High School Hoops: Avondale Falls to Detroit Renaissance in Regional Championship

The Avondale Yellow Jackets lost in a heated battle Thursday against Detroit Renaissance 57-52 for the regional championship title.

A competitive atmosphere lingered in the air between both the teams; the fans and the high scoring reflected the quick pace of the game.

The Hero: Arrice Bryant had a huge game for Renaissance, scoring 18 points, 20 rebounds and 6 blocks. Bryant shot 6-for-13 from the line.

Elizabeth Badgett also had a big game for the Phoenix, scoring 15 points with a 3-pointer; she shot 4-for-4 from the line.

The Turning Point: Avondale had an 11-point lead during the third quarter before going on a scoring dry spell.

Once that lead disappeared Renaissance started playing the game and kept the lead for most of the night.

The Quote: "These girls went toe-to-toe with them (Renaissance)," Avondale head coach Dave Muczynski said.

"We missed too many shots in the second half. Once they (Renaissance) jumped out to a lead we came right back."

Muczynski predicted Renaissance will at least make it to a state semifinal game.

The Bottom Line: Avondale played their hearts out but it wasn't enough to beat Renaissance to advance to the state quarterfinals.

Missed shots and free throws became a factor in the second half, but the Yellow Jackets battled back to never be out of reach of a victory.

Key Stat: Avondale made 10 three-pointers.

Andrea Strauss scored 15 points for the Lady Jackets off five 3-pointers.

Courtney Williams added another 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

Bracketology: Detroit Renaissance advances to the state quarterfinals at University Detroit-Mercy on March 15. They play Warren Regina after that team defeated Utica Ford 49-47.