Renaissance point guard
Elizabeth Badgett was a thorn in the side of the Chiefs all afternoon,
scoring 20 points and dishing out three assists. (photo by Ed Wright)
Extraordinary effort not enough for
Chiefs in 50-47 setback to Phoenix
BY ED WRIGHT
March 20 2010, 6:15 p.m.
With 3:10 left in Friday
afternoon's Class A girls basketball semifinal classic at the Breslin
Center, Canton's 5-foot-4 point guard Robyn Mack fearlessly dribbled
into Detroit Renaissance's forest of 6-footers and softly laid in a
running bank shot, knotting the game at 41-all and igniting a deafening
roar from her school's red sea of fans.
But the Phoenix used a series of huge offensive rebounds and a
"Where-Did-That-Come-From?" three-pointer from Kenyah Dorsey down the
stretch to survive the Chiefs, 50-47, and advance to Saturday's final
against East Lansing.
The loss ended Canton's season at 24-2 and one step short of its
goal of a state title, but it couldn't diminish a season filled with
unforgettable accomplishments and historic success for coach Brian
Samulski's squad of never-take-a-second-off warriors.
Canton's final balanced scoring ledger mirrored its season as
twin forwards Kari and Sara Schmitt both netted 12 points while
sophomore point guard Robyn Mack tossed in 11.
The Chiefs' textbook defensive pressure forced the fast and
talented Phoenix into 17 turnovers, but it had a hard time containing
Renaissance's 5-2 junior point guard Elizabeth Badgett, who popped in
20 points to go with four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Lorreal Jones also came up huge for Renaissance, scoring nine
points and hauling down 10 boards, five of which kept scoring chances
alive on the offensive end of the court.
Canton's biggest lead of the afternoon came 3:20 into the second
quarter when Mack drilled a triple to put the Chiefs up, 23-16.
However, Renaissance countered with a 10-0 run to seize a 26-23 lead
with 48 seconds to play in the first half.
Junior forward Kayla Bridges gave Canton a 27-26 halftime lead
when she buried a long jumper from the left wing 32 seconds before the
intermission and another dead-on dagger as the buzzer sounded from the
deep corner.
Renaissance took a 34-31 into the fourth quarter, which was
jammed with high drama.
A long three and a successful drive by Badgett, coupled with a
putback by
Joselyn Massey, pushed the Phoenix's lead to 41-35 with 5:09 to play,
but the Chiefs came roaring back with a 6-0 run on inside buckets from
each Schmitt twin and Mack's daring drive with 3:10 left.
Badgett canned another three with 1:25 on the clock to put
Renaissance up 44-41, but Mack answered with a deep jumper from
the corner -- just inside the three-point arc -- to cut Canton's
deficit to 44-43.
The shot of the day came from an unexpected source -- Dorsey --
who found the target with a 22-foot trey with 55 seconds left
to pad Renaissance's lead to 47-43.
It was Dorsey's lone shot in her nine minutes of action.
Mack answered again with a driving lay-up seven seconds later to
make it 47-45, but the Phoenix nailed some clutch free throws in the
closing seconds to seal their second-straight trip to the final game.
Lindsey Winters gave the Chiefs a potent spark in the first half
when she delivered a pair of long triples.
Kari and Sara Schmitt both grabbed seven rebounds for Canton,
whose only two losses this season were at the hands of the Phoenix.
