Ypsilanti Arbor Prep’s Petticord AP Division 3 top player

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — 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 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, juniors Lexi Bowers of Kent City, Adelyn Moore of Caro, and Samantha Dietz of Watervliet, and freshman Olivia Flynn of Harbor Springs.

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 Division 3 girls’ basketball All-State team was selected by a panel of eight sports writers.

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This story was first published on March 29, 2022. It was updated on April 4, 2022 to add Harbor Springs High School’s Olivia Flynn to the first team.