Senior Stars Bring Ishpeming Back to Breslin, Earn One More Game Together
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel wanted 32 more minutes with his two standout seniors.
Those seniors – Jenessa Eagle and Mya Hemmer – helped grant him his wish.
The Hematites overcame poor shooting and a double-digit deficit to outlast Morenci 37-34 in the first Division 4 Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center.
“We talked about playing 32 minutes since yesterday, especially with having seniors, and right now they have 32 minutes left in their career with one extra game,” Reichel said. “Us trying to complete that 32 minutes was huge, just with the mental toughness these girls brought.
“I’m pretty emotional about this because having these two girls and knowing it's the finale of their careers and seeing what they did tonight trying to carry us and will their team to the win was remarkable.”
Eagle and Hemmer combined for 35 points as Ishpeming (24-3) advanced to the Final for the second time over the last three years. The Hematites won the Division 4 title in 2024.
Eagle, who’s headed to Michigan Tech, scored a game-high 20 points, while Hemmer, who will play volleyball at Baylor, recorded 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Ishpeming was playing its second game in as many days due to the winter storm in the Upper Peninsula. The Hematites had defeated Indian River Inland Lakes in a one-day delayed Quarterfinal on Wednesday.
“When we got up at the hotel this morning and saw the green grass we rolled in it like we were in Florida,” Hemmer joked. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen green grass. This season has really shown how much of a family we are and how much we trust each other, especially Coach.”
If dealing with adversity related to weather and travel wasn’t enough, the Hematites had to persevere through a game where points were hard to come by.
Ishpeming trailed throughout the first half, including 16-6 in the second quarter, but rallied during the second half with a stifling defense that created multiple turnovers.
“We’ve faced adversity here two years ago, so we knew that getting the lead was doable,” Eagle said. “I think today we proved we can do that at a higher level. We are going to need that energy and focus on Saturday.”
Morenci – playing in its first Semifinal since 2011 – led 20-18 at the half and 27-25 after three quarters, but the final eight minutes saw the lead change multiple times.
Ahead by a single point late, sophomore Camby Gauthier scooped in a lay-up with 34 second left to give the Hematites a three-point edge.
Their defense did the rest and prevented the Bulldogs from tying it before the buzzer.
“That’s a great Morenci team, and they had us rattled in the first half,” Reichel said. “We settled down, and we persevered, and we lifted each other up.”
Ishpeming failed to make a 3-point shot for the first time this season, going 0-for-22. “I didn’t know that,” Eagle said. “I thought one of us hit a 3. I’m shocked by that.”
The Bulldogs also struggled from the field, shooting 27 percent (12-44) and missing all five of their 3-point attempts. They also committed a season-high 31 turnovers.
Morenci did outrebound Ishpeming 51-27, with 20 offensive rebounds.
“Not how we wanted it to go, but they battled all season and they battled tonight,” Morenci coach Ashley Joughin said. “Some of our shots didn’t fall when we needed them to, but hats off to that team because they got after it in the second half and we gave up a couple offensive boards that were costly. We fought all season to be here, and nothing can take that away from them.”
Junior Colbi Ekins scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the way for the Bulldogs, while senior Emmersyn Bachelder tallied a double-double with 14 points, and 13 rebounds.
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming players celebrate their Semifinal win Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Morenci’s Emersyn Bachelder (33) and Ishpeming’s Mya Hemmer (14) contend for a loose ball. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Carson Making Up For Lost Time, Making Buchanan Contender as Districts Begin
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
February 23, 2023
There’s really nothing about Faith Carson’s high school basketball career that went according to script.
Yet, it has developed into quite a compelling story with one last chapter to be penned.
When asked if she felt four years ago that she would have ended up as arguably the top college prospect in the state of Michigan despite missing more than 30 games due to a pandemic-shortened sophomore season and a junior campaign mostly wiped out by an ankle injury, the Buchanan High School phenom and Ohio State University signee said all of that would have been laughable.
However, there were plenty of times, particularly last winter when the 6-foot-4 center was relegated to a walking boot and a chair on the sideline, when it was difficult simply to remain upbeat.
“I was talking to my mom the other day and said I never really realized how much I loved basketball until I couldn’t play,” said Carson, who did return in time last season to help the Bucks win a second consecutive Division 3 District championship before falling to Schoolcraft in the Regional Finals. “Going to practice every day and watching them play, it was a struggle.
“At first it was really hard. I do have a lot of individual goals for myself, but you just have to support your teammates and put a smile on your face. You never want to show up and be the person that is negative.”
Before school and after volleyball practice throughout the fall, Carson put in around three hours a day working on her shot in preparation for this season.
With the MHSAA Tournament set to commence, the Bucks benefitted greatly by Carson’s strong return to the tune of a 19-1 record, a Lakeland Conference title and No. 3 ranking in the latest Associated Press Division 3 poll. The Bucks opened the year with a five-point loss to still-undefeated Vicksburg and have mostly dominated ever since.
Carson is averaging 19.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game as Buchanan gears up for a District Semifinal on Wednesday against the winner of the Bridgman/Cassopolis opener Monday.
“She spent her spring and summer playing with her travel team and playing with us at the high school level trying to work herself back into shape,” Buchanan coach Gabe Miller said. “She really ramped it up in August and in the fall while simultaneously working her butt off on the volleyball court.”
Carson was named Lakeland Conference MVP after the Bucks’ volleyball squad went undefeated in league play en route to a District crown.
“She was getting up at 5 a.m. and lifting weights at the local fitness center and then coming in and shooting baskets with me from 6:30-7:15 about four or five days a week,” Miller said. “It wore me out, but I welcomed it. It was good to see. And she’d come in on Sundays, too. She was really adamant about making up for lost time the best she could.”
This year’s Buchanan group is primed for a postseason run as Carson combines with some savvy players who helped keep the wheels on last year in her absence, including junior point guard LaBria Austin, versatile senior forward Hannah Tompkins, junior defensive specialist Hannah Herman and sophomore forward (and sister) Alyssa Carson just to name a few.
Clearly, though, the Bucks are a decidedly more ferocious group with Faith Carson back in the lineup.
“The things that get overlooked, unless you coach basketball, you might not see right off the bat is she always had really good hands and feet, even when she was younger,” Miller explained. “She spent a lot of time, especially this last year, working on her diet and researching things, being in the weight room and adding to her physicality and conditioning.
“I think she’s got good court vision as far as seeing plays, seeing cutters, which helps her game out with double- and triple-teams. She wants to play basketball, so she spends a lot of time on it. Losing as much time as she lost last year — a full season — could have been a hindrance. But she definitely made up for it this year. When you take her love for the game with her God-given talents, her size, feet and hands, the work ethic she has put in, and the fact that she wants to work to meet her goals when she goes to college, that’s kind of got us to the player we have today.”
And now, after all the hours working on her shooting, that includes being a threat from range.
“In a game — I can’t remember which one — I had the ball at the 3-point line and their coach was yelling, ‘shooter!’” Carson recalled. “My whole family started to laugh because I’ve never really been called a shooter. It felt great.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help us go really far in the postseason. This is one of my favorite teams I’ve ever been a part of. I’m just really excited because I know what we’re capable of.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Buchanan’s Faith Carson (54) gets a hand up on defense against St. Joseph. (Middle) Carson elevates for a shot against Schoolcraft. (Photos courtesy of the Buchanan girls basketball program.)