Turner Leaving Her Mark at Port Huron with Leadership, Scoring Record
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2026
Putting her name atop the single-season scoring list at Port Huron High was a proud moment for Mariah Turner.
But it took a note from her father to realize the magnitude of breaking a record that had stood for 29 years.
“I didn’t really think about that, but my dad texted me before he went to sleep one night, and he was saying how proud he was of me, and how great it is to do something like that that had lasted over so many years,” Turner said. “That kind of made me think more of it, that it is more important.”
Turner finished the regular season with 442 points, averaging just over 20 points per game. Her total passed Kesha Bradford, who scored 429 points during the 1997 season before going to play at Valparaiso and Purdue-Fort Wayne.
A 3-point shot in the regular-season finale against Croswell-Lexington, a 63-39 win for the Red Hawks, gave Turner the record.
“As soon as I shot the 3, Coach called a timeout and we celebrated as a team,” Turner said. “It felt really great and relieving. It made me realize how much work I put in, both in-season and the offseason, to make history.”
During her senior season, Turner has led Port Huron to a 14-9 record and a spot in the Division 1 District Finals. The Red Hawks will play New Baltimore Anchor Bay tonight at Macomb Dakota.
As this season progressed, breaking a 30-year-old record wasn’t on her mind.
“It was later into the season, my coach (Jermaine Drake), he must have had his eye on it,” she said. “Because he was telling me, ‘You need 70 more points to beat the school record,’ or whatever. But I couldn’t let it affect me. I had to let it come to me and play my normal game.”
Turner’s normal game is being a do-everything guard for the Red Hawks. Not only did she set the school record for points this season, but also had a record 82 steals during the regular season. She had an eight-steal game, as well, which is tied for best in school history.
“She’s our best defender, our best scorer, third in assists, first in steals, first in 3s, top three in rebounds – she kind of just does everything for us,” Drake said. “She has a motor and never gets tired. She’s kind of like the whole engine of the team.”
Drake, who is in his first year as varsity coach, moved Turner off the ball to the wing this season – as she had shared point guard duties before – opening up the Port Huron offense.
But much of the Red Hawks’ offense is created through its defense, and the transition game is where Turner really shines.
“We press a lot, and she plays the passing lanes and kind of double teams if she’s able to,” Drake said. “Even off defensive rebounds, she’ll read it and leak out and get up the court. I try to implement us getting out as quick as possible to not let the defense set up.”
Turner’s combination of speed and smarts fits perfectly into what Drake wants to do. She’s one of the Red Hawks’ top performers on the track, an all-Macomb Area Conference performer in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
She’s also a 4.0 student and four-year varsity player.
“She leads by example every single time she’s on the court,” Drake said. “I don’t think she’s lost a sprint in conditioning this year. She hasn’t missed a practice. She’s like the perfect player you can ask for as a coach – no attitude, doesn’t complain.”
Turner plans to continue playing after high school. Basketball will likely be the deciding factor for the school she attends, as she wants to be a flight attendant, which will require training after she’s done with college.
“I like to travel a lot,” she said. “I went on a plane in like eighth grade for the first time, and I was watching the flight attendant the whole time. They help people, and they get to travel.”
Before she takes off, there’s still business to finish during what's been a rewarding season for Turner and the Red Hawks.
“We had some ups and downs and we had to figure each other out as a team, because we had a lot of people from JV come up this year, and we’re younger,” she said. “It was hard to adjust, but we just had to work on it and take practice seriously to bond more and learn how each player plays.”
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) Port Huron’s Mariah Turner (10) goes to the basket against Utica this season. (Middle) Turner warms up prior to a game. (Photos by Ryan Dowd/Blue Leprechaun Photography.)
Despite Torn ACL, Lapeer's Erla Drives On
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2020
Hannah Erla was so devastated by the diagnosis, she basically stopped listening.
The Lapeer senior point guard had torn her ACL, which in her mind meant her final high school season was over after just four games. She wouldn’t be able to lead the Lightning to their first District title since her freshman year. She was done playing for coach Andrew Roberts. She would end her career about 100 points shy of 1,000.
As all this was swirling through Erla’s head, the good news came: she could still play.
“There was maybe a pause, then he said it after,” Erla said. “I was so upset, I wasn’t comprehending what he was saying.”
After Erla processed the news, her next decision was a simple one. She wouldn’t have surgery on her knee until after the season. She would wear a brace, and she would finish her high school career on the court. After talking with more doctors, getting the proper clearances and missing just two games, Erla was back in uniform leading the Lightning.
“What drives me to play is that it’s my last year of high school, and I’ll never be able to play with my friends again, or have Roberts coach me,” she said. “I just want to win a District with my team. … It was immediate. I decided right then that I was going to finish out the season and reach my goals to get 1,000 and try and win a District.”
Erla reached 1,000 points in the waning seconds of Lapeer’s game Feb. 7 against Grand Blanc. The District title is yet to be decided, and Erla still has some work to do to ensure she’s on the court to make that happen.
She has missed the Lightning’s past three games because the swelling in her knee has increased. She plans to be on the court, however, for the regular-season finale Friday at home against Bay City John Glenn, and the postseason which begins March 4 for Lapeer.
Betting against her seems unwise considering what Erla already has overcome. But either way, she’s already provided a shining example for the program.
“Hannah always wants to get into the gym,” Roberts said. “Hannah plays and works hard in the offseason. We ran a summer camp for kids, and I made sure that I stressed that she’s a four-year player because of her, because she has put this extra time in. When you have a walking, living example of that, it holds so much more water than just saying it.”
Roberts took over the Lapeer girls basketball program at the same time Erla was entering it. As a freshman, she wasn’t a starter, but she still managed to earn honorable mention all-Saginaw Valley League recognition. As a sophomore and junior, she earned first-team honors.
Lapeer, which was 5-13 entering Tuesday’s game against Midland Dow, started this season 3-0, with all three wins coming by double digits. It was early in the fourth game, a 41-39 loss to Davison on Dec. 13, when the Lightning lost its leader. Erla ran toward a Davison player who was bobbling the ball, but as she planted her foot and tried to turn, her knee gave out. Erla said she didn’t hear the pop that players so often recall when tearing their ACL, and she was able to walk on it. The trainer told her she couldn’t return, however.
“Our trainer went out there and knew she was done for that game,” Roberts said. “When they say they’re done, and it’s a knee issue, you tend to think the worst.”
Erla’s tear was described as straight across, and not jagged, which allowed her to get the green light to play with a brace. She returned to action Jan. 7.
“I’m happy, selfishly, to have her,” Roberts said. “But I’ve never seen it done before, so I was pretty apprehensive, because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. I was excited to have her, but at the same time very, very nervous. When you start talking to people, there were other situations out there, which kind of eases your mind a little bit. You have to go by what the expert says, not what I think.”
Erla had to adjust to playing with her injury, as she had lost some of her signature explosiveness. Roberts said her strength as a shooter became more prominent.
“I just let things come more naturally rather than before when I tried to do most of the work,” she said. “This time, I just waited for my shot. At first, it was (frustrating) because I wasn’t expecting it. I was expecting to play how it used to be, but then I adjusted and I wasn’t frustrated anymore.”
In 14 games this season, Erla is averaging 12.6 points, three rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. She is also shooting 80 percent from the free throw line.
One of those free throws earned Erla her 1,000th point one month after she returned to action. She said the moment was made more special because of what she had to endure to get there.
“It was a lot of pressure; I was all worked up over it,” Erla said. “After I hit it, I was overwhelmed with emotion and so thankful to reach that goal. I was just beyond happy and overwhelmed with emotion. I didn’t know what to think. I was crying and hugging my teammates.”
After the season ends, and after spring break, Erla said she will have her surgery in early spring. She is still hoping to play basketball at the next level, and Roberts said she has been in contact with several NAIA programs. The most important quality Erla, who holds a 4.1 GPA, said she is looking for is a good engineering program.
Roberts says that whoever signs Erla will be bringing in a great asset.
“I would sign her because right now, she needs to score in high school for us to be successful,” he said. “It might take a year or so, but when you develop her into more of a point guard, you’re going to have a guard who can break a defender down and get into the paint – that's what she does. A healthy Hannah can get into the key at will.”
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) Lapeer’s Hannah Erla lines up for a free throw against Bay City Western this season. (Middle) Erla prepares to make her move against Grand Blanc. (Photos by Ross Carithers, courtesy of Hannah Erla.)