MORENCI — The Morenci girls varsity basketball team will enter 2026 postseason play as one of the top-ranked teams in Division 4 according to the Michigan Power Rating rankings that are used to seed District brackets.
The Lady Bulldogs secured their fourth straight TCC Championship on Feb. 20 with a win at Whiteford, moving them to 19-1 on the year. The only loss came in a non-league matchup with Columbia Central (17-3).
“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 explained. “We also knew that Lenawee Christian and Summerfield would be tough in our league.”
Morenci’s rough nights are few and far between despite having a schedule riddled with top rated opponents.
They kicked off the season by housing a top ranked Concord team by 33 points in a 58-25 victory. The next big test came at St. Mary Catholic Central (14-6) and the Dawgs handled their business 45-37.
After dispatching Summerfield (15-5) on the road 44-20, they would travel and take their lumps against the Golden Eagles of Columbia Central 43-36. The girls followed up their only loss with a lackluster performance against a weaker Sand Creek (5-14) squad.
“Our game at Sand Creek was probably the most frustrating for me as a coach,” Joughin recalled. “Our energy was bad, we weren’t attacking the rim and playing like we needed to be, and kind of just let them stay in it longer than we needed to.”
The very next night they responded by dominating the number two team in the league with a 45-12 win at LCS (14-5). The Bulldogs played their next seven games at home and had victories over non-conference foes Hudson (12-8) and Evergreen (Ohio) as well as repeat victories over LCS and Summerfield.
“We were able to beat them both pretty convincingly early on, but had to play through tighter games the second time around,” Joughin said of LCS and Summerfield.
“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 push to make it to Breslin, including Emersyn Bachelder (17.7 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, 3.4 steals per game), 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 as well as having an impact in the transition game. Senior Addyson Valentine will continue to draw the defensive assignment of the opposition’s biggest threat. Senior Lauryn Dominique has made clutch plays in big situations for the Bulldogs all season long and has become a threat in the midrange game.
Senior Katelyn Ruse and junior Tessa Zuvers will need to provide strong minutes off the bench.
The Bulldogs have already beaten four teams that will enter their respective District tournaments as No. 1 seeds: Concord, St. Mary Catholic Central, Hudson, and LCS.
When District play begins, Morenci will play Addison at 5:30 p.m. on March 4 at at Jackson Christian High School, and will face either Pittsford or Jackson Christian if they advance to the final.