Renaissance Emerges from Defensive Struggle to Earn Saturday Return
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
EAST LANSING — Detroit Renaissance head coach DaShaun Wood was short yet succinct describing the final minute of his team’s Division 1 Semifinal against DeWitt on Friday.
“It’s like my heart stopped a few times for sure,” Wood said.
He probably wasn’t the only one in what was a thrilling finish to a defensive struggle.
Renaissance ultimately prevailed, advancing to its first Division 1 championship game since 2021 with a 32-28 triumph over a DeWitt team that nearly made it two improbable comebacks in a row.
On Tuesday in a Quarterfinal upset of No. 1-ranked and 2025 Division 1 champion Belleville, DeWitt rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
Trailing 28-19 midway through the fourth quarter Friday and having scored just two points during the second half up to that point, DeWitt all of a sudden went on a quick 7-0 run to cut the Renaissance lead to 28-26 with 2:57 remaining in the game.
After the teams traded baskets to make it 30-28 Renaissance, the Phoenix tried to take time off the clock during the final minute and were fouled on two occasions. On both trips to the line, Renaissance missed both free throws – but got the ball back off the second misses both times to retain possession.
“Yeah, that was tough,” DeWitt head coach Bill McCullen said. “We’re so close to one, but we stepped on the end line (after grabbing the rebound), which would have been a huge possession. Obviously, we felt like we had some momentum building and getting our crowd into it.”
Following a timeout, Renaissance sophomore Kassidy Cain was fouled with 15.3 seconds left. Cain sank both free throws to make it 32-28, and Renaissance got one more stop to seal the game.
The Phoenix hopes to win its first Finals title in the largest classification against Muskegon. Renaissance’s previous championship was won in Class B in 2005.
“They’re hungry,” Wood said of Muskegon. “They’re seniors, and they know what’s on the line. We know we’re going to get their best shot.”
Only one player in the game scored in double figures – DeWitt senior Sophia Beland, who finished with 10 points.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Renaissance surged ahead with a strong third quarter, outscoring DeWitt 12-2 in the stanza to take a 26-19 lead into the fourth.
“I thought in the first half, we never really settled in offensively,” Wood said. “We’ve had those moments a few times this year, just settling into the game and believing in our abilities.”
DeWitt, which was supposed to go through something of a rebuilding year with just two seniors, finished 22-5 and figures to have a bright future.
In addition to Beland, Carly Dennis was the other senior.
“I’m not sure I can be any more proud of the two of them, their leadership and what they accomplished,” McCullen said his seniors. “Not just this season, but in their careers. We put a lot on both of their shoulders. I mean, you can see today they rarely come out of the game, and we ask a lot of them both offensively and defensively.”
PHOTOS (Top) Renaissance’s Maria Walker (1) follows a screen from teammate Jaebri’an Autry (22) during their team’s win over DeWitt on Friday. (Middle) The Panthers’ Jaynie English (22) and Carly Dennis contend with Walker for possession. (Photos by Keionna Banks and John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Heritage Earns 'A' with Championship Effort
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2018
GRAND RAPIDS – Nothing could wipe the smiles off the faces of the Saginaw Heritage players and fans Saturday – not even a trophy to the head.
“Did you see our fans today? They’ve been out in full force all weekend long,” Heritage coach Vonnie DeLong said. “We’ve got a kid that’s been probably at every game and just split his head open on the trophy in the celebration, like he’s bleeding, our trainer is having to tend to him right now – I don’t know if he needs stitches or what. But, he’s got a smile on his face. He’s loving it.”
There was plenty to love for the Hawks at Van Noord Arena as they rolled to a 57-36 win in the MHSAA Class A championship game against East Lansing.
It was the first MHSAA title since 2002 for the Hawks (27-1), who were making their third appearance in the championship game.
“It’s just been a tremendous run,” DeLong said. “These kids have just gotten better every day, and I think that today we played a lot better than we did (in the Semifinal). I don’t think we played great (in the Semifinal), but I think today they came out with some resolve and they really wanted this state title today, and I think they played like it.”
Heritage used a balanced offense and dominant efforts on the glass and at the defensive end of the floor to hand East Lansing its first and only loss of the season.
The Trojans (26-1) shot 10 of 43 (23.3 percent) from the field as they struggled to figure out Heritage’s 2-3 zone defense, often having to settle for 3-pointers, which accounted for 22 of their 43 field goal attempts.
“They were moving on the flight of the ball, which is really good in the 2-3 defense,” said East Lansing senior and 2018 Miss Basketball winner Jaida Hampton, who finished with six points. “They got to where we were on the passes, and they were not allowing (passes into) the middle of the zone. It was open, but when you got there, they were tipping it, so they were just moving really, really well.”
East Lansing was held scoreless for a span of 7 minutes, 40 seconds during the first and second quarters, which allowed Heritage to initially put some space between the two teams. The Hawks took a 13-point lead into the break, and while East Lansing was able to get within nine in the second half, it couldn’t score consistently enough to fully mount a comeback.
It was the third time this season Heritage had broken out the zone defense, according to DeLong, who said she wanted to counteract East Lansing’s speed.
“I thought they were pretty quick for us, and we’ve traditionally played a lot of zone, but this year we played almost all man,” DeLong said. “I thought in our zone, it just gives us a different look, and it’s a struggle, I think – you might have seen that today with East Lansing – it was probably a little bit of a struggle for them to attack it.”
On the other end, Heritage had four players in double figures, and the one starter who wasn’t was Moira Joiner, the leading scorer during the season. She added six assists and nine rebounds to her four points.
Senior Madison Camp led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Shine Strickland-Gills had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Jessica Bicknell had 12 points and Mallory McCartney had 10 points.
A good chunk of those points followed offensive rebounds, as the Hawks had 15, compared to 14 defensive rebounds for the Trojans. Heritage had a 43-23 rebounding edge overall.
“We are a team that doesn’t have a lot of size; it’s a necessity for us to box out to win games,” East Lansing coach Rob Smith said. “Tonight, we were victimized 43 times on the boards to only our 23. You’re not going to win too many basketball games in that situation. I gotta say, the Strickland kid there, she was just really, really good tonight. She was very, very tough down low, and we just didn’t have an answer for her.”
The secret for Strickland-Gills’ performance was a simple one – work hard.
“I don’t really expect it, I just kind of come out and I go hard,” Strickland-Gills said. “Most people would say I’m a defensive player, and that’s what I like to do; it’s effort. That’s all it takes to get 12 rebounds is effort. I know my teammates will get me to score, so I don’t really worry about that. My thing is just to play defense.”
Aaliyah Nye led East Lansing and all scorers with 18 points, all coming on 3-pointers as she was 6 of 10 from behind the arc. No other Trojan scored more than Hampton’s six.
“I’m so proud to be the coach of this fine program, and most importantly these wonderful ladies that are sitting next to me and the other 11 that are in the locker room right now,” Smith said. “I know they’re disappointed with the outcome today, but the body of work is truly amazing.”
PHOTO: (Top) Saginaw Heritage celebrates Saturday after clinching the Class A championship at Van Noord Arena. (Middle) Heritage's Shine Stickland-Gills (32) battles East Lansing's Amelia McNutt for the ball.