They laughed and giggled as if they’d been chums for years. Actually Howell rising senior basketball players Gabby Piepho and Lilly Williams were just getting to know one another during a critical dinner in Howell.
Williams, the 6-foot-6 wunderkind, was feeling out Piepho to see if she’d be a good fit to join the Highlanders girls basketball team. Piepho, the two-time Livingston County Player of the Year, was in recruiting mode. She wanted Williams because she knew she’d make the basketball team better.
Piepho makes no secret about her desire to win a Division I state basketball championship. The Highlanders got a chance to see how far away they were during the regional finals last year on their own high school gym. They witnessed Belleville thrash Hartland 65-35, a team that had eliminated Howell from the state tournament the week before.
Hartland looked like a team ready to unseat Howell as Livingston Counties queen bee with its mix of young and talented players. Piepho knew Hartland would have to wait its turn if Howell could convince Williams to join the team.
They decided on dinner.
“I had seen Gabby play and I thought it would be fun to play with her,” Williams said.
Patrons that night probably wished the diners at the corner table were less rambunctious. That wasn’t about to happen. Williams and Piepho were having too much fun getting to know one another.
What was it like at Howell High School?
What were the benefits of being home schooled?
Could Williams fit in?
Would the girls accept her?
“It was like I had known her forever,” Williams said.
The dinner must have been a success because Williams joined the team and now the Highlanders look different and play differently. The Highlanders were these tiny menaces who buried teams with the three-ball. Now, they work it in to Williams for easy baskets inside. The addition of 6-1 junior Gabby Fischhaber, a rebounding machine, helps also.
Meanwhile Piepho, Hanna Ralko and company are still burying outside shots.
Howell (3-0) already has a statement win, beating stage power Detroit Edison 41-26 in the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic at Belleville High School. Edison won state titles in 2022 and 2024.
Perhaps Howell is next.