Bedford girls basketball aims for first trip to state semis at Breslin
The seniors on Bedford’s girls basketball team brought plenty of glory to their school.
The Class of 2025 has produced a sterling 88-12 record during their four seasons. Included in that total are four district championships, three Southeastern Conference Red titles and a pair of regional crowns.
It’s a legacy that will be difficult to match.
But the Mules want more.
Bedford is one of eight schools still competing for the Division 1 state championship.
The quest continues at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday with a state quarterfinal contest against Wayne Memorial at the University of Detroit Mercy.
“Pretty gaudy,” Bedford coach Bill Ryan said when asked about the accomplishments of his seniors. “I don’t think they’ve lost a home game in three years. … They are putting stuff up on the record board that will be up there for a very, very long time.”
Like the class of 2025, Ryan has a record that is difficult to match. He has a 370-121 record over 21 seasons at his alma mater.
He has guided the Mules to 11 district championships along with six league and six regional titles. He might have added a seventh regional, but the 2019-20 season was halted by COVID after Bedford had reached the finals.
That might have been Bedford’s finest team.
“I feel like we had three guards who were college caliber and three bigs who played in college,” he said wistfully. “We had depth at all positions and defended well.”
This year’s team also is packed with talent, but none of them currently have plans to play basketball in college.
Victoria Gray (Indiana volleyball) and Aubrey Hensley (Toledo softball) will be Division 1 athletes next year and Nyah Mullins is headed to Walters State Community College in Tennessee to play softball.
Bedford leans heavily on those three and fellow senior Brooklyn Manard to provide leadership for a young team that includes three freshmen and four sophomores.
Bedford (24-2) and Wayne Memorial (20-6) met in a regional semifinal game in 2023 which Wayne won 64-56.
“They have a lot of familiar faces from when we played them two years ago,” Ryan said. “That was a really fun game, back and forth. … They didn’t overwhelm us by any stretch of the imagination.”
Wayne Memorial is led by Miss Basketball finalist Colleena Bryant, a Drexel recruit who is averaging 18.4 points, 8.1 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game.
“Wayne is very competitive and very physical,” Ryan said. “They have a girl who was a Miss Basketball candidate who is very dynamic.”
It will take Bedford’s best effort of the season to get through the quarterfinals.
“We need everyone healthy and out of foul trouble,” Ryan said.
Speaking of healthy, Mullins is operating on a tender ankle. She twisted it in the regional semifinal Monday, then aggravated the injury during Wednesday’s final.
“She had it X-rayed,” Ryan said. “There is nothing structurally wrong, but it’s sore. She certainly is going to give it a go.”
Her story is similar to Hensley’s, who was not supposed to play at all this season after undergoing foot surgery. It was designed to get her ready for softball, but Hensley wasn’t finished on the court.
“She asked her doctor’s permission to come back and play basketball,” Ryan said.
If Bedford wins Tuesday it would advance to the state semifinals at Michigan State’s Breslin Center at 2 p.m. Friday against No. 1 Rockford (25-1) or No. 3 Grand Haven (22-3).
The finals are slated for 12:15 p.m. Saturday.
But Ryan and his players are not worried about any of that now. They are focused on reaching the semifinals for the first time in school history.
“We are laser focused on Wayne,” Ryan said. “We’re not worried about winning state right now. We just want to first step, getting to Breslin.”
The seniors, especially, are eager to make history.
“That’s been their goal since they lost in the regionals when they were freshmen,” Ryan said, speaking of the seniors. “They want to do stuff that no one else has done. They have that hunger in them.”
No matter what happens this week, the Class of 2025 will always be remembered at Bedford.
“I am so proud of them,” Ryan said. “They have been a good group. They made a lot of sacrifices to get here.”
DIVISION 1
Tuesday’s Quarterfinals
No. 10 BEDFORD (24-2) vs. Wayne Memorial (20-6) at University of Detroit Mercy, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Rockford (25-1) vs. No. 3 Grand Haven (22-3) at Muskegon Mona Shores, 7 p.m.
No. 8 DeWitt (25-1) vs. No. 2 Belleville (25-1) at Holt, 7 p.m.
West Bloomfield (18-8) vs. No. 8 Utica Ford (24-2) at University of Detroit Mercy, 7 p.m.
Friday’s semifinals at MSU
DeWitt-Belleville winner vs. West Bloomfield-Utica Ford winner, noon
BEDFORD-Wayne Memorial winner vs. Rockford-Grand Haven winner, 2 p.m.
Saturday’s finals at MSU
DeWitt-Belleville winner vs. West Bloomfield-Utica Ford winner, 12:15 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Bedford girls basketball yearns to make history in state tournament
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