Power Pair - with Plenty of Help - Drives Belleville to Program-Defining Win
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 22, 2025
EAST LANSING – It’s no secret. The Belleville girls basketball team is certainly going to savour this moment.
Behind the superb play of sophomore Sydney Savoury and junior Se’Crette Carter, the Tigers claimed the program’s first Division 1 Finals championship Saturday with a 61-48 win over Rockford at Breslin Center.
Savoury scored a team-high 22 points, while Carter made four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
“We knew today that we could make history, and we were super excited to get out there and play,” said Savoury, who added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“It means everything, and it’s about legacy. We played our hardest and played for Belleville.”
Belleville reached the Semifinals for the first time last year, falling to Grand Blanc, but returned four starters this season.
“It feels amazing to be one of the great teams now,” Carter said. “Rockford is a great team with great players, but we wanted it more. You could tell we had moments where we had lapses, but our perseverance and passion pushed through.”
The Tigers (28-1) held a slim 18-14 lead after the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Savoury and Carter gave the Tigers a 24-16 lead midway through the second.
Belleville took a 26-20 advantage into the half and never relinquished the lead.
“I can’t even believe this, honestly,” Tigers head coach Jason Wilkins said. “When I first got the job at Belleville, I didn't think we would be in the position to be a top program, especially in our conference, so five years later to be a state champ is a great feeling. I’m proud of these kids. They bought into our system in the summer, and it all paid off.”
Savoury opened the second half with a 3-pointer after a Rockford turnover, making it 29-20. Late in the third quarter, Belleville scored six in a row, capped by a Jaida Qinn lay-up that added to a double-digit advantage (42-29).
Carter dropped in another 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 49-34.
While Savoury was the leading scorer, the Tigers received contributions throughout the lineup, as four players scored in double figures.
Senior Iyana Stephens was a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor and scored 12 points while grabbing eight rebounds. The only other senior, Rylan Buschell, dished out six assists. Freshman guard Paisley Stephens added 10 points and three assists.
“I was really happy that I was able to step up today,” Iyana Stephens said. “It’s something everybody strives for and our coach says that everyone has a role and I just played my role and was able to help my team.”
This was the Rams’ second appearance in the Division 1 Final in three years. They won in 2023.
“Super proud of them and the fact that we were able to get to the final game of the season.” Rockford coach Brad Wilson said. “We came up a little bit short, but our three seniors are the face of our program and we wouldn't be anywhere without them.”
Rockford shot a dismal 3 of 21 from behind the 3-point arc and committed 12 turnovers. But Miss Basketball Award winner Anna Wypych connected on 9 of 15 shots to score a game-high 26 points for the Rams, who finished 27-2 overall.
PHOTOS (Top) Belleville players and fans begin celebrating the team’s Division 1 championship win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Tigers’ Sydney Savoury pulls up for a jumper. (Below) Rockford’s Desirae Donley (23) gets up a shot with Belleville’s Iyana Stephens defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Title IX at 50: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 21, 2021
From Portage Northern, to Northwestern University, to the smallest of TV markets in the United States to the sidelines of the most recognized sports networks in the world, Lisa Byington has blazed trails all over the Midwest and beyond.
Beginning this October, she will take another historic step for women in sportscasting.
Byington will take the microphone as Bally Sports Wisconsin’s play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks – becoming the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for a men’s “major” professional team in the NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL.
This will be just the latest accomplishment for the former Huskies basketball and soccer all-stater, who went on to play four seasons of basketball and two of soccer at Northwestern. Byington began her broadcast career at WBKB in Alpena – currently the third-smallest TV market in the nation – and then moved on to become a beloved fixture at WLNS in Lansing for nearly a decade. Her next moves took her into regional and then national spotlights, from broadcasting games with FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network, among a number of major entities, to working as a sideline reporter from 2017-19 at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for CBS and Turner Sports. She also was FOX’s play-by-play voice for the 2019 Women’s World Cup and for women’s and men’s soccer coverage on NBC Sports during this summer’s Olympics. She has done play-by-play for WNBA and NBA games, and in March, Byington also became the first female play-by-play voice at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament when she called games for CBS and Turner.
Byington was a finalist for the Miss Basketball Award as a Portage Northern senior in 1993, and according to the Detroit Free Press’ “All-State Basketball Team” report was set to graduate the following spring with 28 school records in hoops, including for 1,392 career points, 384 career assists and 379 career steals. She also made the Class A all-state girls soccer team as a senior after earning honorable mention as a junior. At Northwestern, she was a three-time Big Ten all-academic selection in basketball and two-time academic all-Big Ten pick in soccer.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTOS courtesy of Lisa Byington and Portage Northern’s athletic department.