Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 11
February 18, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
District seeds have been planted, league titles are being clinched seemingly every day and we’re fast-breaking into the final two weeks of this girls basketball season.
In case you missed them, District brackets were posted for all four divisions Sunday – and for the first time with the top two teams placed on opposite sides of the opening-round bracket. But there’s still plenty to decide before we get to the playoffs, and we connect some of those dots below.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Kentwood 53, Hudsonville 46 – The reigning Ottawa-Kent Conference Red champion Falcons (13-3) put themselves in position to at least claim a share of the title this time by handing current leader Hudsonville (15-1) its first loss.
2. Detroit Renaissance 81, Detroit Cass Tech 55 – The Phoenix (16-2) clinched the Detroit Public School League Tournament title and rose to No. 3 in the Division 1 Michigan Power Ratings with a big win over Cass Tech (15-2).
3. East Lansing 50, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 41 – The Trojans (15-1) moved to 9-1 this winter against teams that have gone on to double-digit victories, this time handing a second loss to another Division 1 contender in the Cavaliers (14-2).
4. Saginaw Heritage 56, Midland 39 – The Hawks (11-5) pushed into a first-place tie in the Saginaw Valley League Red, and a second loss last week sent former leader Midland (15-3) into third place.
5. Fowler 54, Byron 47 – The Eagles quietly have risen to No. 4 in Division 4 MPR, but this was a loud statement as they handed Byron (15-1) its only loss.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Renaissance (16-2) The Phoenix have won 16 games three of the last four seasons with room for more success this winter. Renaissance’s only losses came to Illinois powerhouse Chicago Simeon 65-50 at the end of December and by two to Detroit Edison, 54-52, on Feb. 1. That was the closest game unbeaten Edison has played, and the Phoenix can further add to a memorable regular season at Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Wednesday and against the Detroit Catholic League champ in next week’s Operation Friendship game.
East Lansing (15-1) The Trojans have defeated an exceptional list of opponents – including Carman-Ainsworth (14-2), Holt (13-3) twice, DeWitt (12-4) twice, Williamston (14-3), Haslett (11-5) and Pewamo-Westphalia (13-2), and a much-better-than-its-record Harper Woods Chandler Park (10-6). The only loss was to Edison 65-48 on Jan. 7, and East Lansing has only one game closer than nine points since. The Trojans can clinch a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title tonight at Okemos.
DIVISION 2
Big Rapids (15-1) The Cardinals have built a 10-game winning streak and moved into a first-place tie in the Central State Activities Association Gold with wins the last two weeks over co-leader Fremont (40-35) and third-place Newaygo (30-29). It’s been an incredible jump; after going 22-3 in 2017-18, Big Rapids fell back to 6-14 a year ago. But their only loss this winter came in the first Fremont game, 39-33 on Dec. 20.
Harper Woods Chandler Park (10-6) The Eagles rank third in Division 2 MPR with this record because of a schedule against opponents with a combined .715 winning percentage. Chandler Park is 8-2 over its last 10 games and won the Charter School Conference Tournament on Friday. The Eagles have handed Ecorse (12-1) its only loss and also have nice wins over Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (15-4) and Dearborn Henry Ford Academy (11-5) – plus good playoff-prep losses to Michigan Center, Brighton, Ann Arbor Huron, Carman-Ainsworth and East Lansing among others.
DIVISION 3
Kent City (16-1) The Eagles locked up a share of the CSAA Silver championship Friday with their second win over Morley Stanwood (13-3), this time 42-30. The title is the team’s sixth straight, and Kent City ran its league winning streak to 43 games. The only defeat this season came to Division 1 Muskegon (10-6) on Jan. 14, and the Eagles also have wins over Comstock Park (12-4), Kalamazoo Christian (12-5), Cedar Springs (10-6) and White Cloud (11-6) as they look to build for the tournament. They fell last year 35-33 in a Regional Semifinal to eventual champion Pewamo-Westphalia.
Maple City Glen Lake (15-2) The Lakers quietly are back on top in the Northwest Conference with a chance to clinch a share of the league title tonight against second-place Kingsley. But they made some noise last week by handing Division 2 Cadillac its only defeat, and Glen Lake also owns double-digit wins over Lake Michigan Conference leader Charlevoix and second-place Traverse City St. Francis. The losses came to Division 1 Midland Dow 45-43 on Dec. 7, and then 58-54 on Jan. 8 to Manton – the opponent that stopped the Lakers’ playoff run in the District opener a year ago.
DIVISION 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (15-2) The Cougars did take their second loss Monday, but impressively 67-62 to Edison, and the only other defeat came against Division 1 Hartland (15-1) on Dec. 7. Those could provide as much value as most wins as Lenawee Christian aspires to claim a third-straight Class D/Division 4 championship. And there have been plenty of impressive wins too, over Fowler, Division 3 Michigan Center (13-3) and Brooklyn Columbia Central (15-2), Division 2 Dexter (13-3) and Division 1 Kalamazoo Central.
St. Ignace (13-2) After falling to league rival Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 6, the Saints are working to finish with a shared championship in the Straits Area Conference. But they really make their name when the playoffs start. Last season’s Division 4 runner-up (with a two-point loss to Lenawee Christian in the Final) will sprint into this postseason with wins to their credit over Division 1 Ann Arbor Huron (15-2), the Division 2 Blue Devils (15-1) and Kingsley (11-5) and Division 3 Charlevoix (11-5) twice. Division 2 Goodrich (14-2) should provide another tune-up Saturday.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Brighton (15-1) at Hartland (15-1) – These two are tied for first in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West with two league games to play and Brighton winning their first meeting 41-33 on Jan. 24.
Tuesday – Ubly (15-1) at Sandusky (14-3) – The Bearcats lead the Greater Thumb Conference East by a game thanks to a 31-17 home win over Sandusky on Jan. 21.
Tuesday – Lake City (15-1) at Manton (16-1) – The Rangers won the first meeting and can clinch a share of the Highland Conference title with another, or see Manton move into a first-place tie.
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (15-2) at Port Huron (18-0) – The Macomb Area Conference White champion Big Reds look to advance to the Red/White Tournament final against the Red runner-up.
Friday – Ishpeming Westwood (16-1) at Negaunee (13-4) – The Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East-leading Patriots handed Negaunee its only league loss 45-35 on Jan. 24.
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PHOTO: Pewamo-Westphalia is among contenders prepping again for a potentially long postseason run. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
High School 'Hoop Squad' Close to Heart as Hughes Continues Coaching Climb
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
July 11, 2024
Jareica Hughes had a Hall of Fame collegiate basketball career playing at University of Texas-El Paso and has played professionally overseas, but her most prized possession is something she earned playing high school basketball in Michigan.
A standout at now-closed Southfield-Lathrup High School during the early-to-mid 2000s, Hughes proudly displays a signature symbol of Lathrup’s Class A championship team in 2005.
“I have my state championship ring on me right now,” said Hughes, now an assistant head coach for the women’s basketball program at UTEP. “I wear this ring every single day. Not so much for the basketball aspect. Inside of the ring it says ‘Hoop Squad.’ It’s more the connection I’ve had with those particular young ladies. Friends that I’ve known since I was kid. Every once in a while when we talk, we go back in time.”
Believe it or not, Hughes and her high school teammates next year will have to go back 20 years to commemorate a run to the title that started when they were freshmen.
It was a gradual build-up to what was the first girls basketball state championship won by a public school in Oakland County. Lathrup, which has since merged with the former Southfield High School to form Southfield Arts & Technology, remained the only public school in Oakland County to win a state girls basketball title until West Bloomfield did so in 2022 and again this past March.
Lathrup lost in the District round to Bloomfield Hills Marian during Hughes’ freshman year, and then after defeating Marian in a District Final a year later, lost to West Bloomfield in a Regional Final.
When Hughes was a junior, the team got to the state’s final four, but a bad third quarter resulted in a heartbreaking one-point Semifinal loss to eventual champion Lansing Waverly.
A year later, when Hughes and other core players such as Brittane Russell, Timika Williams, Dhanmite’ Slappey and Briana Whitehead were seniors, they finished the job and won the Class A crown with a 48-36 win over Detroit Martin Luther King in the Final.
However, the signature moment of that title run actually came during the Semifinal round and was produced by Hughes, a playmaking wizard at point guard who made the team go.
Trailing by three points during the waning seconds of regulation against Grandville and Miss Basketball winner Allyssa DeHaan – a dominant 6-foot-8 center – Hughes drained a tying 3-pointer from the wing that was well beyond the 3-point line.
Lathrup went on to defeat Grandville in overtime and prevail against King.
Hughes said the year prior, she passed up on taking a potential winning or tying shot in the Semifinal loss against Waverly, and was reminded of that constantly by coaches and teammates. “I just remember in the huddle before that shot, that just kept ringing in my mind,” she said. “That was special. I cried for weeks not being able to get a shot off (the year before) and leaving the tournament like that.”
Growing up in Detroit, Hughes got into basketball mainly because she had five older brothers and an older sister who played the game. In particular, Hughes highlights older brother Gabriel for getting her into the game and taking her from playground to playground.
“I’m from Detroit,” she said. “We played ball all day long. Sunup to sundown. When the light comes on, you had to run your butt into the house.”
Hughes played for the Police Athletic League and also at the famed St. Cecilia gym in the summer, developing her game primarily against boys.
“My first team was on a boys team,” she said. “I was a captain on a boys team.”
The family moved into Lathrup’s district before she began high school.
Once she helped lead Lathrup to the 2005 championship, she went on to a fine career at UTEP, where she was the Conference USA Player of the Year twice and helped lead the Miners to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Hughes still holds school records for career assists (599), steals (277) and minutes played (3,777). On Monday, she was named to Conference USA’s 2024 Hall of Fame class.
After a brief professional career overseas was derailed by a shoulder injury, Hughes said getting into coaching was a natural fit.
“I had to make the hard decision, and I knew as a kid I wanted to be around basketball,” she said. “Once I made that decision (to quit), I knew I was going to coach.”
Hughes started coaching in the Detroit area, first serving as an assistant at Southfield A&T from 2016-20 and then at Birmingham Groves for a season. She then served as interim head coach at Colby Community College in Kansas before being named an assistant at UTEP in May 2023, a month after her former coach Keitha Adams returned to lead the program after six seasons at Wichita State.
While fully immersed in her job with UTEP, Hughes’ high school memories in Michigan certainly aren’t going away anytime soon – especially with the 20th anniversary of Lathrup’s championship coming up.
“We are still close friends because we all essentially grew up together,” she said. “They are still my friends to this day.”
2024 Made In Michigan
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Southfield-Lathrup’s Jareica Hughes drives to the basket against Detroit Martin Luther King during the 2005 Class A Final; at right, Hughes coaches this past season at UTEP. (Middle) Hughes, second from left, begins the championship celebration with her Lathrup teammates at Breslin Center. (UTEP photo courtesy of the UTEP sports information department.)