Arbor Prep's Petticord named D3 Player of the Year
Mya Petticord wants to one day have her own clothing and shoe brand.
She is off to a great start.
The Ypsilanti Arbor Prep senior led the Gators to the Division 3 state championship this season and is the Michigan Associated Press Division 3 Player of the Year.
“Obviously winning a state championship was not easy,” Petticord said. “We knew we would have to fight through some adversity. We knew we had to give 100% all the time. Last year we lost in the regional and we did not want that to happen again, so our focus was even more. We had to get that ring. Every practice was heading toward that goal.”
Petticord averaged 22.9 points a game with 102 assists, 89 steals and 50 3-pointers. She shot 50% from the floor and better than 80% from the free throw line. She scored 27 points in 31 minutes in the state championship game as Arbor Prep knocked off previously unbeaten Kent City, 54-50.
Petticord embraced expectations this season. She came into the season a Miss Basketball candidate and the Gators were one of the favorites to win a state title. The Gators did not shy away from anyone. They went 18-2 in the regular season, were ranked No. 1 all year and finished with the highest Michigan Power Rating in Division 3.
“We played a lot of basketball in the summer and played all over the state this year,” she said. “It helped prepare us.”
Arbor Prep head coach Scott Stine said it was as privilege to coach Petticord for four years. He sometimes had to turn off the gym lights to get her to leave.
“If someone took basketball away from her, I think she’d be lost in life,” Stine said. “She is a genuine, humble kid. She has always been that way. She is kind of quiet. Each year I have gotten to see her grow up and mature. This year she was a lot more of a vocal leader. It has been a pleasure coaching her.”
Petticord grew up in Detroit. Her dad introduced her to the sport when she was 7 years old.
“I grew up playing with boys most of my life,” she said. “I didn’t start playing basketball with girls until I was around 12. I’m really a gym rat. When I love something, I put my all into it. I have to get my work in.”
She worked with former Detroit Pershing boys head coach A.W. Canada and trained in Texas during the off-season. She recently committed to Texas A&M.
Petticord finished her career as Arbor Prep’s all-time leading scorer with 1,709 career points and ranks among the top five in several other categories in the school’s record book. The Gators won 19, 19, 14 and 25 games in her four years.
At Texas A&M she will play basketball and work on her future goal.
“I want to build my own brand – shoe brand and clothes brand,” she said. “I feel like that is the right college to be at. It is the best for me. I haven’t figured out my major or minor yet, maybe entrepreneurship or marketing. I just know I want to build my own brand.”
Petticord leads a 12-player first team that includes two teammates, sophomore Stephanie Utomi and senior Karianna Woods. The rest of the team includes seniors Lizzy Liedel of Erie Mason, Grace Bradford of Maple City Glen Lake, Emma Schierbeek of McBain, Ally Schultz of St. Ignace, Kyla Wiersema of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian and Mackenzie Miller of Schoolcraft and juniors Lexi Bowers of Kent City, Adelyn Moore of Caro, and Samantha Dietz of Watervliet.
Aleah Holcomb of Kent City is the coach of the year. She took over the program in October, stepping in for longtime head coach Scott Carlson. Even though Holcomb had to replace nearly everyone in the lineup, the Eagles didn’t skip a beat, winning 26 straight games before falling to Arbor Prep in the final.
The 2022 Associated Press Division 3 girls’ basketball All-State team as selected by a panel of eight Michigan sportswriters.
Player of the Year: Mya Petticord, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep
Coach of the Year: Aleah Holcomb, Kent City
First Team All-State
Mya Petticord, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, Sr.
Lizzy Liedel, Erie Mason, Sr.
Lexie Bowers, Kent City, Jr.
Grace Bradford, Maple City Glen Lake, Sr.
Emma Schierbeek, McBain, Sr.
Adelyn Moore, Caro, Jr.
Ally Schultz, St. Ignace, Sr.
Kyla Wiersema, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, Sr.
Samantha Dietz, Watervliet, Jr.
Mackenzie Miller, Schoolcraft, Sr.
Stephanie Utomi, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, So.
Karianna Woods, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, Sr.
Second Team All-State
(Nominees receiving two or more votes from the eight-member panel)
Taylor Petrosky, Charlevoix, Sr.
Erin Sherwood, Dansville, Sr.
Madelyn Geers, Kent City, So.
Honorable Mention
(Nominees receiving one or no votes from the eight-member panel)
Regan Finkbeiner, Hemlock; Melanie Moore, Bishop Foley; Emma Smieska, Leslie; Aydan Dalak, Reese; Avery Collins, Blissfield; Stacy Utomi, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep; Marybeth Halonen, Calumet; Lauren Wilder, Manton; Zoie Bamm, Brooklyn Columbia Central; Tadassa Brown, Brooklyn Columbia Central; Kennedi Stout, Carson City-Crystal; Jessica Robbins, Maple City Glen Lake; Lorna Strieff, Laingsburg; Alexis Snodgrass, Hartford; Faith Edwards, Centreville; Allison Starbuck, Bloomingdale; Catherine McMahon, Kalamazoo Hackett; Haylie Wilson, Bronson; Emma Allison, Bloomingdale; Brooke Craven, Whitmore Lake; Mackenzie Baker, Jonesville; Emily Grulke, Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest; Emily Bender, Sandusky; Kendall Zoulek, Shelby; Addi Hovey, Hart; Aspen Boutell, Hart; Maddie Wiersema, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian; Ellie Knapp, Niles-Brandywine; Kendall Standfest, Elk Rapids; Maggie Napont, Traverse City St. Francis; Mackenzie Bisballe, Lake City; Braelyn Berry, Morley Stanwood; Madison Garbow, Morley Stanwood; Chloe Watson, Hemlock; Halen McLaughlin, Sanford Meridian; Madison Travis, Farwell; Gabi Lutchka, Grass Lake; Megan Zeitz, Dansville; Mallory Wheeler, Reading; Chloe Bisballe, Lake City; Colleen Hegewald, Traverse City St. Francis; Sophie Gustavson, Saugatuck, Bailey Stimac, St. Charles; Isabelle Beach, Saginaw Valley Lutheran; Josie Johnson, Reese; Saylar Cuthrell, Cass City; Jessica Robbins, Maple City Glen Lake; Ryleigh Zinn, Genessee; Jordyn Lawrence, Durand; Alexis Miller, New Lothrop; LaBria Austin, Buchanan; Delaney Seaman, Ithaca.
Coaches
Bill Tisron, Lake City; Mike Sykes, Dansville; Ray Joseph, Madison Heights Bishop Foley; Travis Rosema, Hart; Jason Bradford, Maple City Glen Lake; Tanner Smith, Sanford Meridian; Michael Groulx, Farwell
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Voting panel: Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer; Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal; David Goricki, The Detroit News; Marc Vieau, The Cadillac News; Brandon Watson, Sturgis Journal; James Cook, Traverse City Record-Eagle; Jason Juno, Ironwood Daily Globe; Doug Donnelly, Adrian Daily Telegram
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Arbor Prep's Petticord named D3 Player of the Year
