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Tania Davis of Goodrich wins 2015 Miss Basketball, edges Presley Hudson of Wayland for the prestigious award
Detroit – Tania Davis of Goodrich was named the 34th recipient of the Miss Basketball award on Monday at the Detroit Free Press building in downtown Detroit.
Davis, a 5-3 guard and a four-year starter for coach Jason Gray, is the first player from Goodrich to win the award.
The award is given by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan in conjunction with the Free Press. There are 5,100 BCAM members and votes are tabulated on a 5-3-1 basis.
This was one of the closest races in the history of the award. Davis had 306 first-place votes and had a total of 2,591 points. Presley Hudson of Wayland Union was second with 298 first-place votes and 2,194 points.
Cierra Rice of Grosse Pointe South (2,119 points) was third, Erika Davenport of Clarkston (2,083) was fourth and Kalabrya Gondrezick of Benton Harbor (1,939) was fifth.
This season Davis is averaging 19 points, 6.5 assists and four rebounds.
Goodrich (24-1), the Class B champions in 2012 and ’13, will play Manistee (23-1) in a Class B quarterfinal on Tuesday at Mount Pleasant at 7 p.m.
Davis said it’s an honor to receive the award and that it, in some ways, proves her doubters were wrong.
“People doubted me and my size,” Davis said. “Some people see it as a problem. But it’s not. I get to the basket. I get the fouls (called). I use it as an advantage.”
Gray said what Davis lacks in height she compensates with quickness and hard work. Gray said Davis is the consummate point guard, the player who distributes the ball and leads by example.
“She knows the game better than anyone I’ve coached,” Gray said. “She knows what we’re trying to do. She plays accordingly. It makes my life easier.
“Her quickness is a big part of making up for that (lack of) size. And it’s her smarts, too.”
Davis said the face that she played on two state championship teams likely influenced voters.
“It was really important,” she said. “That’s where I led the pack. That’s what separates me from the other candidates.”
None of the other candidates played on a state championship team.
Gondrezick is only one of the other four who has a shot at a title. Benton Harbor plays Flat Rock in a Class B quarterfinal on Tuesday.
