Goodrich vs. Tecumseh – – MHSAA Division 2 Basketball Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 21, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Today is the final day of the High School basketball season in Michigan and in the last high school basketball game of the season, the Martians from Goodrich will compete with the Indians from Tecumseh to determine the Division 2 Girls’ Basketball Champion!

As we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this novelty cover video of “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

Tecumseh enters this game with a 26-2 record. The only loss to a Michigan high school team was a two point defeat by a rugged Grand Rapids West Catholic team. (The other loss was to a school from Ohio.) They have won all their other games before the semifinal by ten of more points. They defeated Flint Powers 63-59 in the semifinal to earn their berth in this final game.

The Indians are led by the two Zajac sisters. Junior Addi Zajac is a physical post player who averages 13.2 points, 11 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Freshman Avery Zajac is tall, but also has a lot of ball handling and general guard skills. She averages 13.3 points per game. Chloe Bullinger scores 9.4 points, grabs 5.5 rebounds, dishes out 5.0 assists and steals the ball 3.1 times per game.

(Note, these statistics provided by the MHSAA Finals Preview do not include the semifinal games.)

Goodrich enters the game with a perfect 28-0 record. They reached the semifinal by defeating Grand Rapids South Christian in this semifinal game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/03/21/goodrich-vs-grand-rapids-south-christian-michigan-division-2-girls-basketball-final-the-bleacher-denizen-march-20-2026-by-chuck-krafft/

The Martians also have some great players. Baylor Lauinger scores 15.5 points, dishes out 4.2 assists and steals the ball 4.6 times per game. Kayla Hairston averages 14.1 points and has hit 55 three point baskets so far this season. Tanner Schramm scores 12.7 points per game and has made 57 three point baskets this year.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the occasionally alert eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league during the days of yore when many considered him to be “young.” He was showing a lot of promise as a dunker when the basketball powers that be ruined everything by raising the rim from five to ten feet.

As your Bleacher Denizen’s leaping ability has been (unfairly in my view) compared to a lame hippopotamus, his hops were not sufficient to dunk at the new basket height. Alas, all that time perfecting dunks and dunk moves went to waste.

Tecumseh wins the opening tap. The Indians miss a jump shot from the free throw elbow. Goodrich misfires on a triple try from the side. Kayla Hairston grabs the offensive rebound for the Martians. The ball gets loose and there is a scrum as various bodies hit the floor to compete for the ball. Chloe Bullinger comes out with the ball for the Indians. Tecumseh misses a three point shot from the side.

Delaney Brown steals the ball for Tecumseh. Baylor Lauinger steals the ball for Goodrich and passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot from the side to give the Martians a 3-0 lead.

Tecumseh misses a three pointer near the top of the key. Addi Zajac pulls down the offensive rebound for the Indians. Tecumseh misses a three pointer from the wing. Goodrich misses a fourteen foot shot in the lane. Baylor Lauinger tips the ball, but Tecumseh recovers. Addi Zajac passes to Delaney Brown, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Tecumseh to tie the game at 3-3.

Reese Grounds steals the ball for the Indians. Kaylee Eickhoff steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich misfires on a threeball near the top of the key. Tecumseh misses a driving layup. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. Kat Federick steals the ball and heaves a long pass to Sydney Place, who hits a fast break layup to give Goodrich a 5-3 lead.

Baylor Lauinger blocks a Tecumseh layup. Goodrich misses a driving layup. The rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow consults its legal staff and decides to award the ball to the Martians. Goodrich misses a driving layup. Baylor Lauinger steals the ball for the Martians. The Goodrich Freshman Connection comes through as Sydney Place passes to Kat Federick, who hits a layup to give the Martians a 7-3 lead.

Sydney place steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich misses a layup. Tecumseh misfires on a threeball from the wing. The first quarter buzzer seeks attention and blares to announce the end of the opening quarter.

After one quarter, Goodrich has a 7-3 lead.

Tecumseh inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Baylor Lauinger steals the ball for the Martians. Goodrich misses a layup. Tecumseh misses a three point shot from the side. Addi Zajac hits a putback for the Indians to trim the Martian lead to 7-5.

Kat Federick drives and hits a hook/layup for the Martians. Kaylee Eickhoff steals the ball for the Martians. Sydney Place drives and dishes the ball to Lilly May, who pours in a threeball from the side for Goodrich. Reese Grounds hits a three point shot from the corner for Tecumseh. Goodrich misses a three point shot from the side. Baylor Lauinger steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Goodrich a 14-8 lead.

Chloe Bullinger hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw elbow for Tecumseh. Lilly May passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot near the top of the key for Goodrich. g Tecumseh throws a pass out of bounds. Addi Zajac blocks a Goodrich layup and forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow confers with its engineering consultant and decides to award the ball to Goodrich.

Goodrich misses a layup. Lilly May grabs the offensive rebound for the Martians. Goodrich misses a jump shot. Tecumseh commits an offensive foul. Kayla Hairston is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Goodrich a 19-10 lead with 3:13 remaining in the opening half.

Tecumseh turns the ball over. Kayla Hairston passes to Baylor Lauinger, who hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for the Martians. Kat Federick steals the ball for Goodrich. Kayla Hairston drives and hits a layup for Goodrich. Avery Zajac hits a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line to trim the Goodrich lead to 23-12.

Addi Zajac stands tall in the lane and forces a Martian travel on a drive to the basket. Kat Federick steals the ball for the Martians and passes to Baylor Lauinger, who hits a layup and is fouled. She hits her free throw and Goodrich has a 26-12 lead with 1:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Sydney Place knocks the ball away from Tecumseh and Kat Federick grabs it for Goodrich. Baylor Lauinger passes to Kat Federick, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Goodrich. Chloe Bullinger passes to Addi Zajac, who hits a layup for the Indians. Goodrich misses a rushed layup as the halftime buzzer makes its presence known.

Goodrich has a 29-14 lead at halftime.

Addi Zajac has 4 points to lead the Tecumseh scoring at halftime.

Kayla Hairston has 10 points for Goodrich. Kat Federick and Baylor Lauinger each have 7 points.

As our readers cannot hear the halftime activities, I hope you will enjoy these videos from my You Tube Channel as we wait for the second half to be played!

Here is a rollicking version of the Blues classic, “Sweet Home Chicago!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRyFHU5RpM

“A Man Like Me” is an original tune about an office worker who has Walter Mitty fantasies!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTdeYRUEOkc

Tecumseh inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. Addi Zajac is fouled on a layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Indians. Baylor Lauinger is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give Goodrich a 31-15 lead with 6:54 to play in the third period.

Addi Zajac pass to Reese Grounds, who is cutting to the basket; Reese Grounds hits a layup for the Indians. Lilly May passes to Tanner Schramm, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Martians. Reese Grounds drives and dishes the ball to Avery Zajac, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Tecumseh. Avery Zajac steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to trim the Goodrich lead to 34-22.

Kayla Hairston passes to Baylor Lauinger, who hits a three point shot from the side for Goodrich. Balor Lauinger steals the ball for the Martians. Tanner Schramm is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of her two free throws for the Martians. With 4:53 remaining in quarter number three, Goodrich has a 38-22 lead.

Baylor Lauinger knocks the ball away from a Tecumseh dribbler and out of bounds; the Indians retain possession. Chloe Bullinger whips a cross court pass to Avery Zajac, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Tecumseh. Avery Zajac ties up the ball; the Possession Arrow was meeting with its medical advisor and missed the play; the ball is given back to Goodrich.

Goodrich misses a three point shot from the corner. Tecumseh misses a layup. Avery Zajac pulls down the offensive rebound for the Indians. Tecumseh misses a layup. Addi Zajac is fouled on a putback and hits one of her two free throws to shave the Goodrich lead to 38-26 with 3:24 left in the quarter.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and Goodrich takes possession. Avery Zajac dives and knocks the ball out of bounds; Goodrich retains possession. Goodrich loses its inbound pass out of bounds. Kat Federick blocks a Tecumseh layup and causes a tieup. The Possession Arrow is consulting with its management consultant; it misses the play and awards the ball back to Tecumseh.

The Indians misfire on a threeball from the corner. Goodrich is fouled on the rebound, but misses two free throws. Sydney Place pulls down the offensive rebound for the Martians. Baylor Lauinger steals the Tecumseh inbound pass. Chloe Bullinger steals a Good rich pass. Avery Zajac hits an impressive leaning up and under layup for Tecumseh. Kayla Hairston passes to Lilly May, who throws in a threeball from the corner as time is expiring in quarter number three.

After three quarters, Goodrich has a 41-28 lead.

Goodrich inbounds the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Chloe Bullinger gets her hand on the ball, but Goodrich recovers. The Martians misfire on a threeball from the corner. Kaylee Eickhoff gets the offensive rebound for Goodrich and passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a layup. Addi Zajac is fouled on a layup and hits tow free throws for Tecumseh. Kayla Hairston drives and scoops in a layup for Goodrich. She is fouled on the play and hits her free throw to give Goodrich a 46-30 lead with 7:07 remaining.

Kaylee Eickhoff knocks the ball away from Tecumseh and Tanner Schramm picks it up for Goodrich. Sydney Place passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three point shot from the wing to boost the Goodrich lead to 49-30.

Tecumseh misses a three point shot from the corner. Goodrich misses a three point shot near the top of the key. Chloe Bullinger banks in a threeball from the wing for Tecumseh. (I may have heard her shouting “BANK!”) Addi Zajac blocks a Goodrich layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Goodrich gets it back. Goodrich misses a short jump shot. Chloe Bullinger passes to Avery Zajac, who hits a layup and is fouled. She misses her free throw. With 4:29 left on the clock, the Goodrich lead is at 49-35.

Tecumseh fouls on the rebound. Chloe Bullinger gets her hand on the ball, but Goodrich recovers. The Martians miss a three point shot from the wing. Baylor Lauinger gets the offensive rebound and passes to Kayla Hairston, who hits a three pointer from the side for the Martians. Tecumseh misses a driving layup. Addi Zajac hits a putback to trim the Martian lead to 52-37.

Goodrich drives and dishes a pass out of bounds. Avery Zajac drives and hits a layup for the Indians. Avery Zajac gets her hand on the ball, but Goodrich recovers. Chloe Bullinger gets her hand on the ball and Goodrich loses it out of bounds. Tecumseh misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Tanner Schramm is fouled and hits one of her two free throws. With 1:05 to play, Goodrich has a 53-39 lead.

Chloe Bullinger drives and dishes the ball to Avery Zajac, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Tecumseh. Baylor Lauinger is fouled and hits two free throws for Goodrich. Chloe Bullinger is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to trim the Goodrich lead to 55-44 with 26.9 seconds.

Both teams put in their substitute players. Goodrich deliberate loses a pass out of bounds to stop the clock so more substitutes can come in. Tecumseh misses a three point shot from the corner. Goodrich runs out the clock.

Goodrich wins this game and the Division 2 State Girls Basketball Championship by the final score of 55-44.

Avery Zajac led the Tecumseh scoring with 19 points. Addi Zajac joined her teammate and sister in double figures with 10 points. Chloe Bullinger tossed in 7 points. Reese Grounds scored 5 points and Delaney Brown tallied 3 points.

Kayla Hairston led the victorious Martians with 21 points. Baylor Lauinger supported her teammate with 14 points. Kat Federick chipped in with 7 points. Lilly May had two three point baskets for 6 points. Tanner Schramm added 5 points. Sydney Place put in 2 points.

For those of you who may be interested, I also covered the Division 3 and Division 4 Championship games today.

Portland St. Patrick and Ishpeming played in the Division 4 Championship game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/03/21/portland-st-patrick-vs-ishpeming-mhsaa-division-4-girls-basketball-final-the-bleacher-denizen-march-21-2026-by-chuck-krafft/

Pewamo-Westphalia and Jackson Lumen Christi played in the Division 3 Championship Game. https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2026/03/21/pewamo-westphalia-vs-jackson-lumen-christi-mhsaa-division-3-girls-basketball-final-the-bleacher-denizen-march-21-2026-by-chuck-krafft/