Title IX at 50: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 25, 2022
Michigan has contributed mightily to the growth of girls basketball across the nation over the last 50 years. At its height during the first few seasons of this century, nearly 21,000 athletes played for MHSAA member schools. And those schools have produced their share of legends who have gone on to also succeed at the higher levels of the game.
Four decades after starting high school as a student, Tonya Edwards remains one of the most accomplished standouts to travel that path.
The 1986 Flint Northwestern graduate completed her varsity playing career in Fall 1985 (when girls basketball was still played during the fall) with the MHSAA record of 2,307 career points (22.2 ppg) that stood until 1994 and remains 10th on that record book list.
She averaged 26.4 points per game as a senior, and her 104 games played remain tied for 10th-most by a girls basketball player in this state. Edwards helped her team to 99 wins, which remains tied for fifth-most and stood as the MHSAA girls hoops record until 1997. She led Northwestern to Class A championships as a sophomore and junior and a runner-up finish as a senior.
And that was just first chapter.
Edwards went on to play at national powerhouse Tennessee, helping the Volunteers win NCAA championships in 1987 and 1989 under coach Pat Summit. Edwards came home after graduating in 1990, and that fall began a five-year run as Northwestern’s girls varsity coach. She led the 1993 team to the Class A championship and a 28-0 record – becoming the first person to win an MHSAA Finals girls basketball championship as both a player and coach.
Meanwhile, her playing talents were leading to international opportunities with USA Basketball and professional leagues overseas. She returned to play in the U.S. in 1996 and won two championships with the Columbus Quest of the former American Basketball League, then was the No. 7 pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx, one of three WNBA franchises for which she played over five seasons.
Edwards went on to coach briefly in the National Women’s Basketball League, then as an assistant at the college level before serving as head coach of Alcorn State from 2008-09 through 2014-15. She then served as an assistant for the L.A. Sparks from 2016-18, helping that team to the WNBA championship her first season.
But on top of all of those achievements, a unique and incredibly cool twist was yet to come.
In March 2020, COVID-19 ended the MHSAA girls and boys basketball seasons before champions could be crowned. But as Michigan’s high school teams returned to the floor under various precautions the following winter, Edwards returned to Flint’s high school courts as the varsity coach at Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
What’s more, she’s also continuing to coach in the WNBA, which begins regular-season play in May. Three months after serving as an assistant and helping Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky to the WNBA title, Edwards has Carman-Ainsworth 6-3 and among the top teams in the Saginaw Valley League.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
(MHSAA file photo.)
Rockford Turns Breslin Orange On Way to Earning Championship Day Debut
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Even on St. Patrick’s Day, seemingly the entire town of Rockford managed to turn the normally green Breslin Center into a sea of orange for Friday’s second Division 1 Semifinal at Breslin Center.
Both coaches admitted that the raucous Rockford crowd – almost all wearing orange T-shirts with a Rams logo on the front and filling about half of the lower bowl – had a huge impact on the game, particularly the start, as the Rams bolted to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter.
“How about those Rockford fans?” said sixth-year Rams coach Brad Wilson, before he even introduced his players at the postgame press conference. “When you look out there and see a sea of orange, it’s unbelievable.”
Buoyed by that crowd and equally unbelievable shooting, Rockford blitzed Detroit Renaissance, 65-42, to advance to the Division 1 championship game for the first time in school history.
Rockford, 27-1 and winners of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, will face reigning champion West Bloomfield in Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. title game.
The game will be a rematch of last year’s epic Semifinal, where West Bloomfield prevailed, 66-63, before knocking off Hartland the next day for the title.
The Rams would love to get off to the type of start they had on Friday.
Rockford made 11-of-13 field goals (84.6 percent) in the first quarter, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, getting the huge crowd involved early.
“We didn’t come out scared at all,” said Rockford junior sharpshooter Grace Lyons, noting it was helpful that her team played at the Breslin last year. “We came out ready to play from the get-go, and now we want to finish this thing.”
Lyons led all scorers with 23 points, making 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while senior Michigan Tech commit Alyssa Wypych scored 13 points with a game-high seven rebounds and her sophomore sister, Anna Wypych, added 12 points.
The Rams cooled off slightly in the second quarter, but still finished the half 15-of-21 from the floor (71.4 percent), and led 39-26.
Renaissance (23-2), which was seeking its first title since capturing the Class B championship in 2005, came out of halftime fired up and used an 8-0 run to trim the lead to just five points.
“We went back to our identity in the third quarter,” said Renaissance junior guard Christian Sanders, who led her team with 17 points. “Had we done that sooner, it may have been a different story.”
The key point of the game occurred right after the Phoenix made their run, and Wilson called a timeout to calm his team down.
Rockford responded with a 9-0 run of its own – using a pair of two-point baskets by Lyons, a bucket by Anna Wypych and a key 3-pointer off the bench from senior Madee Whitford – to push the lead back to 14 points.
The Phoenix, a young team with only three seniors, were never able to threaten the rest of the game.
“You have to give Rockford credit,” said first-year Renaissance coach Dashaun Wood. “They had a big fan base, and I think they fed off of that. We finally got back to who we normally are there in the third quarter, but sometimes when you dig a hole that deep, you burn all your energy just coming back.”
Amyah Espanol, one of two senior starters for the Phoenix, scored 13 points and junior Makayla Johnson added nine.
Rockford finished the game with 54 percent shooting (compared to 29.5 percent for Renaissance) and held a decisive 33-20 rebounding edge.
The Rams will make the one-hour drive home, which is just north of Grand Rapids, and Wilson said he and his assistant coaches will likely stay up all night preparing for West Bloomfield.
“No sleep ’til Breslin, that’s a real thing,” Wilson said with a grin. “We just need to stick to our brand of basketball. West Bloomfield is very good, but we’re really good, too, and I think we’re going to come out and show that we belong to be there.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford’s Sienna Wolfe (33) brings the ball upcourt during Friday’s Semifinal win over Renaissance. (Middle) Anna Wypych (2) makes a move toward the basket around a pick from teammate Grace Lyons.