East Lansing – If there was one thing was clear from this weekend’s state Final Four in East Lansing, it’s that the next couple of years could be a lot of fun for girls basketball in the state.
Pundits have talked throughout the season about how good the sophomore class is, and it was on full display at Breslin Center.
Detroit Renaissance got to the Division 1 state championship game starting three sophomores and playing another regularly off of the bench. Utica Eisenhower advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1982 starting three sophomores and having seven sophomores and a freshman on its roster.
Jayla Adams, Kassidy Cain and Marie Walker were the sophomore starters for Renaissance, while sophomores Leah Poggiolo, Janielle Turner and Madison Repicky started for Eisenhower.
One of the top sophomore recruits in the country and maybe the early favorite for the 2028 Miss Basketball award, Jackson Lumen Christi point guard Kenna Hunt, showcased all her talent on the biggest stage as well.
Hunt scored 21 points against Pewamo-Westphalia in the Division 3 title game to lead Lumen Christi to a 52-36 win.
One outgoing senior who is a future Division I college player, Muskegon senior guard and Oakland signee Camiyah Bonner, said she has played with several promising young players in high school and summer ball and said the future of girls basketball in the state is in good hands.
“Michigan has definitely got some great younger talent,” she said after helping lead Muskegon to the Division 1 championship. “I’ve been playing basketball for a long time, and even on the AAU circuit and running into young girls playing up. Michigan has great upcoming girls for sure.”
There are other talented sophomores whose teams weren’t at Breslin Center, such as Paisley Stephens of Belleville, Addison Wypych of Rockford, Lyla Valentine of Howell and Emersen Holder of Warren Regina.
Great leader for Renaissance
Detroit Renaissance senior Jaebri’an Autry admitted it was a bit of a challenge this year being a senior leader on a Renaissance team that had so many underclassmen.
But the quality of her leadership was certainly evident all season in helping lead Renaissance to the Detroit PSL title and a state runner-up finish in Division 1.
Autry nearly single-handedly led her team to the title, finishing with a game-high 17 points in what was a low-scoring final against Muskegon.
“I wasn’t used to it,” Autry said about guiding the younger players. “I just learned to be verbal because I was that leader this year. I just know I had to come into every practice and every game and push them through the way I play or even at practice.”
As for what the future holds for Renaissance, Autry said the team will be a big problem for others around the state.
“We have the best sophomores in the state,” she said.
One of the sophomores, Kassidy Cain, certainly had high praise for Autry’s leadership.
“That’s really my sister,” Cain said. “Obviously I plan to keep up what she’s built and done here.”
Nice escape for Ishpeming
Ishpeming senior Mya Hemmer might have had a funny response when discussing what it was like to come down to East Lansing from Ishpeming, which like the rest of the Upper Peninsula was covered with roughly three feet of snow following a blizzard.
“When we got out of our hotel (Thursday) morning, we saw green grass,” said Hemmer, who will play volleyball in college for Baylor. “We were like, rolling in it. It was like Florida. It was so long (since we saw grass).”
It was an adventurous route to East Lansing for Ishpeming, which first had to dig out and find roads to travel on when the storm hit Sunday and Monday.
Its Division 4 quarterfinal game against Indian River Lakes was originally scheduled for Tuesday in Gladstone, but was moved to Wednesday in Gaylord.
Ishpeming won that game easily, but had to immediately had to drive down to East Lansing and play the next day. Ishpeming survived and got to enjoy a nice 60-degree day off in East Lansing on Friday while preparing for Saturday morning’s championship game, which it won 48-28 over Portland St. Patrick.
Through it all, Ishpeming coach Ryan Reichel put the whole experience in perspective.
“They get to play a sport,” Reichel said. “They got to sit on a charter bus, got to get a nice hotel room. I mean, we got city guys (in Ishpeming), they’ve been working around the clock trying to just get us here. Those guys are tired. These girls, they reset so quick.”
Basketball is king for Pewamo-Westphalia family
Pewamo-Westphalia head coach Steve Eklund said if anyone drives past their house during Easter in a couple of weeks, it will be easy to see what his family is doing.
“You can see a basketball game breaking out,” Eklund said with a laugh.
It’s certainly a family affair for the Eklunds when it comes to basketball.
Eklund coaches his daughter, sophomore Adrianna, and his nieces Renell and Peyton, all members of Pewamo-Westphalia’s team.
Eklund’s brothers, Jeff and Ryan, are two of his assistant coaches.
Oh, and Steve Eklund also is the father of Grady, the boys player for Pewamo-Westphalia who eclipsed 2,000 career points during the state tournament and helped lead Pewamo-Westpahlia to the Division 3 boys title.
Needless to say, there have been countless family driveway games over the years, whether it’s been two-on-two, three-on-three or 21.
“During COVID, you’re locked out of the gym, so we had nightly wars in the driveway,” Steve Eklund said. “It was Dad’s last run. I don’t dare go out there anymore, but I sucked it up and got in shape for that.”
More so than not these days, it’s Adrianna and Grady battling it out in the driveway.
“I’d beat him and he’d say he wasn’t trying,” Adrianna quipped. “I know he was trying.”
Adrianna facetiously said she’s taking credit for Grady surpassing 2,000 points with how she helped toughen him up, but more seriously said playing Grady has made them both better players.
“They toughened me up when I was a kid,” she said. “Made me who I am.”
Keith Dunlap is a freelance writer.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Girls finals highlights: Young talent emerges on championship weekend
Reporting by Keith Dunlap, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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