Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 2

December 11, 2012

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We're only two weeks into this girls basketball season. But there are plenty of teams that already can take pride in strong starts that either are continuing on last season's success or showing a nice turnaround after a rough run. 

Some of those are highlighted in this week's report. Remember, what's below isn't any sort of statewide ranking – merely a top-10 list of notables from last week.

Records and results are through Sunday and based on those found at MHSAA.com. Click on Score Center to follow scores throughout the week and enter those of the games you attend. 

1. Concord (3-0) – Most of the key pieces to last season’s Class C Semifinalist team are back, and they earned a pair of close wins. Concord edged Michigan Center 36-32 – after also beating Michigan Center in overtime in the District opener last season – and then got past Homer 37-35.

2. L’Anse (4-0) – The Purple Hornets are again off to a nice start – with a bonus. According to the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette, L’Anse’s 60-56 win over Houghton gave Houghton its first loss to a team from the state’s four northernmost counties since Nov. 2, 1999. Click to read more from the Daily Mining Gazette.

3. Westland John Glenn (2-0) – The Rockets got off to a strong start with a 66-34 win over Grosse Pointe North and then a 63-56 victory over Dearborn Divine Child. Divine Child is coming off a trip to the Class B Semifinals.

4. Grand Rapids South Christian (3-0) – Two of the Sailors four losses last season came to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. They haven’t played GRCC yet, but did edge Grand Rapids Christian 50-46 just three days after the Eagles beat GRCC by six.

5. Marshall (3-1) – This returning Class B Quarterfinalist added a strong week to a solid start. First, Marshall topped Richland Gull Lake 48-44 – Gull Lake won its Class A District last year – and then the Redhawks finished the week with a 46-33 win over Battle Creek Central.

6. Pontiac (2-0) – The Phoenix were a .500 team last season, but are off to a quick start thanks to two close wins. Pontiac beat Waterford Mott 49-45 and then Harper Woods Chandler Park 57-55.

7. Manchester (4-0) – The Flying Dutchmen have beaten every opponent by at least 10 points this season, including Onsted 59-40 and Napoleon 64-34 last week. Napoleon entered 3-0.

8. Bloomfield Hills Marian (2-0) – Marian is off to a solid start after beating annual Class A power Canton 44-30. Marian opened by beating Grosse Pointe North two weeks ago.

9. Athens (3-0) – The reigning Class D runner-up is off to a fast start again. Athens opened last week by beating Climax-Scotts 55-44, then survived a close one against Reading, 37-31.

10. Saginaw Heritage (2-2) – The Hawks bounced back from two losses during the first week to even their record by beating Arthur Hill 54-35 and Bay City Western 51-14. Heritage lost to Arthur Hill by 17 in their game last season.

PHOTO: Howell junior Meredith Wood works to get around a defender as the Highlanders pushed toward their first win of the season, 60-48 over Carrollton on Thursday. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Davis Twins Putting Finishing Touches on Doubly Sensational West Bloomfield Legacy

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

January 25, 2024

Indya and Summer Davis are like most twins in that it often is hard to tell their differences.

Greater DetroitBut each definitely is her own person, especially off of the court. 

Indya likes fish and lasagna, while Summer doesn’t. 

Summer’s favorite color is blue, while Indya prefers pink. 

Indya’s favorite music artist is Brent Faivaz, while Summer likes Kanye West. 

There are also some subtle differences on the basketball court too as they proceed through their senior year at West Bloomfield.

While both are 5-foot-9, Indya spends more of her time in the paint dominating the boards and getting points in the post, while Summer is sharp shooting from the outside and helps facilitate the offense. 

“I’m more on the arc than she is,” Summer Davis said. “She is more like an inside player, but she can (play the perimeter) too. With most of the positions how they are (on the team), she is more on the inside.”

However, just like they complement each other off the court, they have brilliantly done the same for the past three seasons in taking the West Bloomfield girls basketball program to new heights.

As sophomores, the duo was the centerpiece of a West Bloomfield team that won the Division 1 championship, the first in program history. The twins were better last year as juniors, but couldn’t quite help lead the Lakers to a repeat with a 40-36 loss to Rockford in the championship game at Breslin Center. 

Even better and hungrier this year as seniors, the Davis twins not only form the best tandem on a team in the state, but they might end up as each other’s biggest competition for the Miss Basketball Award. 

It’s certainly hard to tell them apart on the court, and that has everything to do with their games and not solely focusing on the fact they are identical twins. 

Summer, left, and Indya Davis last week.The two might have different roles at the moment in West Bloomfield’s system, but if you asked them to reverse roles with Indya moving to the perimeter and Summer inside, they would likely thrive just as much.

“We’re definitely all-around players,” Indya Davis said. 

West Bloomfield head coach Darrin McAllister said that has been the case since he first met the twins as middle schoolers playing in the Michigan Storm AAU program. 

McAllister said the Davis twins were like sponges back then wanting to absorb as much knowledge as they could, even if McAllister wasn’t technically their coach because he was presiding over an older-aged team within the program.

“I think they were about sixth or seventh grade,” McAllister said. “After every practice, they would come up to me and say, ‘Hey can you show me this? Can you show me that?’ To be honest with you, I was tired and ready to go home, but these little kids wanted to learn. They continued to come in and bug me about little things. Some of the moves we worked on when they were in sixth and seventh grade, they’re executing right now.” 

Summer Davis said she has always had basketball as her No. 1 sport, but Indya said she did dabble a bit in tennis and gymnastics when she was younger. 

By the time they were 10 years old, they decided to focus solely on basketball, and the rest is history.
Following Friday’s game against Oxford, Summer leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game, assists at 4.9 a contest, and steals at 5.3 a game. 

Indya Davis is averaging just over 15 points a game to go along with 6.6 rebounds for a West Bloomfield team that is 9-0. The stats would probably be even higher, but the Lakers haven’t played in many close games this year and the twins’ minutes have been limited. West Bloomfield also gets significant contributions from senior Kendall Hendrix, another future Division I college player who has signed with Loyola Chicago.

Once their high school careers are over, the Davis twins will continue to play together at Georgia. The twins originally committed to Michigan State, but decommitted after former head coach Suzy Merchant resigned. 

While wanting to rack up stats and be 1-2 in the Miss Basketball voting, the two are also identical and aligned in their prime motivation for the rest of their final high school season. 

That would be to get back on top of the state and avenge the loss to Rockford in last year’s Final. 

“I think we’re more about the lesson we learned from it,” Indya Davis said. “How driven we are to come back stronger than we were. Look at where we made mistakes and what we can do better. Just come out harder than ever.”

As has been the case throughout their careers, two would be better than one when it comes to Division 1 championships for the Davis sisters and West Bloomfield.

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties

PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Summer Davis (23) brings the ball up the court during last season’s Division 1 Semifinal win over Salem, with sister Indya Davis (24) leading the way. (Middle) Summer, left, and Indya Davis last week.