Head Coach: Letitia Hughley
2026 Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: Basketball
The 1994 & 1995 Flint Northern Girls’ Basketball Teams include: Casandra Ferguson,
LaShawn Brown, Yolanda Fields, Tawana McDonald, Etoy Tipton, Leteia Hughley, Claudia Elam, Lashawn Grays, Ladel Lewis, Sheree Bates, Nicole Buford, Deanna Nolan, Lashawn Martin,
Oshea Weaver, Jashell Mitchell, Tamara Smith, Danielle Tipton, Veniece McCoy, Lamika Stevens, Markeda Richards, Killotta Tartt, Taleesha Hardy, Deshauna Thompson. Head Coach Letitia Hughley, and Assistant Coaches – Melody Relerford, Keith Smith, Laurie Byrd, Darnell Hughley, Lafaye Bates.
In 1994, the Flint Northern Girls’ Basketball Team put the city on notice when they won their first Saginaw Valley Conference championship since 1981. Entering the 1994 postseason, Northern had no seniors on the roster, not one member of the team had ever won a tournament game. The Vikings met very little resistance in the state tournament, winning all seven of their games by an average of 13.1 points per game.
Northern defeated the senior-laden Detroit Martin Luther King team 46-32 in the state championship game. The Vikings never trailed, leading by 10 points at the half, and Detroit never got closer than eight during the second half. Lashawn Grays and Ladel Lewis each scored 12 points, and Tawana McDonald logged a state-finals record 10 blocks for the Vikings. With a state championship victory, coach Letitia Hughley became only the second woman in Michigan high school basketball history to play for and later coach a state championship team.
Northern opened 1995 season ranked No. 1 in the state, and the Vikings left little doubt they were a team on a mission when they posted a 64-54 victory over Bloomfield Hills Marian in their season opener. The Vikings finished the 1995 regular season with a perfect 20-0 record. Northern dominated its opponents in the state tournament, winning all eight of its games by an average of 23.9 points per game. The Vikings played Walled Lake Central in a battle of unbeaten teams in the state championship game. Leading 26-25 at halftime, Northern broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Walled Lake Central 19-3 to take a commanding 45-28 lead at the end of the quarter. Northern ended the 1995 season with a 28-0 overall record completing their goal of winning back-to-back state championships.
1994 & 1995 Flint Northern Women’s Basketball Team’s players, coaches and trainers, you are the true definition of being “Flint Strong!” You made Flint proud, welcome to the GFAASHOF!
