Mariah Sain, a 5-foot-9 combo guard for the Muskegon girls’ basketball team, recently announced her commitment to Division I University of Charlotte in North Carolina.
(Photo courtesy of Scott DeCamp LocalSportsJournal.com)
By Scott DeCamp
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Mariah Sain is not only the face of the Muskegon girls basketball team, she has literally been that for all of Muskegon Public Schools.
During the 2024-25 school year, she was featured on a billboard where Seaway Drive meets Shoreline Drive. On the billboard, Sain’s smiling face was paired with the words, “I AM … a Big Red.”
“It meant a lot that my school trusted me to be the face of the school,” Sain said. “I know that I try to carry myself with a lot of character in this community and a lot of younger kids do look up to me and I’m respectfully known by adults. It was just a good opportunity that I was given.”
If Muskegon’s girls basketball team is to go where it hopes this season, then Sain should certainly be a driving force.
The 5-foot-9 combo guard, who recently announced her commitment to Division I University of Charlotte in North Carolina, is a Michigan Miss Basketball hopeful. The four-year varsity starter has averaged double-figure scoring in each of the previous three years, including 17.1 points per game as a sophomore and 18.1 during her injury-shortened junior campaign. Through three games of her senior campaign, she is averaging 22 points per contest. Sain made a major statement against Rockford, when she scored 22 of her game-high 24 points in the second half and willed the Lady Reds to a 58-51 victory.
“I’ve had the privilege to watch her play since she was probably in sixth grade and she’s always been just a tenacious player. She’s just fantastic, a competitor both on offense and on defense. The thing that really impresses me is her ability to keep her composure,” said Rockford coach Brad Wilson, who coached last year’s Miss Basketball winner, Anna Wypych.
“She’s got to be consistent with it, but what she did tonight really displayed her skills and she did it in all facets of the game. ... I think she’s a Miss Basketball-caliber of player, there’s no doubt in my mind. I think she showcased that today for sure.”
Her 2024-25 season was cut short by an elbow injury, as the athletic Sain averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in nine games. As a sophomore, she averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. As a freshman, she was at 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
“She’s a true floor general. She’s a captain on the court, off the court. She’s a coach on the floor. It’s going to take a good guard and good supporting cast to actually get to the Breslin and I think we have the team to do that this year,” said fourth-year Muskegon coach Bernard Loudermill, referring to the Big Reds’ goal of reaching Michigan State University’s Breslin Center for the Division 1 state semifinals and finals.
Sain is a natural-born leader. Her father, Maurice Sain, is Muskegon Heights Police Chief. Her mother, Shawndra Sain, is a counselor at Muskegon High School.
Expectations are high in the Sain household, and Mariah Sain more than does her part in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA.
“My mother has high expectations for me for school,” Mariah Sain said. “I’ve been taking high school classes since eighth grade. Now I am taking college classes. By the time I get to college, I will have a full semester of college classes done.”
Loudermill calls Sain a “genuine, caring person,” and a “true scholar in the classroom as well.”
He said she’s a very caring person, who goes out of her way to help others.
“She’s a great person. She’s very caring. Like, you think of her like your sister,” Muskegon teammate Dy’Nasti Bell said about Sain. “She’s hilarious – a very funny girl. She’s someone you would want to be around, someone you’d want to keep close to you.”
Of course, Sain is somebody you’d want on your team.
Sain said she received more than 30 Division I offers, with her top-four schools being Charlotte, Houston, Memphis, and Western Michigan.
Loudermill believes Charlotte is a good fit for Sain because her athleticism fits into the type of style that the 49ers like to play: Up and down the court, transition basketball.
“(Charlotte) gave me a family-oriented vibe,” Sain said. “I’ve always wanted to get out of state for a school and I just wanted to make sure if I was going to be far away from home that I felt comfortable. I love my coaching staff. They’re the majority of the reason why I committed there.”
Sain was raised in a very basketball-oriented family. She said she began playing the sport in kindergarten.
Sain has played travel basketball for West Michigan Drive, MBA, and Michigan Crossover. She also played volleyball her freshman year and plans to run track this coming spring.
Basketball has long been her No. 1 sport, however. Sain said she loves being competitive and treasures the relationships that have developed through the game.
“(My) first impression, when I saw her, I was like, ‘Wow, she’s really good. She’s a really nice person,’” Bell said. “You could tell by the way she plays, she’s very passionate about this sport and I could feel it through her style of play (and thought), ‘Wow, this is an amazing girl.’”
“I think her athleticism is amazing … . She likes to play fast, she plays long, she jumps really high. She’s just very athletic – more athletic than a lot of girls I know that play this sport.”
Along with Sain, Bell should be a key player for Muskegon as a 6-foot-3 junior power forward.
Another player that helps make the Big Reds go is senior point guard Cece Bonner, who signed with Division I Oakland.
“Our team is very scrappy. We’re not the biggest, but our guards are very scrappy and they play hard,” Sain said. “I feel like this year we can really get out on defense and press 94 feet and turn our defense into offense.”
In 2019, Muskegon’s girls basketball team advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals, when Alyza Winston helped carry the Big Reds to the big stage at Calvin University’s Van Noord Arena.
The state semifinals and finals have since moved back to the Breslin Center, and Sain is hoping she can help carry her team there.
Loudermill first saw Sain play basketball when she was a Steele Middle School eighth-grader. He was impressed by her athleticism, pace, and basketball IQ at that age.
Now, Loudermill said that Sain can more than hold her own against anybody on the court defensively. He considers her to be a top-three player all-time for the Muskegon girls basketball program.
While all of those things are flattering for Sain, she wants to be remembered for the person she is.
“I would like to be remembered as a caring person that looked out for the community, was in the community, did things with the community,” she said. “I like to do things with kids. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time to train kids, but a lot of kids look up to me and I try to give information to them so they can get where I am.
“I just want to be a big role model for the younger girls who are looking to be in my position one day.”
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – Mariah Sain is not only the face of the Muskegon girls basketball team, she has literally been that for all of Muskegon Public Schools.
During the 2024-25 school year, she was featured on a billboard where Seaway Drive meets Shoreline Drive. On the billboard, Sain’s smiling face was paired with the words, “I AM … a Big Red.”
“It meant a lot that my school trusted me to be the face of the school,” Sain said. “I know that I try to carry myself with a lot of character in this community and a lot of younger kids do look up to me and I’m respectfully known by adults. It was just a good opportunity that I was given.”
If Muskegon’s girls basketball team is to go where it hopes this season, then Sain should certainly be a driving force.
The 5-foot-9 combo guard, who recently announced her commitment to Division I University of Charlotte in North Carolina, is a Michigan Miss Basketball hopeful. The four-year varsity starter has averaged double-figure scoring in each of the previous three years, including 17.1 points per game as a sophomore and 18.1 during her injury-shortened junior campaign. Through three games of her senior campaign, she is averaging 22 points per contest. Sain made a major statement against Rockford, when she scored 22 of her game-high 24 points in the second half and willed the Lady Reds to a 58-51 victory.
“I’ve had the privilege to watch her play since she was probably in sixth grade and she’s always been just a tenacious player. She’s just fantastic, a competitor both on offense and on defense. The thing that really impresses me is her ability to keep her composure,” said Rockford coach Brad Wilson, who coached last year’s Miss Basketball winner, Anna Wypych.
“She’s got to be consistent with it, but what she did tonight really displayed her skills and she did it in all facets of the game. ... I think she’s a Miss Basketball-caliber of player, there’s no doubt in my mind. I think she showcased that today for sure.”
Her 2024-25 season was cut short by an elbow injury, as the athletic Sain averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in nine games. As a sophomore, she averaged 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists. As a freshman, she was at 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
“She’s a true floor general. She’s a captain on the court, off the court. She’s a coach on the floor. It’s going to take a good guard and good supporting cast to actually get to the Breslin and I think we have the team to do that this year,” said fourth-year Muskegon coach Bernard Loudermill, referring to the Big Reds’ goal of reaching Michigan State University’s Breslin Center for the Division 1 state semifinals and finals.
Sain is a natural-born leader. Her father, Maurice Sain, is Muskegon Heights Police Chief. Her mother, Shawndra Sain, is a counselor at Muskegon High School.
Expectations are high in the Sain household, and Mariah Sain more than does her part in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA.
“My mother has high expectations for me for school,” Mariah Sain said. “I’ve been taking high school classes since eighth grade. Now I am taking college classes. By the time I get to college, I will have a full semester of college classes done.”
Loudermill calls Sain a “genuine, caring person,” and a “true scholar in the classroom as well.”
He said she’s a very caring person, who goes out of her way to help others.
“She’s a great person. She’s very caring. Like, you think of her like your sister,” Muskegon teammate Dy’Nasti Bell said about Sain. “She’s hilarious – a very funny girl. She’s someone you would want to be around, someone you’d want to keep close to you.”
Of course, Sain is somebody you’d want on your team.
Sain said she received more than 30 Division I offers, with her top-four schools being Charlotte, Houston, Memphis, and Western Michigan.
Loudermill believes Charlotte is a good fit for Sain because her athleticism fits into the type of style that the 49ers like to play: Up and down the court, transition basketball.
“(Charlotte) gave me a family-oriented vibe,” Sain said. “I’ve always wanted to get out of state for a school and I just wanted to make sure if I was going to be far away from home that I felt comfortable. I love my coaching staff. They’re the majority of the reason why I committed there.”
Sain was raised in a very basketball-oriented family. She said she began playing the sport in kindergarten.
Sain has played travel basketball for West Michigan Drive, MBA, and Michigan Crossover. She also played volleyball her freshman year and plans to run track this coming spring.
Basketball has long been her No. 1 sport, however. Sain said she loves being competitive and treasures the relationships that have developed through the game.
“(My) first impression, when I saw her, I was like, ‘Wow, she’s really good. She’s a really nice person,’” Bell said. “You could tell by the way she plays, she’s very passionate about this sport and I could feel it through her style of play (and thought), ‘Wow, this is an amazing girl.’”
“I think her athleticism is amazing … . She likes to play fast, she plays long, she jumps really high. She’s just very athletic – more athletic than a lot of girls I know that play this sport.”
Along with Sain, Bell should be a key player for Muskegon as a 6-foot-3 junior power forward.
Another player that helps make the Big Reds go is senior point guard Cece Bonner, who signed with Division I Oakland.
“Our team is very scrappy. We’re not the biggest, but our guards are very scrappy and they play hard,” Sain said. “I feel like this year we can really get out on defense and press 94 feet and turn our defense into offense.”
In 2019, Muskegon’s girls basketball team advanced to the Division 1 state semifinals, when Alyza Winston helped carry the Big Reds to the big stage at Calvin University’s Van Noord Arena.
The state semifinals and finals have since moved back to the Breslin Center, and Sain is hoping she can help carry her team there.
Loudermill first saw Sain play basketball when she was a Steele Middle School eighth-grader. He was impressed by her athleticism, pace, and basketball IQ at that age.
Now, Loudermill said that Sain can more than hold her own against anybody on the court defensively. He considers her to be a top-three player all-time for the Muskegon girls basketball program.
While all of those things are flattering for Sain, she wants to be remembered for the person she is.
“I would like to be remembered as a caring person that looked out for the community, was in the community, did things with the community,” she said. “I like to do things with kids. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time to train kids, but a lot of kids look up to me and I try to give information to them so they can get where I am.
“I just want to be a big role model for the younger girls who are looking to be in my position one day.”
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