MHSAA D3 State Semifinal Standouts

Day one of the MHSAA State Semifinal saw Pewamo-Westphalia defeat Roscommon 44-35 and Jackson Lumen Christi defeat Niles Brandywine 51-33. Pewamo-Westphalia and Jackson Lumen Christi will face off on Saturday to decide the 2026 State Champion. Here were the girls from the two games who were top performers.    [player_tooltip player_id='893890' first='Elly' last=''] was magnificent for Pewamo-Wetphalia in the State Semifinal. She created driving lanes with quick crossovers and slashed with a burst to the basket. [player_tooltip player_id='893890' first='Elly' last=''] earned trips to the free throw line and knocked down two triples in the second quarter. She escaped full-court pressure, finished layups with both hands, pursued rebounds, and used great technique to deny an entry pass to a cutter, then grabbed the steal. [player_tooltip player_id='893890' first='Elly' last=''] powered through contact to score an and-one layup, then finished the three-point play at the line. She led the Pirates with 20 points, adding two steals and two assists in the win.     Adrianna was the most aggressive rebounder for Pewamo-Westphalia, and her defense limited the opponent's top forwards. Adrianna used good denial technique on the perimeter to deflect passes and dove to fight for 50/50 balls. She caught a pass in the high post, attacked downhill with her left, and finished off two feet. Adrianna kept great defensive positioning on the blocks and walled up on a drive to block the shot without fouling. She drained a corner three and showed confidence stepping outside to shoot. Adrianna dished out a long assist in transition and demonstrated toughness by playing through clear shoulder pain from hard contact. Adrianna poured in seven points, led the team with seven rebounds, blocked three shots, and dished out two assists.     Zoey turned in a determined effort for Roscommon in the State Semifinal. She split defenders after a DHO, getting downhill in a hurry, then dropped in a smooth floater in a crowd. Zoey used a quick rip move, attacked, and dropped in another soft floater off the glass before the help arrived. She took a defensive rebound coast to coast and side-stepped a defender to cause a foul. Zoey showed an extra gear when she pushed the ball in transition, used the glass very well on her finishes, and anticipated passes on the defensive end to generate steals. She picked off a pass and took it all the way for two points. Zoey led the Bucks with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.     There's always a new prospect who emerges at the Breslin Center every year, and Mara was one of those players yesterday. She has a solid frame, length, skill, and makes a multidimensional impact at the guard spot. Mara came sprinting into the paint like she was shot out of a cannon to secure an offensive rebound, then finished with a reverse. She boxed out hard to corral a weakside rebound and made one of the plays of the day. Mara applied aggressive perimeter pressure, poked the ball out, dove, secured the steal, flipped, and fired a lead pass up the court in stride to Kauffman for an assist. She handled the ball well with both hands, got to two feet on her drives, got to the free-throw line, and knocked them down. Mara caused a jump ball in the trap and used an effective euro-step with long strides to score a stretch finish. She scanned the court with her eyes up in transition and jumped way up to high point a defensive rebound. Mara scored nine points for the Bucks to go with four rebounds.     Kenna turned in a near quadruple-double for Jackson Lumen Christi on the biggest and brightest stage. She picked off passes, then turned on the afterburners to create transition points for herself and others. Kenna made a great dump-off pass for an assist after drawing two defenders. She closed out hard on a perimeter jumper to block the shot, converted a pull-up off a spin move, and floated in mid-air to score a jumper off the glass. Kenna has a throwback style with how confidently she uses the glass in her mid-range game and pull-ups. She scored putbacks, finished contested layups using either hand, and contributed in every category for the Titans. Kenna posted 16 points, nine assists, seven steals, and seven rebounds in the Semifinal win.     Lily got the ball rolling for Jackson Lumen Christi immediately, draining a smooth wing three to start the game. She swished two more from outside, picked off a pass from the help side, and finished a layup off two feet. Lily worked hard to secure rebounds and was a difference maker on the defensive end. She poured in 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, and added four steals in the win.     Lucy had a huge first half that helped Jackson Lumen Christi put the game away early, putting up 10 points. A defining moment that demonstrated Lucy's competitive fire happened after she got her pocket picked by an opposing defender. She immediately chased down the ball-handler, ripped the ball away for a steal of her own, then drove to the rim for two points. Lucy slahed to the hoop to cause a foul, then drained both free throws with confidence. Her pesky defense made life challenging for opposing ball-handlers. Lucy snagged three steals, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out two assists in the Semifinal win.     In a tough game, Zaya had a breakout performance for Niles Brandywine. She was impressive, posting a near double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, while also dishing out three assists. Zaya led the team in the heat of battle as a freshman. She rotated from the help side to block a shot, worked extremely hard inside to score offensive rebound putbacks, earned free throws, and threw a great reversal skip pass to the corner for an assist. Zaya cut into the paint, pinned her defender, spun, and elevated to score a contested layup against an athletic defender. She stepped outside to bury a smooth wing three, screened for teammates, deflected entry passes on defense, and came flying in to snatch an offensive rebound out of the rafters. She was the newcomer of the day, making a statement on the brightest stage, and will definitely be a 2029 prospect to know moving forward.

Day one of the MHSAA State Semifinal saw Pewamo-Westphalia defeat Roscommon 44-35 and Jackson Lumen Christi defeat Niles Brandywine 51-33. Pewamo-Westphalia and Jackson Lumen Christi will face off on Saturday to decide the 2026 State Champion. Here were the girls from the two games who were top performers.