Oakland County’s top teams for 2022-23
Nationally ranked West Bloomfield leads field going into season
While girls basketball may be struggling as a whole, across the county, that’s certainly not indicative of a lack of top-end programs.
Oakland County had three teams make the final fours in their respective divisions a season ago, with one — West Bloomfield — bringing home a state title, just the second public-school crown ever for a county team
The stacked Lakers are certainly considered contenders to hang another banner, but they’re not the only ones who could be in the mix this season.
Here’s a look at the top 10 teams in the county for the 2022-23 season:
1. WEST BLOOMFIELD (25-1, D1 STATE TITLE) >> The Lakers go into the season nationally ranked, and for good reason. There are few — if any — better starting fives in the state than the one the Lakers run out on a nightly basis, with four of the five already committed to college destinations. Twins Indya and Summer Davis (Michigan State) are among the top players in the nation in the junior class, while sisters Sydney (Florida A&M) and Kendall (Loyola-Chicago) Hendrix pound the glass like nobody else. The Lakers graduated two starters — Myonna Hooper and Zaneiya Batiste — but got what amounts to a brand-new player in a now-fully-healthy Kendall Hendrix. There are no sure bets in life, but banking on the Lakers being contenders to repeat certainly seems like a relatively safe one. The only Achilles’ Heel for the Lakers is lack of depth, but the youngsters on the bench can only get better as the season wears on.
2. FARMINGTON HILLS MERCY (185, D1 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL) >> It’s been a long time since the Marlins weren’t in contention in the Catholic League’s Central Division, and this year should be no different, with the annual battles against Dearborn Divine Child and Birmingham Marian. The Marlins have three of five starters back, led by 6-foot-2 senior post Maya White, who’s signed with Grand Valley, classmate Lauren Smiley, and sophomore Aizlyn Albanese. Concordia signee Fran DeNardo slides into the starting lineup along with Ava Lorraine, while sophomores Emily Walker, Owynn Evans and Alison Smiley are the first three of the bench. The Marlins are athletic enough to play at any pace they choose, and in a year where there are no slam-dunk favorites outside of the defending champs, they should be right in the mix.
3. DETROIT COUNTRY DAY (13-8, D2 SEMIFINALS) >> The Yellowjackets are on their third coach in four seasons since legendary Frank Orlando retired, but that shouldn’t stop them from continuing to grow back into a perennial contender. Much of the same crew returns from back-toback trips to the D2 final four, including senior Aysia Yokely and juniors Jaidyn Elam and Emma Arico, along with last year’s key freshman, Ari’Yanna Wiggins. First-year head coach Amber Deane — herself a veteran of deep postseason drives by Country Day, in her playing days — has two new freshmen to add to the mix in Naiya Krispin and Jayla Jackson, as the Yellowjackets just continue to get deeper.
4. LAKE ORION (18-6, D1 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL) >> The Dragons ended their district title drought by beating fellow OAA White contender Rochester in the district championship game to claim their first wooden mitten since 2010. Both teams moved up to the Red Division for this season, and the Dragons’ chances in the higher division will stem from their superior depth — something seemingly NOBODY has these days. Seniors Maddie Ebbert, Taylor Dinda, Kylie Heck (Cornerstone) and Chloe Wiegers can all take their turns hurting you, as can junior Ryann Pawlaczyk or sophomore Izzy Wotlinski.
5. ROCHESTER (18-4, D1 DISTRICT SEMIFINAL) >> The Falcons bumped up to the OAA Red after winning the White Division title a season ago, but unlike some teams that get bumped a year too late, after their talent graduates, Rochester is still a relatively young team. Led by three-year starters and captains in Stevie Norgrove and Abbey Pleasant, the Falcons are a good mix of experience and young talent. Last year’s pair of 6-foot-1 freshmen, Alice Max and Kiely Robinson, are sophomores now, and both give opponents fits with their length and versatility. Iowa soccer signee Samantha Glover joins the team after
not playing last year, and replaces last year’s athletic soccer contributor, Abby Breitschuh (Kent State), as a tenacious defender off the bench.
6. OXFORD (12-6, D1 DISTRICT SEMIFINAL) >> The Wildcats had an understandably slow start to last season, sitting at 3-4 through late January, before running off wins in nine of their next 10 games to finish the regular season as hot as anyone around. There’s plenty of experience back from that squad, too, led by senior Miranda Wyniemko, juniors Peyton Richter and Brayden Elling, and sophomores Allison Hufstedler, Sophia Raab and Nevaeh Wood. The Wildcats should be the favorites in the OAA White, along with Royal Oak and North Farmington, after finishing third a season ago, behind Rochester and Lake Orion.
7. CLARKSTON (17-7, D1 REGIONAL FINAL) >> The Wolves graduated a ton of scoring from a season ago, when they made the regional finals before losing to eventual D1 runner-up Hartland, but Keira Tolmie, Emily Valencia and Ava Hernandez step into leading roles, after playing supporting ones a year ago. Mia Zorski and Elia Morgner give the Wolves some height, while freshman Elli Robak has already shown flashes that she’ll continue the family tradition of being able to score in bunches.
8. BIRMINGHAM MARIAN (157, D1 DISTRICT FINAL) >> In some ways, the Mustangs will look vastly different this season, without legendary coach Mary Cicerone on the sidelines for the first time since the early 1980s. But in others, it’ll still be the same “Mary-ball,” as first-year coach Michelle Lindsey termed it. Marian will still be predicated on playing sound defense — albeit maybe with less pressure — as well as getting the ball to its big, Mckenzie Swanson, and its shooters, Molly McLeod and Charlie Bingham. Depth will be an issue, and you might see the 6-foot-3 Swanson bringing the ball up against pressure, on occasion, but Marian is still Marian.
9. STONEY CREEK (14-7, D1 DISTRICT SEMIFINAL) >> The Cougars are one of those sneaky-good, under-the-radar programs that just keep going about their business of being tough, year after year. In the last decade, Stoney’s averaged 13 wins per season over the last decade, with just two seasons in that span where they posted fewer than 10 wins. All that, despite playing in the OAA’s Red Division, year after year. This year’s squad is no different, led by seniors Mia Carson and Lily Solek, junior Sarah LaPrairie and sophomore Merrick Schwalbach. The Cougars have won the city title the last two seasons, and five of the last six, but the two February league meetings with Rochester this season should be doozies.
10 (TIE). BIRMINGHAM GROVES (10-11, D1 DISTRICT SEMIFINAL) >> The Falcons have talent, there’s no question of that. What they don’t yet have is the knowledge of what it takes to win at the highest level on a consistent basis — something that certainly can be learned, but merely takes time. Much the same group that won a district title two seasons ago — the program’s first since 1988 — Groves is led by 6-foot senior guard Kaitlyn Sanders, with classmates Payge Charnas and Lilly Gallaher and juniors Cameron Little and Cira Rocco. Second-year coach Alison Hidey learned what it takes to win in a crowded field of contenders during her years as an assistant at Dearborn Divine Child, and if chemistry issues get ironed out, the Falcons can certainly be in the next tier of contenders in the OAA Red, behind West Bloomfield.
10 (tie). Madison Heights Bishop Foley (20-4, D3 semifinals) — The Ventures are coming off a second straight regional title, and their first-ever appearance in the final four in Division 3, and return a good chunk of last year’s squad, hungry to take one more step forward. Without 6-foot double-double machine Melanie Moore (Rochester University) in the middle, the Ventures will be a more guard-oriented bunch under first-year head coach — and alumna — Colleen Szakacs. Fortunately, the Ventures have the guard corps to do that, with Ryan Moorer, Abby Pasinos and track speedster Alyssa Samartino. The CHSL Intersectional 1 race will be tough, with an improving Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood squad to deal with, but Foley has the horses to win another Cardinal Division title.