state first team two seasons ago before missing last year with a knee injury; she’s signed with Central Michigan. The lone losses came to Lake Fenton (23-1) and Lansing Catholic, a possible championship game opponent.
GOODRICH
Record/rank: 24-3, No. 10
League finish: First in Flint Metro League Stars
Coach: Jason Gray, 24th season (473-94)
Championship history: Class B champion 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 76-71 (3OT) over No. 12 Detroit Country Day in Regional Final, 54-53 over No. 4 Lake Fenton in District Final, 52-43 over Division 3 No. 10 Ovid-Elsie, 65-31 over Imlay City.
Players to watch: Riley Place, 5-7 sr. G (13.2 ppg, 77 3-pointers); Kalen Williams, 5-11 sr. C (8.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg); Alexis Kosmowski, 5-6 jr. F (10.2 ppg).
Outlook: Goodrich is returning to the Semifinals for the first time since 2015, thanks in part to handing the only loss this season to Lake Fenton after losing their first three meetings this winter. No other opponent has defeated the Martians, and only Country Day and Ovid-Elsie came within single digits of doing so. Goodrich also has built one of the best 3-point shooting totals in state history, with its 202 heading into this week tied for ninth all-time and Place’s 77 tied for 24th on the individual record list. Kosmowski was second with 32, and three others have sunk at least 22. Place has committed to sign with Rochester University.
GRAND RAPIDS WEST CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 5
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Coach: Jill VanderEnde, ninth season (144-55)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 1990), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 53-45 (OT – Regional Final) and 51-37 over No. 20 Grand Rapids Christian, 61-54 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford, 55-50 over Division 1 No. 8 Hudsonville, 49-35 over Muskegon, 49-41 over East Grand Rapids.
Players to watch: Cadence Dykstra, 5-10 sr. G (13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.3 spg); Elisha Dykstra, 5-10 soph. F (11.2 ppg); Reese Polega, 6-0 jr. G (9.9 ppg, 46 3-pointers).
Outlook: West Catholic finished Division 2 runner-up last season, graduated an all-state first-teamer who plays at MSU, and hasn’t lost again. Cadence Dykstra, who has signed with Toledo, made the all-state second team last season, and Elisha Dykstra earned an honorable mention. Senior Ellie Bies (6.7 ppg, 3.2 spg) and junior Emma Tuttle (6.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg) also started last year for VanderEnde, who previously coached at Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Findlay and Grand Valley State and has led this team to a combined 90-4 record over the last four seasons. The win over Rockford (see above) was the Rams’ lone defeat this winter.
LANSING CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 22-5, No. 19
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference White
Coach: Kacee Reid, 10th season (127-89)
Championship history: Class C champion 1995.
Best wins: 78-69 over No. 11 Redford Westfield Prep, 46-34 over No. 8 Chelsea in Regional Final, 54-42 over No. 9 Haslett in District Final, 74-42 over No. 7 Frankenmuth, 52-38 over No. 2 Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, 65-38 over Division 3 No. 2 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Players to watch: Anna Richards, 5-10 jr. G (12.2 ppg, 60 3-pointers); Leah Richards, 6-0 jr. F (10.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg); Gabby Halliwill, 5-5 jr. G (8.6 ppg, 51 3-pointers).
Outlook: Lansing Catholic is making its first trip to the Semifinals since 2004 after playing one of the strongest schedules in the state. The Cougars opened 2-4 but are 20-1 since with that lone loss to Haslett and avenged in the District Final. Only two wins during the 20-in-21 run were decided by single digits – against Division 1 Lowell and Division 4 semifinalist Fowler. Anna Richards earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is the leading scorer of a balanced group with six players averaging at least 5.6 ppg entering this week – and five of those six juniors.
Division 3
BLISSFIELD
Record/rank: 26-1, No. 9
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Coach: Ryan Gilbert, 15th season (237-90)
Championship history: Class C runner-up 1973.
Best wins: 45-41 over No. 10 Ovid-Elsie in Quarterfinal, 50-38 over No. 2 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in Regional Final, 43-27 and 47-27 over Brooklyn Columbia Central, 51-22 over Division 4 No. 13 Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Players to watch: Avery Collins, 5-6 jr. G (11 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.0 spg); June Miller, 5-5 jr. G (8.7 ppg, 32 3-pointers); Julia White, 6-0 sr. C (10 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.4 bpg).
Outlook: After also reaching Quarterfinals in 2014 and 2017, Blissfield broke through for its first Semifinals trip since the first season of girls basketball in Michigan. The Royals’ only loss was Dec. 29 to Division 1 Grand Blanc, 45-39, and no other opponent has come within single digits or scored more than 43 points as Blissfield gives up 26.8 per game. Collins earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is surrounded by a balanced cast with seven players averaging between 4-11 ppg. White and forward Sarah Bettis (4.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.0 bpg) are the lone seniors.
HART
Record/rank: 24-3, No. 17
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference Rivers
Coach: Travis Rosema, fifth season (89-28)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 45-41 over No. 1 Buchanan in Quarterfinal, 37-34 over No. 16 Kent City in Regional Final, 43-34 (District Final), 51-32 and 54-38 over Mason County Central, 43-42 over Ludington.
Players to watch: Abby Hicks, 5-7 jr. G (14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 5.9 spg); Addi Hovey, 5-10 soph. G/F (16.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.4 spg, 1.6 bpg, 44 3-pointers); Aspen Boutell, 5-5 sr. G (10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg, 3.1 spg).
Outlook: After winning its second Regional title (and first since 1992), Hart is making its first trip to the Semifinals coming off its two best wins – with the Kent City victory avenging a Dec. 20 loss. All three defeats were to teams that won at least 19 games. The Buchanan win was the Bucks’ first loss since their season opener, and Kent City was the Division 3 runner-up the last two years. Hovey and Hicks are the leading scorers but joined by three seniors in the starting lineup including Boutell, who with Hovey earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
HEMLOCK
Record/rank: 24-3, No. 4
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference 10-1
Coach: Scott Neumeyer, 10th season (177-57)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 52-37 over No. 15 Elk Rapids in Quarterfinal, 60-56 (OT) over No. 8 Lake City in Regional Final, 67-52 over No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis in District Final, 54-45 over No. 19 Sanford Meridian in District Semifinal, 73-42 over No. 13 Ithaca, 60-26 over Division 4 No. 7 St. Charles.
Players to watch: Regan Finkbeiner, 5-6 sr. G (17.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 4.8 spg, 60 3-pointers); Lauren Borsenik, 6-2 jr. F/C (10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg); Chloe Watson, 5-10 sr. G/F (14.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 71 3-pointers).
Outlook: Hemlock is getting the opportunity it also earned two years ago during the abbreviated 2020-21 season, when it reached the Semifinals but had to withdraw amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Few teams this season faced a tougher draw on the way to East Lansing. All five of the Huskies’ playoff opponents won 20 or more game this season, adding Saginaw Valley Lutheran to those listed above. But Hemlock also had defeated Valley Lutheran during the regular season, 21-win Standish-Sterling twice, Ithaca and St. Charles and lost to three Division 2 teams including Frankenmuth. Finkbeiner and Watson both earned all-state honorable mentions last season, and the team had 214 3-3-pointers entering this week, good for eighth-most all-time.
MADISON HEIGHTS BISHOP FOLEY
Record/rank: 21-6, No. 32
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Intersectional #1
Coach: Colleen Szakacs, first season (21-6)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 34-32 over Sandusky in Quarterfinal, 51-42 (District Final) and 44-26 over Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest, 36-26 over Macomb Lutheran North.
Players to watch: Ryan Moorer, 5-8 jr. G/F (11.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg); Alyssa Samartino, 5-8 sr. G (9.1 ppg); Abby Pasinos, 5-1 sr. G (5.3 ppg, 32 3-pointers).
Outlook: After reaching the Semifinals for the first time last season, Bishop Foley has returned under Szakacs, a past Foley standout who took over the program after previously coaching the junior varsity. Moorer and Samartino also were main contributors during last season’s run, and they’ve helped the Ventures return after closing the regular season with three straight losses to top-12 MPR teams in Divisions 1 and 2. Five of their six defeats total were to teams from those larger-school divisions, with the sixth to 2022 Division 3 champ Arbor Prep. Despite playing such a tough group, Foley is giving up only 33 points per game.
Division 4
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 18-10, No. 13
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Emilie Beach, first season (18-10)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 52-43 over Hillsdale Academy in Regional Final, 51-43 over No. 11 Morenci in District Final, 51-44 over No. 9 Pittsford in District Semifinal, 59-52 over Bronson.
Players to watch: Isabelle Kirkendall, 5-10 sr. F (10.3 ppg); Avery Sluss, 5-8 sr. G (14.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 56 3-pointers); Selah Clymer, 5-9 jr. G (6.0 ppg).
Outlook: Lenawee Christian is returning to the Semifinals despite graduating four starters from last year’s Breslin team and losing leading rebounder Hannah Baker (8.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg) to injury near the end of the regular season. Sluss also was among leading scorers and 3-point shooters last winter, and she, Kirkendall and Dalay Ojeda are then lone seniors. They prepped with a tough schedule which included losses to three top-20 MPR Division 4 teams plus Blissfield, avenging a season-opening defeat to Morenci two weeks ago. Beach, a former Morenci standout, took over the program this season after previously coaching the JV.
BARAGA
Record/rank: 22-5, No. 14
League finish: First in Copper Mountain Conference - Copper Country
Coach: Tyler Larson, second season (46-7)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 40-36 over No. 4 Mackinaw City in Quarterfinal, 53-37 over No. 12 Norway in Regional Final, 47-39 over Ewen-Trout Creek in Regional Semifinal, 55-48 (District Final) and 57-36 over Lake Linden-Hubbell, 54-48 and 42-38 over No. 19 Ontonagon.
Players to watch: Corina Jahfetson, 5-5 sr. G (18 ppg, 3.2 apg, 4.2 spg, 90 3-pointers); Kylie Michaelson, 5-6 sr. G (12.5 ppg); Makenna Hendrickson, 5-6 jr. PG (9.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.7 spg).
Outlook: Baraga made the Semifinals last season for the first time since 1992 and now has made the winter’s last weekend both seasons under Larson while also winning a fifth-straight league title. Jahfetson earned an all-state honorable mention in 2022, and her 90 3-pointers entering this week rank seventh all-time. Although Baraga graduated an all-state first teamer, she, Michaelson, Hendrickson and senior forward Autumn Tembreull all started last season’s Semifinal as the Vikings came within six points of catching eventual repeat champion Fowler – and the two top subs from that game also are back.
FOWLER
Record/rank: 20-7, No. 8
League finish: Second in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference
Coach: Nathan Goerge, 13th season (178-121)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2022), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 47-43 over No. 1 Kingston in Quarterfinal, 61-42 over No. 18 Petersburg Summerfield in Regional Final, 40-35 (District Final) and 51-44 over No. 5 Portland St. Patrick, 46-42 and 44-37 over Pewamo-Westphalia.
Players to watch: Emma Riley, 5-7 sr. G (15.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg); Taylor Weber, 5-5 sr. G (8.4 ppg, 55 3-pointers); Avery Koenigsknecht, 5-4 sr. G (7.3 ppg, 3.0 apg).
Outlook: Fowler graduated last season’s Division 4 statewide Player of the Year but returned another all-stater in Riley, who with Koenigsknecht started on both championship teams the last two seasons while Weber was last year’s top sub. The Eagles have won 13 of their last 14 games, and only one defeat this season came to a Division 4 opponent – St. Patrick, with that loss since avenged twice. Fowler also gave Division 2 Lansing Catholic one of its closest games, lost to Division 3 Dansville in overtime and by just two points to Division 1 Midland Dow.
MAPLE CITY GLEN LAKE
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 2
League finish: First in Northwest Conference
Coach: Jason Bradford, 15th season (280-72)
Championship history: Class D champion 1978, runner-up 1979.
Best wins: 57-49 over No. 7 St. Charles in Quarterfinal, 54-45 over No. 3 Gaylord St. Mary in Regional Final, 51-45 over Division 3 No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis, 52-41 over Division 3 No. 15 Elk Rapids.
Players to watch: Ruby Hogan, 5-7 sr. G (19.1 ppg, 5.2 apg, 5.5 spg); Maddie Bradford, 6-0 sr. C (15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.6 bpg); Eleanor Valkner, 6-0 jr. F (5.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
Outlook: Glen Lake is back at the Semifinals but in Division 4 this time after playing in Division 3 a year ago. Hogan, Maddie Bradford and senior guard Gemma Lerchen (4.8 ppg) all started during the last Breslin trip. The varsity is a combined 68-4 over the last three seasons. The only losses this time were to Division 1 Traverse City Central and Division 2 Cadillac, and Glen Lake has won its last 16 games – all but two during that run by double digits. Senior Olivia Mikowski adds 5.9 points and five rebounds off the bench.
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler's Grace Epkey (23) goes to the basket during her team's Tuesday Quarterfinal win over Kingston. (Middle) Detroit Renaissance's Imani Johnson prepares to shoot a free throw during her team's PSL championship game win over Detroit Cass Tech. (Top photo by Terry Lyons; middle photo by Olivia B. Photography.)