Once Belleville got the taste and experienced the thrill, the Tigers did what tigers do – go for the kill. The Belleville girls’ basketball team reached the MHSAA Division 1 Semifinals for the first time last year but returned four starters this season and capped off an amazing run this season with one for the history books.

The Tigers defeated Rockford 61-48 on March 22 in the D-1 State Finals championship game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing to win the program’s first state title. Sophomore Sydney Savoury had 22 points, junior Se’Crette Carter knocked down four three-pointers and had 12 points while senior Iyana Stephens (12 points) and freshman guard Paisley Stephens (10 points) also reached double figures in the win.

The team ran through the season with an overall record of 28-1, with the lone loss coming against Wayne Memorial, which they avenged by beating the Zebras 62-38 in the KLAA East Division Championship. The team scored the most points ever in a game this season (93 vs. John Glenn), scored a school record 2,024 points and won a season-best 28 games.

After winning their district, the Tigers defeated Dexter 79-40 and Hartland 65-35 to win their regional. In one of their most competitive games of their postseason run, the Tigers defeated DeWitt 59-54 in the quarterfinals. Belleville defeated defending state champion West Bloomfield 60-55 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game.

There were plenty of individual accolades for this incredible team. Savoury became the first sophomore to win the Michigan Gatorade Player of The Year award. Rylan Buschell became the all-time assist leader at BHS with 391. Savoury, Carter, Buschell and Stephens were all named to the KLAA All-Conference team. Iyana Stephens was named Honorable Mention.

“This state championship is one that we are very proud of at BHS,” said Athletic Director Joe Brodie. “The kids and coaching staff put in a lot of time and it is awesome to see their efforts rewarded with this championship.”

Tigers head coach Jason Wilkins said it was a “great feeling” to win it all.

“I’m so proud of these kids because their hard work paid off,” he said. “The plan over the summer was to come together as a team and coaching staff and work harder so we could get back to Breslin Center and win it all.”

Mission accomplished.

“A few keys to our team's success were playing uptempo on the offensive end of the floor, shooting high efficiency, minimizing turnovers, defensive rebounding, pressure defense, being more conditioned than our opponent, and focusing on playing as one unit,” Wilkins said. “It was essential for the whole team to have a winning mindset. It didn't matter how many minutes you played per game, everyone on the team had an important role.”

Wilkins, an All-State player at Ypsilanti High School in 1994, has been coaching basketball for 20 years, including 14 at Dearborn Heights Robichaud before arriving in Belleville. He said next year’s goal is pretty simple.

“We have some very key players coming back and some newcomers from our JV team that will help us,” he said. “Our goal is to win it all again in 2026.”