Top performers from 2018 MHSAA state tournament

Over the last three weeks, hundreds of players across the state of Michigan have made countless plays that will be remembered forever, ones that helped their team move on in the state tournament. Some players made those plays more frequently, consistently. This is a list of a handful of players who were the most consistent contributors to keeping their teams’ postseason hopes alive. The 2018 all-MHSAA tournament team (in alphabetical order): <strong>Julia Ayrault, 6-2, Grosse Pointe North, Jr.</strong> Before Moira Joiner and Saginaw Heritage held her to 13 points — on 5-for-12 shooting — and nine rebounds in the semifinals, the Michigan State-bound Ayrault was averaging 22.4 points per game in tournament play (or 44 percent of the Norsemen’s total offensive output). She scored 22 vs. Warren Cousino in the regional championship game, ending the Patriots’ two-year hammerlock on the regional title, and had 27 points and 11 rebounds in a quarterfinal win over Detroit King, sending the Norsemen to their first semifinal in a decade. <strong>Sydney Danison, 6-1, Chassell, Sr.</strong> Posted six straight postseason double-doubles through quarterfinals before missing out on eight straight by a total of five rebounds — she had 15 points and eight rebounds in a come-from-behind semifinal win over Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, and 17 points, seven rebounds in a 57-36 loss to Adrian Lenawee Christian in the championship game. <strong>Sarah Miller, 5-10, Birch Run, So.</strong> Her run may not have lasted as long as some others, but it was equally impressive. The sophomore put up 18 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Bridgeport, then posted 29 points, 10 rebounds in a district title game win over Frankenmuth. She notched 24 points in a come-from-behind win over Corunna in the regional semifinals, and 21 points and 10 rebounds in a regional finals loss to Freeland. [caption id="attachment_2202" align="alignright" width="269"] East Lansing's Aaliyah Nye (32) dribbles past Saginaw Heritage's Shine Strickland-Gills in the Class A championship game at Calvin College's Van Noord Arena. (Photo by Matthew B. Mowery)[/caption] <strong>Aaliyah Nye, 5-11, East Lansing, So.</strong> With most opposing defenses stacking up to stop Miss Basketball Jaida Hampton, the younger Nye sister took advantage. She scored 21 in a five-point win over Kalamazoo Central in the regional semifinals, 11 in a quarterfinal win over Muskegon, a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in a semifinal win over Wayne Memorial, and 18 points in a title-game loss to Saginaw Heritage. [caption id="attachment_2205" align="alignleft" width="300"] Ypsilanti Arbor Prep's Lasha Petree (4) drives past a Detroit Edison defender in the Class C title game at Calvin College's Van Noord Arena. (Photo by Matthew B. Mowery)[/caption] <strong>Lasha Petree, 6-0, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, Sr.</strong> The Miss Basketball finalist led the Gators to their fourth straight trip to the final four, and a spot in the Class C title game by averaging 20 points per game through the postseason. She scored 52 points in two district games, and had 25 of Arbor Prep’s 48 points in an 11-point win over Manchester in the regional title game. Her only game out of double figures was the semifinal win over Maple City Glen Lake, when she had eight points, four blocks and five steals. Despite foul trouble that ended her season four minutes early, she had 19 points, six rebounds and five blocks in the title-game loss to Detroit Edison PSA. <strong>Bree Salenbien, 6-2, Adrian Lenawee Christian, Fr.</strong> In her first career postseason, all the youngster did was dominate, dropping 20 points and 11 rebounds in the title game, despite a dinged-up ankle. She got the Cougars to the finals by tying up the semifinal showdown against top-ranked Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart with a free throw at the end of regulation, then hitting a pull-up game-winner in the final seconds of overtime. She averaged 21.7 points in seven postseason games, and 12 rebounds over the last three. [caption id="attachment_2204" align="alignleft" width="225"] Jackson Northwest's Sydney Shafer (20) drives the lane between Detroit Country Day defenders in the Class B title game at Calvin College's Van Noord Arena. (Photo by Matthew B. Mowery)[/caption] <strong>Sydney Shafer, 5-9, Jackson Northwest, Jr.</strong> The Mounties’ leading scorer led them to their first appearance in a state championship game, scoring 20 in a district championship win over Eaton Rapids and 18 in a five-point win over Fowlerville in the regional finals. She had 13 in the quarterfinals vs. Hamilton, then put on a show at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena, putting up 21 points, 13 rebounds, six steals and three assists in a semifinal win over Michigan Center, and 22 points and eight rebounds and three assists in the title-game loss to Detroit Country Day. [caption id="attachment_2203" align="alignright" width="225"] Hartland's Whitney Sollom (25) dribbles past a Dexter defender for a layup in the Class A regional semifinals at Walled Lake Western. (Photo by Matthew B. Mowery)[/caption] <strong>Whitney Sollom, 6-4, Hartland, So.</strong> The lanky center for the Eagles averaged 15 points per game in six postseason contests, but posted four double-doubles (one a triple-double), and was one point and one rebound shy of a fifth. She had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a district win over arch rival Howell, then had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks in a district championship game win over South Lyon East. Her 25-point, 16-rebound, six-block game helped Hartland past Walled Lake Western in the regional title game, then she had 22 points and 12 rebounds in a quarterfinal loss to Wayne Memorial. <strong>Sophia Wiard, 5-9, Muskegon Oakridge, Jr.</strong> Before she ran into the stifling defense of Kingsley’s Kelsie Bies in the Class B quarters, Wiard was on quite a roll, averaging 26.4 points per game, as the Eagles won their first regional title in 26 years. She had 24 vs. Fruitport, 22 vs. Spring Lake and 27 vs. Montague in districts, then turned it up in regionals, scoring 30 vs. Comstock Park and 29 in an overtime win over Grand Rapids South Christian. Bies held Wiard to a postseason-low 18 points in Kingsley’s 49-39 quarterfinal win. <strong>Alyza Winston, 5-7, Muskegon, Jr.</strong> The transfer from Muskegon Mona Shores hit the ground running with her new team, averaging nearly 17 points per game to lead the Big Reds to their first-ever regional title. She scored 22 in a tight win over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer in the district semis, then dropped 33 in a win over Caledonia in the regional semis, before posting 17 in the regional championship against Hudsonville. Sanaya Gregory and East Lansing limited Winston to just six points in a quarterfinal loss.