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: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 26, 2024
February is nearly at its end, and the girls basketball regular season will finish this week as well. And, of course, anticipation couldn't be higher for what's next as the calendar turns to March.
We have a much clearer picture of how this season's MHSAA Tournament will begin to unfold as District brackets were announced Sunday – find them all on the Brackets page. But keep in mind as well, several teams still have much to play for this week, and actually over the next four days, as almost all of our teams will finish up their regular-season schedules by the end of Thursday.
“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. Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 54, Detroit Renaissance 39 The Irish (21-0) moved within a win of a perfect regular season by defeating the Phoenix (18-3) in the Operation Friendship league champions matchup.
2. Detroit Edison 57, Belleville 46 The Pioneers (16-2) will enter the Division 2 tournament among favorites again, further bolstered by this victory over the Division 1 Tigers (18-2).
3. Goodrich 44, Flushing 26 The Martians (21-0) also are one win from a perfect regular season, and one of those Division 2 contenders, coming off this Flint Metro League Tournament championship clincher over Flushing (14-8).
4. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 45, Jackson Lumen Christi 31 The Eaglets (20-0) are closing in on a possible perfect regular season as well after finishing a Catholic High School League Cardinal Tournament title run against the Titans (17-5).
5. Bark River-Harris 52, Munising 31 The Broncos (20-1) secured an outright championship in the Skyline Central Conference Large schools division by winning this matchup of co-leaders entering the game, with Munising (16-4) finishing runner-up.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Clarkston (15-6) The Wolves have hovered between Nos. 10-20 on the Division 1 MPR list over the last five weeks before bumping up to No. 8 heading into this one. They’ve played tough teams and won key games, the most notable victory lately 53-27 over Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (14-5) to avenge a 43-38 loss three weeks earlier. The other defeats have come to West Bloomfield (18-1) twice, Lake Orion (12-7) by a point, Detroit Country Day (15-5) and Chelsea (17-4) – and Clarkston has six wins over opponents with at least 14 victories, the most recent 50-33 last week over Royal Oak (14-6).
Grand Blanc (16-3) The Bobcats have won three straight District titles and sit a combined 65-17 over the last three-plus seasons, and they’ve created an opportunity to win their first Saginaw Valley League championship during this run of success. Grand Blanc will host Midland Dow on Tuesday in a winner-take-all for the SVL title, as neither has lost a conference game. The Bobcats are riding an 11-game winning streak, with their defeats to Goodrich (21-0), Lake Fenton (15-6) and Hartland (14-7). A 47-46 win over Flint Powers Catholic (17-13) on Feb. 6 factored significantly in creating this championship chance.
DIVISION 2
Vicksburg (17-2) The Bulldogs – 23-1 last season – added an exclamation point to another strong run by handing Portage Central (17-1) its only loss of the season last week, 47-33. Vicksburg did the same to Niles Brandywine (18-1) on Feb. 6, winning 46-38, which followed a 53-49 win over Paw Paw (18-2). That win over the Red Wolves avenged a 60-50 loss during the season’s first week, and has Vicksburg atop the Wolverine Conference with a share of the league title and a chance to clinch it outright Thursday against Otsego. The Bulldogs’ only other loss was 47-31 to Coldwater (17-3) on Jan. 30 – and Vicksburg bounced back for the Paw Paw and Brandywine wins over their next two games.
Williamston (16-4) The Hornets are winners of 12 straight games and took back the Capital Area Activities Conference Red championship after finishing runner-up to Haslett a year ago. Williamston swept the Vikings (14-7), winning 45-43 and then 57-38, and also owns a 44-34 victory over Ovid-Elsie (18-2) during this nearly two-month run. A 4-4 start surely provided some prep for this success, with the losses to Howell (15-6), Lansing Catholic (16-4), DeWitt (19-2) and Chelsea (17-4) – and Chelsea and Haslett both are on the other side of the bracket from Williamston at the Division 2 District at Fowlerville.
DIVISION 3
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (18-3) The Kestrels won their first Huron League championship since sharing the title in 2017-18, and clinched this one outright by defeating Monroe Jefferson in the league finale as co-leader Riverview lost to Flat Rock by a point to move into second place. SMCC doubled their win total between 2021-22 and 2022-23, from nine to 18, and the Kestrels can surpass that this season with a victory over Ida on Thursday. Their losses were to Temperance Bedford (18-2), Carleton Airport (13-7) and Grosse Ile (12-9), and SMCC avenged the Airport defeat during this current eight-game winning streak that’s also seen victories over Riverview (15-4) and Flat Rock (13-7).
Sandusky (19-1) The Wolves claimed a fourth-straight Greater Thumb Conference East championship, avenging their lone loss – 30-26 to Harbor Beach on Jan. 2 – by defeating Harbor Beach 36-23 in the rematch Jan. 25. Six more wins have come against teams with 11 or more victories this season, with a chance to add to that list this week against Cass City and Caro before jumping into the District at Vassar as the top seed. Of the Wolves’ 19 wins, 15 have come by double digits.
DIVISION 4
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (13-4) The Mountaineers finished second in the CHSL Intersectional #1 this winter, but defeated champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 46-30 on Saturday to claim the league’s St. Anne Tournament title. The victory also avenged two four-point losses to the Cranes (14-4), and Everest’s other defeats were to two more Division 2 teams, Macomb Lutheran North and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (20-0). The Mountaineers will be the top seed at Auburn Hills Oakland Christian as they seek to win a third-straight District title.
Mio (17-4) Statewide eyes have turned toward 140-student Mio, which didn’t field a varsity in 2021-22, came back and finished 5-16 last winter and has jumped to 17-4 and a shared championship in the North Star League Big Dipper this season. A lot of that attention has come with freshman Mia McGregor, who according to a Bay City Times story from last week was averaging 39.3 ppg at the time. Mio defeated Bay City All Saints (16-4) that night, 61-52, and also has a win over Big Dipper co-champ Oscoda (16-4).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Midland Dow (18-2) at Grand Blanc (16-3) – As noted above, the winner will be the outright Saginaw Valley League champion, and Dow is seeking its second league title over three seasons.
Tuesday – Belleville (18-2) vs. Howell (15-6) at Northville – The winners of the KLAA East and West, respectively, face off for the overall championship.
Tuesday – Frankenmuth (18-2) at Lansing Catholic (16-4) – Frankenmuth starts a substantial final week of the regular season with this rematch of last year’s Division 2 Final, won by the Cougars, before taking on Detroit Edison on Thursday.
Tuesday – Muskegon (16-4) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (20-1) – These champions of the O-K Green and Blue, respectively, should give each other a nice test before they pursue postseason aspirations in Divisions 1 and 2, respectively.
Thursday – Colon (19-2) at Mendon (18-2) – The Magi own a share of the Southern Central Athletic Association West title thanks to a 54-31 win on Jan. 18, but Mendon can finish with the other share by avenging that defeat.
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PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich's Kayla Hairston leads her team on a break during a 61-48 win over Lake Fenton on Feb. 16. (Middle) Plainwell's Brooklyn Timpe (13) works to wall off Otsego's Audrey Lingbeek during the Bulldogs' 41-37 win Feb. 16. (Top photo by Terry Lyons; middle photo by Gary Shook.)