Girls basketball brings home the win at the MHSAA State Championship at the Breslin Center, Lansing Michigan. The audience turnout highlights disappointing discrepancies in Women’s sports.
On Friday, March 21st, 2025, our varsity girls’ basketball team traveled to Lansing for the final four rounds of the division one girls’ basketball playoffs. In an outstanding defeat, they quickly advanced to the final matchup against Rockford High School. They took home the gold, beating out Rockford High School and Michigan’s Miss Basketball in a 61-48 victory.
Sydney Savoury (class of 2027) led the Tigers with a whopping 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Those are the most impressive stats of the entire game across both teams. Other kudos go to clutch players: Secret Carter (class of 2026) with 12 points, Iyana Stephens (class of 2025) with 12 points, and Paisley Stephens (class of 2028) with 10 points, who also scored in double digits. Who all helped lead the team to victory. Belleville had a flawless game, having a leading score at the close of every quarter, highlighting the grit and tenacity that covers this all-star team. It’s obvious that these girls train day in and day out, and it’s paid off.
“I mean those girls can ball. I haven’t seen such an exciting game of basketball in a long time,” states community fan and Belleville High School parent Terrance Goff.
When asked how it felt to have the opportunity to play in the state championship, senior starter Rylan Buschell says, “It felt rewarding to realize we were going to be in the state championship. it was something we made a goal for, so achieving felt good.”
However, this win wasn’t won without challenges. Our girls were playing a game nearly 90 miles away from their home base with little student support. The outpour of support from Belleville High School staff was tremendous with some even leaving school on Friday to head down to Lansing, but it was our student support the severely lacked, most disappointing from our very own boys basketball team, in which hardly any of the players from all three teams freshmen, JV, and varsity were in attendance.
Rylan also shared thoughts on the discrepancies she noticed in sports between men and women saying, “I think there are many discrepancies between women in sports in general that should be addressed because both are just as exciting and deserve the recognition, respect, and audience. It does something to the energy when that support isn’t there.”
The stark contrast to the fervent support showered upon the boys’ football team during their 2023 state championship run, where an astounding 8,000 fans, including over 500 students and the marching band, created a thunderous wave of encouragement, was deeply felt. Memories also lingered of the boys’ basketball team’s last Breslin Center appearance in 2022, where large numbers of students, who gathered their own transportation, painted the stands in school colors for their Friday Final Four matchup.
But for these history-making young women, a mere whisper of the student body – just over 30 out of 1,800 – occupied the seats for Saturday’s championship spectacle. A free fan bus, advertised for weeks, stood largely empty, a poignant testament to the disparity in support. Only a dozen students boarded the offered ride. The emptiness of the bus and the echoing silence of the Breslin Center served as a stark and sobering reminder of the collective responsibility we bear as fans, students, and community members to champion all our teams, not just those traditionally dominating the spotlight.
“I think that, unfortunately, female athletes get used to the idea of having little support, and we are more resilient because of it, but that shouldn’t be something we have to get used to,” says Girls Varsity Soccer starter Sydney Lasenby.
It goes down to the idea that women’s sports can be just as exciting and matter just as much as men’s sports, deserving just as much of our support, viewership, and money. Belleville High School and the Belleville community have so much talent channeled into such a small town. We are more than an amazing varsity football team and have so much more to offer once you really take the time to have a good look at all the talent and achievement within the walls of 501 W. Columbia Avenue.
Another huge congratulations to our Girls Varsity Basketball team on their first-ever state title and one of the most exciting sports games. Continue to dominate on and off the court, and know that those who care and matter will always be there to support you. The future of this strong and dynamic team is bright, and this first state title is truly just the beginning.
