MUSKEGON HEIGHTS – The girls basketball coaches at Muskegon Heights Academy say they saw a lot of promise in the current varsity players several years ago, back when they were in middle school.

But the players didn’t start understanding their own potential until recently, after they had completed most of an up-and-down season.

The Tigers girls team, like the Muskegon Heights boys team, was only able to play a few games toward the end of last season, due to lingering COVID concerns in the community. They only won one game out of five, lost in the first round of districts,  then regrouped in November to prepare for a full season.

This season has had its bumpy moments for the Tigers, to say the least.

Two girls who were starters on the team were removed from the roster for attitude problems, according to veteran head coach Tyrie Johnson.

The Tigers opened the season with a victory over Orchard View, then lost six games in a row. They finished the regular season with a 5-8 record, which was not what Coach Johnson had in mind, and did not lead anyone to believe they had state championship potential.

The problem was not the team’s lack of experience after missing most of last season, according to Johnson. The issue was player attitudes, pure and simple, he said.

“We have girls who had a problem with dedication,” the coach said. “They wanted to improve instantly, without doing the work, and there was a lot of jealousy amongst the players.

“Every day we have to preach that – you have to put the work in, you will get out of this what you put in. Our message is whatever you do in life, if you put the work in it will pay off for you.”

The Tigers finally started hearing what their coach was saying when the state tournament rolled around.

They started with an impressive 64-49 victory over Tri-Unity in the first round of districts, then pulled out a 62-58 win over Muskegon Catholic Central in the district championship game.

There were undoubtedly some observers who thought the district title was the limit for the Tigers – but they were wrong.

In the first round of regionals last Tuesday, the Tigers trailed Martin by 15 points at halftime, then collected themselves and raced back for a stunning 43-40 victory.

In the regional championship game last Thursday, they only scored two points in the first quarter, but luckily played great defense and held Gobles to six points. After that it was a horse race, and once again Muskegon Heights prevailed in a squeaker, 43-41.

It was not the first regional title in the history of the Muskegon Heights girls’ program, like Johnson thought immediately after the game. The team had won two regional titles in the past, but this one may have been the most special, because it came after such a bad start.

Suddenly the Tigers are in the Division 4 state quarterfinals on Tuesday against Adrian Lenawee Christian at Gull Lake High School, and a victory would send them to the state Final Four at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.

The success came when attitudes started to change, according to Johnson.

“Maybe the second game before districts, the girls started to work more and trust each other more and listen a little more,” he said. “They started trusting us more and doing more of what we say.”

The initial breakthrough, in Johnson’s eyes, came in a 66-61 victory at home over Muskegon Catholic on Feb. 15.

“I sat our star player down for one quarter, for two purposes – to let the other girls know they could play well without her, and to let her know she wasn’t the only person on the team,” he said. “They had a terrific quarter without her, and once they realized they could play without her they started doing better.”

Coach Johnson was not surprised to see his team start to live up to its potential. He said it had been obvious for years, and the girls just had to realize how good they could be.

“We’ve watched them since middle school, and we had them playing against boys, and they did all right,” he said. “We didn’t let them practice against girls. We knew they could be special.”

Even Johnson admits, however, that he was surprised when his team overcame the odds and won a regional championship.

“I was very surprised,” he said. “Once we won districts, my assistant coach said we were going to win regionals. I said I don’t know – and then we won it!

“We always said this would be the group to change the whole dynamic, and suddenly they’re doing it. There’s a lot of buzz around town about them.”

Several of the players agree with their coach about what was wrong with the team earlier in the season, and how they managed to improve.

“At first we were just playing individual ball, but now we’re playing as a team and doing what we have to do,” said junior Aneia Johnson. “I knew we could do it.”

“We were hanging our heads when we were down by just a few points, and we don’t do that anymore,” said junior Ty’Donna Davis. “We’re playing tougher and we’re playing through the fouls and ref calls.”

The real proof of the team’s new unity and confidence came in the Tigers’ big comeback win against Martin in regionals, when they overcame the double-digit deficit.

“In our district game against Catholic, we were blowing them out and they came back, and I was thinking in the locker room at halftime (against Martin), if they came back then we can come back,” said sophomore Teneshia Nolen. “We just kept pushing and came out with the win.”

Besides Johnson, Davis and Nolen, the other girls on the roster are junior Dezire Watts, sophomore Arielle Trammell, senior J’Myra Stewart, senior DeMasha Brown, junior Deashia Hollins and sophomore Enasha Dean.

Regardless of how the rest of the tournament plays out, the future looks very bright for the Muskegon Heights girls team. The Tigers have clearly found their game, and next season they will return all but the two seniors who will graduate this spring.

Yet wins, losses and trophies are secondary considerations for Coach Johnson. His said his biggest goal is to prepare the girls for adulthood, and help them realize, through their experience in basketball, that teamwork and perseverance are necessary for success.

“These are life lessons,” he said. “If you go out and get a job, you can’t tell the boss that you’re not going to work. You have to put in that work if you want that check. If we win a state championship, that’s all good, but I would rather see them win in life.”