As postseason play begins for Michigan girls basketball, several Lenawee County teams are setting their sights on a trip to the Breslin Center.
Three of those teams — Tecumseh, Blissfield and Morenci — were ranked in the Top 10 in their Michigan High School Athletic Association divisions as of Feb. 16. Tecumseh was ranked third in Division 2, Blissfield was ranked fourth in Division 3, and Morenci was ranked second in Division 4.
District play begins on March 2.
The matchups
Five Lenawee County schools have girls basketball teams that will enter their district tournament as a No. 1 seed. Tecumseh, Blissfield, Hudson, Morenci and Lenawee Christian each hold the highest Michigan Power Ratings in their respective districts.
Division 2 — District 52 at Dundee High School: Tecumseh will play the winner of the Ida/Dundee game on March 4 at 5:30 p.m. Madison is the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of Adrian/Milan at 7 p.m.
Division 3 — District 83 at Onsted High School: Blissfield will play the winner of the Clinton/Sand Creek game (March 2, 7 p.m.) on March 4 at 5:30 p.m. Onsted will play Columbia Central on March 4 at 7 p.m. This could set up a rematch between Blissfield and Columbia Central for a district championship. District 81 at Quincy High School: Hudson will await the winner of Quincy/Hillsdale, and if they make the district finals they’ll play either Jonesville or Homer. District 83 and 81 champs could meet in the Region 21 Final at Jackson Lumen Christi High School.
Division 4 — District 121 at Jackson Christian High School: Morenci will play Addison on March 4 at 5:30 p.m., and will face either Pittsford or Jackson Christian if they advance to the final. District 122 at Summerfield High School: Lenawee Christian will take on the winner of the Britton Deerfield/Ann Arbor Central Academy game at 5:30 p.m. on March 4. If Morenci and Lenawee Christian both advance far enough, they could meet again in the Region 31 Championship at Summerfield High School.
Two in a row for Tecumseh?
The Tecumseh Varsity Girls Basketball team entered the season with four major goals and they checked off the first by securing an outright SEC championship with a win over Ypsilanti Lincoln on Feb. 17.
The defending Division 2 state champs will start chewing away at the next goal, a district title, on March 2 when district tournaments begin.
Tecumseh has had only two losses this season. One was a two-point loss to Grand Rapids West Catholic, last year’s Division 2 state runner-up, and the other was to Cincinnati West Clermont (Ohio) at the Classic in the Country.
Coach Kristy Zajac mentioned prior to the season how a loss to Rockford last year was a tipping point for the team and helped them realize how much tougher they needed to be to make it all the way. They delivered a state championship soon thereafter.
So it’s no surprise that Zajac sees both losses this year as learning opportunities for her squad.
“I think losing to West Catholic really helped us more than it hurt us,” she said. “We found some weaknesses in our game and found things that needed to improve.”
“We weren’t where we needed to be as far as conditioning and rebounding. Those two things we have really concentrated on since that loss,” she said.
“Heading down to the Classic in the Country was a great experience for our kids, especially our freshmen,” Zajac noted of that Jan. 19 game. “Being able to play in a packed, loud gym in front of a lot of college coaches gave them some experience that they needed.”
She sees her team rounding into form at the right time, with nearly every starter averaging in double figures.
“We have multiple players who can step up on any given night,” she said.
The team will look to Addi Zajac (13.7 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game) to continue to set the tone physically and help open up the offense for Tecumseh from the interior.
“Addi has been a double-double machine for us all season long,” the coach said. “She consistently commands double and even triple teams every night, yet does an excellent job staying poised and kicking the ball out to shooters.”
One of those shooters is Makayla Schlorf (12.1 ppg) who is Tecumseh’s top perimeter shooter. “She stretches defenses with her range and basketball IQ,” the coach said of her senior guard. Schlorf is currently dealing with a knee injury but is hoping to be back for districts.
Senior floor general Chloe Bullinger (9.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.9 assists per game, 3 steals per game) is the glue that holds everything together. “She runs our offense, distributes the ball at a high level and plays with tremendous composure,” Zajac said. “Her leadership and decision-making are invaluable.”
Freshmen Avery Zajac (11.7 ppg) and Delaney Brown (9.8 ppg) bring versatility on both ends of the floor.
“Avery can score inside and out, rebounds extremely well and forces defenses to extend,” the coach said.
“Delaney is our best on-ball defender,” she said. “Her energy and competitiveness elevate our entire team.”
Blissfield answers the challenge
The 2025-26 Blissfield girls varsity basketball team entered the season with a tremendous amount of pressure to perform, and head coach Ryan Gilbert is proud of the way they’ve answered the challenge.
“You come into a season where the previous three to four years the group has won 20-plus games, LCAA championships, district titles, a regional title, went to the Breslin Center and now it’s up to you to keep it going,” Gilbert explained.
“We lost some pretty key pieces last year, so we heard the chatter that maybe you’re not as good, this is the year someone knocks us off, etc.”
It seems the outside noise has had little effect on the Lady Royals as they have secured their fourth straight LCAA championship.
Blissfield has won 13 straight games since a Jan. 6 loss to Tecumseh. The only other loss came in early December to a skilled Columbia Central squad. That loss was a “grind-it-out type of game,” Gilbert said.
Blissfield and Columbia Central could find themselves in a rematch for the district title.
Blissfield will look for Leigh Wyman (14 ppg, 5 apg, 6 rpg) and DeMya Gibbons (9 ppg, 9 rpg) to continue to fill the stat sheet, as well as AnnMarie Scharer (8 ppg, 3 apg) to lead the attack from the perimeter along with Kaleea Braun (8 ppg).
“Over the past two to three weeks we have really been playing our best basketball, especially at the defensive end,” Gilbert said. “Sometimes our offense doesn’t always come with us, but we have done enough at the defensive end to continue winning games.”
Morenci on a roll
The Morenci girls will enter 2026 postseason play as one of the top-ranked teams in Division 4.
The Lady Bulldogs secured their fourth straight TCC championship with a win at Whiteford, moving them to 19-1 on the year. Their only loss on the way to that record came in a non-league matchup with Columbia Central.
“Going into the season, we knew Columbia Central would likely be the toughest game on our schedule,” head coach Ashley Joughin said. “We had a tight game last season and were willing to pull it out but knew they were returning their entire team.”
“We didn’t have our best night but when you’re chasing a state title and have that as a goal, you can’t afford to have rough nights against good teams,” she said. “We also knew that Lenawee Christian and Summerfield would be tough in our league.”
Morenci handled both teams convincingly the first time through the schedule, but had to play through tighter contests the second time around.
“We will also likely see one of them in a regional matchup if we win our district, so tightening up on them defensively will be important for us,” Joughin said.
Morenci’s decorated senior class will have one last chance to make it to Breslin, including Emersyn Bachelder (17.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.4 spg), who scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season, and Evelyn Joughin (9 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.5 spg), who broke the school record for career assists.
Junior Colbie Ekins (12.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg) will continue to provide the physicality in the paint.
Morenci has fallen in the quarterfinals the past two seasons, but with four returning starters (three of them seniors) from last year’s team, this is the most experienced squad the Lady Bulldogs have had. They’ve also improved in a crucial offensive category.
“I think outside shooting for the past few years has been a weaker point for us,” Joughin stated.
“In the summer and offseason, we worked more on that and our guards shoot a little more confidently from the outside now and have better percentages than they have the past few seasons.”
