WEST BLOOMFIELD – As we stand, right here and right now, only eight teams remain in each of the four MHSAA divisional quarterfinals, which begin Tuesday night.
In Division 2, the fans of Lenawee County have the opportunity to follow the defending Division 2 state champions from Tecumseh as they look to defend their crown. Tecumseh will travel to Chelsea to face off with Carleton Airport in the Division 2 quarterfinal, a battle between two teams that are familiar with each other after a run in at regionals last year. The preview for that game can be found online at www.lenconnect.com.
As for the other team from Lenawee County still alive in the playoffs we see the Morenci Bulldogs traveling to West Bloomfield to face off with the undefeated Kingston Cardinals with a trip to the state semifinals on the line. So, without further ado folks, let us jump right in headfirst to our Girls Basketball Division 4 State Quarterfinal Preview and Prediction.
Division 4 State Quarterfinal
No. 1 Morenci Bulldogs (25-1) versus No. 4 Kingston (26-0)
Where/When: at West Bloomfield High School on Tuesday, March 17 with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.
Last Meeting: The last time Morenci and Kingston met was in this exact spot in the MHSAA playoffs in 2024 as the teams again traveled to West Bloomfield for the D4 quarterfinals. Here Kingston defeated Morenci 36-21 to end the Dawgs magical season. Kingston went on to lose in the state finals to Ishpeming 73-54.
Team Averages: Kingston averages 62.0 points per game while Morenci averages 50.5 points per game on offense. On the defensive side of the ball Kingston allows 30.1 points per game while Morenci allows a paltry 25.7 points per game.
Morenci Bulldogs
Morenci Head Coach: Ashley Joughin, 4th season, 101-20
This Season: 25-1 overall (lone loss came to Columbia Central on Jan. 20 by the score of 43-26), 12-0 in the Tri-County League
Last Season: 24-2 overall, 11-1 in the Tri-County League, won conference, district, and regional title before falling in the D4 state quarterfinals to Genesee Christian 31-22.
Top Performers: Emersyn Bachelder, Sr., 17.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.4 spg, scored 1,000th career point early in the season; Evelyn Joughin, Sr., 9 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.5 spg, broke the school record for career assists; Colbie Ekins, Jr., 12.7 ppg and 9.4 rpg; Addyson Valentine, Sr; Lauryn Dominique, Sr.; Katelyn Ruse, Sr.; Tessa Zuvers, Jr.; Aly Curtis; Hailey Cleveland.
Morenci Bulldogs Overview: Morenci put together an absolute monster of a season despite the school’s size and a scheduled littered with top ranked teams, including preseason favorite Concord along with Summerfield and St. Mary Catholic Central.
The Bulldogs are led by Emersyn Bachelder who averages an impressive 17.7 ppg on the season to go along with just over five rebounds a game. Bachelder can get to the bucket and can shoot, making defending her difficult for any team. Bachelder was able to surpass the 1000 career points milestone and has continued to add to that total with big game after big game.
Evelyn Joughin runs a solid point for the Dawgs and leads the team in assists, a stat in which she broke the career record for this season. Joughin is averaging just below six assists a game and is the unquestioned quarterback of the high-powered Bulldog offense.
Junior Colbie Ekins is a big scoring threat from inside the paint and with her physicality and ability to run the floor opposing teams just cannot seem to stymie her roll.
On the defensive end of the floor, it is senior Addyson Valentine’s duty to shut down the oppositions biggest threat, a duty she seems to relish in nightly as she often is paired against the opposing teams top scorer.
Also helping out the Dawgs effort with clutch performances on some of the seasons biggest stages are Lauryn Dominique, Katelyn Ruse, and Tessa Zuvers.
Kingston Cardinals
Kingston Head Coach: Dave Lester
Record: 26-0 overall, 7-0 in the North Central Thumb Stars League
Last Year: 21-3 overall, 10-0 in the North Central Thumb Stars League
Kingston Leaders: Molly Walker, Sr.; Talia Harrington, Fresh.; Lilah Kiley, Sr.; Hailey McGuire, Sr.; Kendall McGuire, Fresh.; Grace McGarvie, Sr.; Norah Kiley, Fresh.; Vanessa Osborn, Fresh.; Hailey Seaman, Sr.
Kingston Preview: Kingston’s unquestioned scoring leader is Molly Walker who was able to reach career point 2,000 in the Cardinals regional championship win, joining just 35 Michigan high school girls basketball players who have achieved that mark throughout history.
“It feels super rewarding, it’s such a great feeling knowing your hard work pays off and I’m just so thankful God blessed me with the ability to play the game that I love, and healthy. I’ve been healthy all four years, so I’m super thankful for that and to be on teams that were able to make a long run in the postseason,” Walker said.
Walker had 28 points in the Cardinals regional championship win as she simply could not miss down the stretch of the regional title game.
The seniors on the team all hold their own in a variety of different ways while the likes of Vanessa Osborn, Lilah Kelley and Talia Harrington all played their part in the Cardinals winning the regional title.
Prediction: Morenci has been on a mission all season long, and the play of Bachelder and Joughin, not to mention Valentine on the defensive end, are going to be huge at this stage. If they can hold Walker somewhat quiet Morenci has a chance here. The Dawgs will rely on Bachelder and Joughin to control the perimeter while Ekins has a big advantage inside the paint. The Dawgs look to have a big advantage there thanks to their dominant presence down in the paint. If Walker plays like she did in the regional final Morenci may struggle, but I would never count out the Dawgs, because they just keep rolling and with the hunger they have shown over the past month, yeah I would take just a few steps back, these Dawgs may just bite.
Prediction: Morenci 44, Kingston 40.
Look for the Division 2 Preview featuring Tecumseh versus Carleton Airport in its own article somewhere on ww.lennconnect.com. The views exhibited here are just one man’s opinion, and he could be wrong. What do you think? Did sports editor Troy Tennyson make a good pick or will he be horribly wrong? Let us know via email at ttennyson@thedailyreporter.com. Follow Troy on X, formerly known as Twitter, at ttennysonTDR for updates of the state quarterfinal games all night long.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Can Morenci get past the Kingston roadblock to head to Breslin in D4?
Reporting by Troy Tennyson, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
