Young Grass Lake Grows Into Contender
March 2, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
GRASS LAKE – Some coaches go a whole career without ever knocking off a No. 1-ranked team.
The Grass Lake Warriors and head coach Andrea Cabana have done it twice in a month.
“And, we are just babies,” Cabana said of her youthful squad. “I think it really boosts our confidence. It gives us an idea of what we are capable of.”
The Warriors, who have been sneaking higher and higher into The Associated Press Division 3 rankings all season, are capable of just about anything with the MHSAA Tournament beginning this week. They have won 16 consecutive games since a December loss to Division 3 No. 1 Michigan Center. Included in that streak is two wins over a solid 14-5 Manchester squad, a rematch win over Michigan Center on Feb. 1 and a 64-53 win over Division 4’s No. 1 Adrian Lenawee Christian last week.
“It’s exciting,” said Cabana. “We are playing very well right now.”
On Thursday, the Warriors took care of business quickly, racing out to a 31-2 lead over Addison in a game that would clinch the Cascades Conference outright championship. Grass Lake won 64-36 to put the lid on a 19-1 regular season.
Success is certainly nothing new for Grass Lake. But this season’s rise to 19-1 can be considered somewhat of a surprise since the team, coming off an 18-5 season, had just one player returning with a lot of high school basketball experience – sophomore Abrie Cabana. She’s surrounded by two freshmen, a fellow sophomore and a junior.
“We’re not babies at this time of the year,” Coach Cabana said. “We’ve grown up.”
The Warriors have done it with a solid combination of lock-down defense and a high-powered offense. They average 56.4 points a game and allow just 29.6 a contest. The defense has allowed 20 or fewer points in a game seven times this season, and one opponent didn’t reach double figures. On the other end of the court, the Warriors have 11 games scoring above 60 points.
Lenawee Christian won the Class D championship a year ago and has been the No. 1-ranked team in Division 4 most of the season. The Cougars lost to Michigan Center to start the season and Grass Lake last week for their only two losses. Head coach Jamie Salenbien said Grass Lake has all of the pieces to make a long tournament run of its own this year.
“They have a high basketball I.Q.,” Salenbien said. “They are balanced with kids who can shoot it deep, and they get to the basket. They are well-coached and have a lot of weapons.”
Cabana called that win a total team effort.
“Lenawee Christian is a great team,” she said. “They have a handful of great players. We knew it was going to take a great effort. We went in real focused, and things went our way in the end.”
Abrie Cabana, the 5-foot-10 daughter of Coach Cabana, leads the team in scoring and most statistical categories. Although just a sophomore, she verbally committed to play college basketball at Grand Valley State University last fall. She had other offers, including from the Division I level, but chose the Division II Lakers over them all.
“She’s probably our vocal leader,” Cabana said of her daughter. “She’s played a ton of travel ball. She’s the most experienced high school player on the team.”
Her backcourt running mate, Lexus Bargesser, is only a freshman but already plays at a high level.
“She’s almost identical to Abrie,” Cabana said. “She’s a little smaller, but she’s quick and gets to the hole quick. She’s a very sound player. We are very strong at the guard position. They are both strong outside the 3-point line and inside. They are hard to handle.”
Freshman Gabrielle Lutchka (6-0) is also an imposing figure at both ends of the court for Grass Lake.
“She’s been our game changer,” Cabana said. “She handles the other team’s big player. When she is playing well, we play well.”
In the win over Lenawee Christian, Lutchka scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. She also drew the primary responsibility of guarding LCS’s Bree Salebien, the reigning AP Class D Player of the Year.
Other Warriors, such as Amber Boomer, Faith Patania and Lauren Pongracz, play big roles as well.
“They do a real nice job of playing to their roles, playing to their strengths,” Cabana said.
While young, Cabana said, the girls already have played a lot of basketball.
“A lot of our girls play travel ball,” Cabana said. “They are very experienced players. They’ve played a lot of basketball.”
Cabana is from the Jackson area but has lived in the Grass Lake district for about 20 years. She got her start coaching her oldest daughter – now a sophomore on the Spring Arbor University team – when she was in the third grade. The Warriors are 55-13 during her tenure, and the future keeps looking brighter.
“There was an opening in the middle school, and I coached that for three years,” Cabana said. “Then there was an opening as the JV head coach and I did that for two years, and this is my third year with the varsity.”
Grass Lake will open District play with Lenawee County Athletic Association champion Brooklyn Columbia Central. Looming on the other side of the Napoleon bracket is the likes of Michigan Center and Manchester.
“This time of the year,” Cabana said, “nothing is easy.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grass Lake’s Abrie Cabana pushes the ball upcourt against Manchester this season. (Middle) Teammate Lexus Bargesser looks for an opening. (Photos courtesy of the Grass Lake girls basketball program.)
Hiller Piling Up Points as Manton Builds for League, Postseason Possibilities
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 16, 2026
Three is the magic number today for the Manton girls basketball team.
It may become four, and many would argue it already is five – as in jersey #5.
The Rangers are riding a three-game winning streak with their eyes on a third-straight District championship. It may take a fourth-straight District title though for Manton’s star point guard – Aubrey Hiller, who wears the number five – to get a shot at becoming the all-time leading scorer in Manton girls basketball history.
Hiller, a junior, is leading the way for the Rangers. The win streak started with a 48-24 victory over McBain Northern Michigan Christian. She scored 25 points that day while joining the Manton 1,000-point club, becoming just the ninth female player to do so. There are 10 males in the club, including Hiller’s father, Ryan, and uncle, Matt Hicks.
With 36 points in a 56-42 win over LeRoy Pine River on Tuesday, Hiller moved to the seventh spot on the all-time scoring list. Last week she surpassed the career scoring of her aunt, Amy, with a 25-point effort in a 43-29 win over Beal City.
Hiller, an all-conference and second-team all-state performer last year, is averaging just over 25 points per game. She also collects almost eight rebounds per contest while racking up at least five assists and five steals. To top off a typical game, Hiller adds almost five pass deflections, mostly in the paint.
And Hiller is shooting almost 80 percent from the free-throw line. In the Rangers’ win over Pine River, she was 13 of 16 on free-throw attempts.
As the Rangers keep their focus on this season, many are wondering how high Hiller can climb on the all-time scoring list. Danielle Bundy has held the top spot since 1999.
Hiller still has the majority of her junior season to play and a senior season ahead. But to get to the top, Hiller will have to stay healthy, keep her torrid scoring pace going, and likely lead Manton to deep postseason runs both years.
“I want to say 1,900 might be tough, but it's definitely there for her to take,” Rangers coach J.P. Katona acknowledged, while noting Abby Brown’s 1,256 points could be topped next.
“I didn't even know I was getting to the 1,000 mark, but I think since I've gotten that another 150 will probably be my next goal,” Hiller said. “And then, if I can surpass that, then I'll go to the next and just hopefully climb up.”
In addition to Hiller’s big numbers, the Rangers also are getting more than eight points per game and nearly 11 rebounds from freshman Ella Barnes. Rylyn Wilder, part of Manton’s strong seven-member junior class, averages eight points per game.
Team chemistry is outstanding, and the ability to climb a high learning curve has been impressive for the previously inexperienced Rangers.
“We put a lot into practices and we're so connected off the court and our team chemistry off the court just makes it so much easier and faster to learn how to play with each other on the court,” Hiller pointed out. “A lot of the girls haven't seen this level of basketball ever. I think as we go, we'll just continue to grow stronger.”
A significant contribution has come from senior and first-year varsity player Kailyn Carter. She played junior varsity as a freshman and was the team’s statistician the last two years.
Carter has become a sound defensive player and a coach’s dream on the court.
“Kaitlyn Carter's story is pretty remarkable,” Katona said. “She does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet. She doesn't make mistakes, doesn't turn the ball over — she’s one of those players that you always want on your team.”
And the Rangers are just getting back senior shooting guard Kelsey Harding. She’s working hard to build up minutes on the court, coming off a knee contusion. She hit a clutch 3-pointer to help ice the win over Pine River, as Manton led only 35-31 going into the final quarter.
Harding, now in her third year on the varsity, credits Hiller with helping the Rangers relax more on the court. And she’s making everyone better.
Even if opponents are full-court pressing, doubling up or triple-teaming Hiller, the 5-3 Rangers are confident she’ll come through.
“We can all trust Aubrey that she's going give us a nice pass to shoot, and we can trust her to bring the ball up the court so we can spot up,” said Harding, one of just two seniors on the team. “Aubrey likes to pass the ball to share the glory – she can get her own shot, but she likes to make other people look good.”
The Rangers lost considerable talent from last year’s Regional finalist team that went 21-6. Manton will look to build on its three-game winning streak with four straight home games.
With a roster of just 10, the Rangers knew they would take their knocks early, and Manton suffered December league losses to McBain and Evart. But the Rangers already have their sights on those rematches and exciting possibilities once the postseason begins.
“It felt pretty good knowing that we don't have a lot more that we need to do in order to beat those teams,” Katona said. “We just have to play a complete game but with the type of team that we have, that takes time. The majority of the teams that were at the top last year have everybody or majority of the starters back, and my personal opinion is the Highland Conference is by far the most competitive girls conference in Northern Michigan.”
While still holding conference championship hopes, the Rangers are looking to the Division 3 District tournament. They will vie for the title with four other league opponents: Lake City, McBain, Pine River and host Evart.
“We've had two great past seasons, and we want to go for a third one,” Hiller said. “We're just a building team and we really are building it. We improved a lot from the beginning of the year till now.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Manton’s Aubrey Hiller points something out on her coach’s clipboard during a break against LeRoy Pine River. (Middle) Hiller handles the ball while defended by multiple Pine River players including Sabrina Cutler (20). (Photos by Mike Dunn/Cadillac News.)