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.)
D1 Preview: Powers Ready to Prevail
March 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend’s Division 1 girls basketball bracket is filled with stars and storylines.
All four semifinalists have won at least 20 games, and none has lost more than four. Last season’s Class A champ is back, as is another semifinalist and a semifinalist from two years ago – while the fourth team is playing this late for the first time.
Two semifinalists feature Miss Basketball Award finalists. All four teams have at least one player who earned all-state recognition last season.
Division 1 Semifinals – Friday
Saginaw Heritage (23-2) vs. Wayne Memorial (24-2), Noon
Southfield Arts & Technology (23-1) vs. Muskegon (21-4), 2 p.m.
Division 1 Final – Saturday, 12:15 p.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Divisions 4 and 1). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit and streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
MUSKEGON
Record/rank: 21-4, No. 10
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Black
Coach: Rodney Walker, fifth season (72-20)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 53-51 over No. 5 DeWitt in Quarterfinal, 67-46 over East Kentwood in Regional Semifinal, 52-47 over honorable mention Grand Haven in District Quarterfinal, 55-50 over Division 3 No. 8 Kent City.
Players to watch: Alyza Winston, 5-6 sr. G (24.5 ppg, 39 3-pointers, 3.2 apg, 3.3 spg); Brianna Alexander, 5-2 sr. G (8.7 ppg, 2.6 spg, 2.5 apg).
Outlook: Muskegon reached the Quarterfinals last season for the first time and now will play in its first Semifinal. Winston was a Miss Basketball Award finalist and will continue her career at Michigan State, and the lineup is bolstered by three more contributors averaging at least 6.8 ppg. Four seniors and a junior start and have led the team to 17 straight wins on the court, with the East Kentwood victory avenging a season-opening loss.
SAGINAW HERITAGE
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 3
League finish: Second in Saginaw Valley League Red
Coach: Vonnie DeLong, sixth season (130-16)
Championship history: Class A champion 2018 & 2002, runner-up 2001.
Best wins: 49-34 over No. 4 Midland Dow in Regional Final, 55-53 over No. 7 East Lansing, 45-43 over No. 1 Southfield Arts & Technology, 65-52 over Division 2 No. 9 Harper Woods Chandler Park, 51-31 over Division 2 No. 7 Freeland.
Players to watch: Moira Joiner, 5-9 sr. G (18.8 ppg, 40 3-pointers, 3.2 apg); Shine Strickland-Gills, 6-1 sr. F (12.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg).
Outlook: Last season’s Class A champion returns to Van Noord with Joiner, Strickland-Gills and senior guard Mallory McCartney (10.5 ppg, 40 3-pointers, 3.1 apg) again leading the way. Joiner was a Miss Basketball Award finalist and also will play next at MSU, while Strickland-Gills was a star of last season’s championship game and will continue at Central Michigan. She and McCartney earned all-state honorable mentions last season while Joiner was the Class A Player of the Year. McCartney will continue her career at Ferris State.
SOUTHFIELD ARTS & TECHNOLOGY
Record/rank: 23-1, No. 1
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Coach: Michele Marshall, 24th season (417-133)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-36 over No. 9 Grosse Pointe North in Regional Final, 57-25 over Detroit Mumford in District Final, 50-30 and 60-47 over Royal Oak.
Players to watch: Alexis Johnson, 5-10 sr. F (19.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg); Cheyenne McEvans, 5-10 jr. G (17.1 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.5 spg).
Outlook: Southfield A&T will play in the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons and three years as a school (made up of the former Southfield High and Southfield-Lathrup). Johnson – who will continue her career at Marshall University – made the all-state first team last season and McEvans earned an honorable mention, and senior guard Soleil Barnes (11.4 ppg) adds another double-digit scoring boost. The Warriors’ lone loss came by two to Heritage on Dec. 8, and they could meet again Saturday.
WAYNE MEMORIAL
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 6
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association East and overall
Coach: Jarvis Mitchell, fifth season (79-37)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 50-28 over Temperance Bedford in Quarterfinal, 53-35 over Ann Arbor Pioneer in Regional Final, 61-48 over Brighton, 61-33 over Division 2 No. 6 Williamston.
Players to watch: Jeanae Terry, 5-10 sr. G (20.3 ppg, 51 3-pointers, 7.0 rpg, 8.0 apg, 3.2 spg, 1.8 bpg); Sammiyah Hoskin, 5-8 sr. G (12.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.8 spg).
Outlook: Wayne graduated a Miss Basketball finalist off last season’s Semifinals team, but brings back the other four starters and top sub from the most successful team in program history. Terry earned an all-state honorable mention last winter and will continue at Illinois. Both of Wayne’s losses were to Division 2 power Detroit Edison. Senior forward Jayah Hicks adds 10.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3.4 assists per game, and total seven players average at least 6.8 ppg.
PHOTO: Southfield’s Alexis Johnson is defended by a pair of St. Clair Shores Lakeview players during Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)