Following a historic 2023-24 season that saw the Bulldogs women’s basketball make a run to the NCAA DII Final Four, the Bulldogs hoped that the 2024-25 season would be more of the same. However, the team was hit with a big injury.
Star senior guard Kadyn Blanchard, the GLIAC scoring leader with 17.8 points per game, went down for the season with a torn ACL after the 83-61 loss to rival Grand Valley. The Bulldogs needed someone to step into the number one scoring role. Junior guard Mia Riley has taken over the role, averaging 16.2 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, four assists and 2.7 steals in the six games since Blanchard went down.
Despite being ruled out for the season, Riley had high praise for Blanchard.
“Kadyn is very optimistic and she has such a great outlook on life,” Riley said. “She is such a hard worker and plays with so much heart. She inspires our team to work hard and play with heart every chance we get. We really miss her on the court, but she still has such a big influence with her voice on the sideline.”
Riley knows she took a big jump in her career between last season and this season and is thankful for her teammate’s confidence.
“I am thankful that I was able to get this opportunity,” Riley said. “It was a big jump going from not playing at all last season to taking on a larger role for the team this season, I worked so hard to get to where I am at this point in my career, I am just so thankful to have some of the best teammate’s who have so much confidence in me.”
Riley hails from Fowler, Mich. in a family who all played basketball, including her two older brothers and her sister Emma, who plays for Saginaw Valley. Riley herself started playing basketball early on in her life in fourth grade, this was when she started becoming interested in basketball and her parents allowed her to join an AAU team.
Riley’s time at Fowler High School was highly decorated, being a three-time First Team All-Conference, a three-time First-Team All-County, two-time All-State and earning 2021 Player of the Year. She also helped lead her team to a 2021 D4 State Championship with 18 points, while her sister Emma posted 16 points.
From the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 season, Riley has improved her game, jumping from averaging 3.5 points per game to 14 points per game this season. Riley credits the opportunity that head coach Kurt Westendorp has given her this season for her improved play.
“I would say its opportunity, I just had to keep working hard and being patient until I got the opportunity that I have been given this year,” Riley said. “Even in the beginning of this year I was not a starter until one of our girls couldn’t play in the first game of the season. I found out that I was starting that morning right before the game, I took advantage of that opportunity and have been in the starting lineup ever since.”
Riley shot 46% from the field alongside 36% from the three-point stripe, increasing her percentage by nearly 20 compared to last season.
Junior guard Emma Schierbeek spoke on how Riley has helped out the team.
”Mia has been a huge asset for our team with Kadyn being injured,” Schierbeek said. “She has stepped up in every aspect of the game, she is scoring well for our team and is a great defender and has become a great role player.”
Riley’s teammate, junior forward Mya Hiram, has also stepped up in a big way since Blanchard’s injury, averaging 12 points per game alongside 5.5 rebounds per game.
Hiram gave Riley high praise, describing her as the embodiment of a leader.
“Mia is the perfect example of what every coach and teammate looks for in a player,” Hiram said. “She has embodied the role she is in now, being a leader on the court and a true example of what it means to be a Bulldog. Watching her show up every day and give her all on the court while also being disciplined in the classroom is inspiring to watch.”
The Bulldogs aim to build off Riley’s contributions and continue their winning ways with eight games remaining.