Miller Twins Push Each Other to Greatness
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 27, 2019
The toughest defender Sarah Miller has ever faced on a basketball court has been with her since birth.
This isn’t going to be about the Birch Run junior facing down personal challenges or looking into the mirror to stare down her greatest opponent. In fact, despite the fact she’s her twin, Emmaly Miller is not at all a mirror image of her sister. She’s just that good on defense.
“She’s very, I don’t know the word to say – she's feisty,” Sarah Miller said. “(Playing against Emmaly) in practices, it makes me move more without the ball, and that definitely benefits me in a game, helps me get open. She also gets in my head really easily. She knows how to tick me off.”
While it may make for some laborious practices, it’s also helped create the school’s most prolific scorer. Sarah Miller set the school record for career points this past Friday in a win against Essexville-Garber, reaching 1,380. It’s a remarkable feat considering she still has the postseason and her entire senior year to add to the record.
Or maybe it’s the other way around, and it’s created an incredible defender in Emmaly Miller, who has been tasked with guarding the opposition’s best offensive player for much of her career, and has thrived in that role.
Or maybe it’s both. Either way, when it comes to a game and they aren’t forced to compete against one another, it’s helping Birch Run.
“I always call it twin telepathy,” Birch Run coach Dan Kramer said. “They play a lot of those Gus Mackers in the offseason, and they know each other’s tendencies. They play really well with one another. We have a couple plays that they read each other so well on. We run one play with them, we actually call it ‘money,’ and eight out of 10 times, it’s two (points). It’s amazing.”
The Panthers are 12-8 on the season, and begin Division 2 District play March 6 against the winner of Monday’s Caro/Bridgeport opener.
The team got off to a slow start, losing its first three games while it attempted to find a new way to play, and Sarah Miller struggled with a foot injury. The Panthers won 11 of their next 14, however, and are playing well headed into the postseason.
“We beefed up our schedule a little this year to help us prepare for the Districts and the league,” Kramer said. “We really had a tough time defending the post early in the year. We have no size; we just have them go and try to beat (the opposition’s) bigs up the floor. They’re learning.”
When changing things up, it’s nice to have a set of talented twins to help usher it in. Emmaly Miller is the team’s point guard, while Sarah Miller plays as a two-guard and a wing. It’s a combination that has proven fruitful for the Panthers.
“This might be weird, but we always say we have some sort of telepathy going on,” Sarah Miller said. “I feel like when I go somewhere, she’ll know where I’m going to be. I can move without the ball, and she’ll find me. Emmaly is always the person who will find the open girl. She always knows where somebody is going to be. Her view of the floor is phenomenal.”
The Miller twins may be proof that the twin thing is actually a thing. Because as in sync as they are on the court, they’re not exactly on the same page off it.
“Her and I are polar opposites,” Sarah Miller said. “She ran cross country (as a sophomore), I play volleyball. She doesn’t really like basketball – well, she does, but she tells people that she doesn’t. Emmaly is super interested in history, and I think history is the most boring thing in the world. I love math, she – she just shook her head, she hates math. Emmaly likes rap, I like country. There are so many other things we don’t have in common. Every time we’re in the car, there’s always an argument.”
Emmaly Miller is more interested in track & field. As a sophomore, she was an MHSAA Finals qualifier and the Tri-Valley Conference East champion in the 400 meters.
Still, she was a varsity basketball player as a freshman, even if she wasn’t sure she belonged at first.
“It was very intimidating, and I felt like a lot of the reason I was on varsity was because they pulled Sarah up and didn’t want to separate the twins,” Emmaly Miller said. “It took a while before Kramer was like, ‘No, you belong here.’”
Kramer said that he saw something in Emmaly early on that gave him the confidence she could compete at the varsity level in her first year.
“Emmaly had never played point guard, and we brought them both to team camp in Charlevoix and we could not get anyone to keep from turning it over,” Kramer said. “I said, ‘Emmaly, run the point,’ and we saw flashes and kind of turned her into a point guard. It’s not her natural position, but she’s so fast, she can turn girls inside out. She’s tough to stop when she puts her mind to it.”
Kramer said his team is at its best when Emmaly Miller is being more aggressive and taking as many as 10 shots per game. Getting into that mindset is a bit more difficult for her.
“I’ve definitely had confidence issues when it comes to shooting,” she said. “I really don’t like doing it that much in general. However, I do know that I am most likely the fastest person on the court, so getting past defenders is pretty easy for me.”
It’s the defensive end where Emmaly Miller shines the most, however.
“You don’t want her guarding you, because she will shut you down,” Kramer said. “That’s the one thing we have that those other teams don’t have, is Emmaly Miller. If Emmaly played Sarah, I think she would hold her to half of what she scores.”
Fortunately for the Panthers, that can happen only in practice, and Sarah Miller has been scoring on everyone for the past three years. She flashed onto the scene immediately, scoring 17 points in the first half of her first game as a freshman.
“Literally, the second game of summer camp, I told my assistant, ‘She’s going to be first-team all-conference her freshman year,’” Kramer said.
He was right, and as a sophomore, Sarah Miller was named all-state in Class B by The Associated Press. She’s averaging nearly 25 points per game this season and has 2,000 career points in her sights.
“I had no idea I was going to break (the school record), so when they announced it, I was shocked,” Sarah Miller said. “I’m obviously not done yet, and I know I’ve completed something, but there’s more I need to do. I’m definitely going to try to push myself to get 2,000 points. I think that’s something I can accomplish having Emmaly with me and that bond we have.”
Sarah Miller recently committed to play basketball after high school at Saginaw Valley State University. She’s excited to have that out of the way, and for the future.
Despite all their differences, and the fact they sometimes want to fight each other in practice or while picking music in the car, she’s not as excited about the very real chance it could mean she and her sister will go their separate ways.
“We were talking about it last week, and I just started crying,” Sarah Miller said. “She wants to go to Michigan State, and I said, ‘If you’re going to Michigan State, we’re going to be so far apart.’ It’s hard to take in. She’s my twin, and we’ve been together since we were in the womb.”
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) Twins Emmaly (left) and Sarah Miller make up a talented backcourt for Birch Run. (Middle) The sisters share a quick hug during a game this season. (Photos courtesy of the Birch Run girls basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Girls Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 13, 2023
It’s just about time for 12 weeks of results to provide the first signs on the roadmap for the final three weeks of this girls basketball season.
The District seeding process, based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR), will produce the top two seeded teams in every District bracket this upcoming Sunday – and by noon those full Districts will be drawn based also on the formula for this year’s brackets determined this past Sunday. See the MPR page of the MHSAA Website for explanations of the formula and all other things MPR-related.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Edison 51, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 35 The Division 2 Pioneers (14-3) won this matchup of 2022 Finals champions, downing Division 3’s Arbor Prep (12-5).
2. Calumet 59, Escanaba 57 The Division 3 Copper Kings (13-4) bounced back from a one-point loss to Negaunee three days earlier to hand the Division 2 Eskymos (15-1) their lone loss this season.
3. Coldwater 57, Jackson Northwest 51 These two are tied atop the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference standings after Coldwater (17-1) avenged a four-point Jan. 10 loss to the Mounties (16-2).
4. Traverse City St. Francs 47, Elk Rapids 43 (OT) The Gladiators (15-2) pulled a half-game ahead of Elk Rapids in the Lake Michigan Conference standings thanks to finishing a regular-season sweep of the Elks (14-3).
5. Hancock 36, Houghton 29 The Calumet win above may have caught more eyes statewide, but Hancock’s over the rival Gremlins (15-2) clinched a share of the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference West title and moved the Bulldogs to 15-1 overall.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Temperance Bedford (18-1) The Kicking Mules are staring down a possible first league title in more than a decade, which tells you plenty about the Southeastern Conference Red as they’ve averaged 17.3 wins total over that time. They’re in line for that opportunity with three league games to play thanks to a 37-29 win over co-leader Saline (16-3) on Friday, after taking their only defeat from the Hornets – by 17 – just two weeks earlier. Bedford sits No. 8 in Division 1 MPR.
Utica Ford (16-1) The Falcons won the Macomb Area Conference White by four games, and lost this season only on Dec. 6 to Rochester (15-3). The league title was Ford’s first since 2016-17, and the 16 wins equal last season’s total and include nine over teams that are or would be .500 or better without losses to the Falcons. They’ll play Macomb Dakota in a MAC Red/White Tournament semifinal on Tuesday.
DIVISION 2
Detroit Edison (14-3) The reigning Division 2 champions moved into the top spot in Division 2 MPR this week, with a 9-1 record against in-state MHSAA opponents after opening with six of their first seven games against teams from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The Pioneers came back from a Jan. 31 loss to West Bloomfield (17-2) with wins over Farmington Hills Mercy (16-2), Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Detroit Cass Tech and Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (12-5). They’ll finish their in-state schedule against Frankenmuth and Grosse Pointe South.
Warren Fitzgerald (18-0) The Spartans arguably have undergone the most significant turnaround of any program, girls or boys, statewide this season after finishing 1-16 a year ago. They won the MAC Silver by five games and take on New Haven in a Tuesday MAC Bronze/Silver Tournament semifinal after winning their first meeting this season by 39. Early victories over Hazel Park (13-5) and Marine City (14-3) were signs of the program’s rebound, and no opponent has gotten within single digits since Jan. 5.
DIVISION 3
Hemlock (15-3) The Huskies wrapped up an outright Tri-Valley Conference 10-1 championship with a 72-53 win over second-place Standish-Sterling (15-3). Their only losses came to three Division 2 teams in the TVC-8 – Saginaw Swan Valley (14-4), Freeland (14-4) and Frankenmuth (15-2), and in addition they have notable wins over St. Charles (16-2), Ithaca (15-3) and Division 1 Midland Dow (11-7). The St. Charles win avenged Hemlock’s loss in last year’s District.
Niles Brandywine (15-2) The Bobcats will finish second in the Lakeland Athletic Conference with those two losses to league champion Buchanan, but can secure second alone Friday against Benton Harbor. Brandywine also has wins over league leaders Bronson (15-3), Colon (14-4) and Cassopolis (13-4). The Bobcats finished 18-3 a year ago but ran into Buchanan in their first District game, and it’s possible they could meet again although at this moment they’ll be seeded on opposite sides of a strong bracket.
DIVISION 4
Hillman (15-3) The Tigers have won 11 straight in claiming the North Star League Little Dipper championship outright after sharing it last season. Some solid wins are bolstered by strong losses as well, as Hillman has fallen only to Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference champion Cedarville (13-3), twice, and Johannesburg-Lewiston (13-5). A second matchup with Division 3 Alcona (12-5) and a season-ender against Division 3 Oscoda should provide additional postseason prep.
St. Charles (16-2) The Bulldogs can clinch a share of the Mid-State Activities Conference championship Tuesday against Ashley, which would be their third in three seasons since joining the league. What’s new is that St. Charles is in Division 4 this season, coming off a Division 3 District title in 2022, and will almost assuredly enter this year’s bracket as the top seed thanks in part to a pair of wins over Carson City-Crystal (14-4) and those losses to Hemlock and Swan Valley.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Wednesday – Holt (15-2) at Flint Carman-Ainsworth (14-0) – Both are moving in on potential league championships but also are building high hopes for the Division 1 tournament.
Friday – Goodrich (17-1) at Lake Fenton (19-0) – Lake Fenton leads the Flint Metro League Stars by a game thanks to its 50-44 win over Goodrich on Jan. 20, but this will decide if the title is shared or outright.
Saturday – Haslett (19-0) at Rockford (16-1) – These league leaders also have high postseason hopes, with Rockford No. 1 in Division 1 MPR and Haslett No. 5 in Division 2.
Saturday – Detroit Catholic High School League finals – Championship games in both brackets will be played at University of Detroit Mercy.
Sunday – Detroit Public Schools League final – The championship game will tip off at 3 p.m. at Wayne State University.
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PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy's Owynn Evans runs the offense as her team clinched a share of the Catholic League Central championship last week with a 60-55 win over Dearborn Divine Child. (Middle) Ada Forest Hills Eastern's Amelia Elms (4) looks for an open teammate during Friday's 56-40 loss to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. (Below) A pair of Paw Paw defenders work to wall off Otsego's Madison Hoffman during their matchup earlier this season. (Photos by Douglas Bargerstock, Michigan Sports Photo and Gary Shook, respectively.)