Detroit Renaissance thumps Cass Tech, 66-27, in girls PSL championship game

Detroit Renaissance girls basketball had a dominant finish to the conference schedule, defeating Detroit Cass Tech, 66-27, in the Detroit Public School League final Sunday at Wayne State Fieldhouse.

It is the third straight PSL championship for the Phoenix, who also blew out the Technicians in the final last season.

"This is the moment they've been working for all year," Renaissance head coach Dashaun Wood told the Free Press. "So, for them to come out and perform like this, after all the hard work they put in, it was very exciting for the coaching staff to see."

Renaissance was led by senior center Anaya Hardy, who scored 27 points, including 14 in the first half. In the second half, senior guard Makayla Johnson got hot from behind the arc, burying all seven of her 3s to push the lead out from double-digits to a 30-point margin halfway through the 3rd quarter. She finished with 23 points, with 21 coming on the second-half 3s. Jaebri’an Autry had eight points and Christian Sanders added five while hounding Cass Tech’s guard in fullcourt defense all game.

Cass Tech couldn’t fight out of an early hole, trailing 11-0 in the opening minutes, which became 28-13 by halftime and exploded into a 30-point deficit halfway through the third quarter. The Technicians were led by senior center Kayla Mount, who was named Miss PSL at halftime, with 14 points. Senior Ari Parker and freshman Natasha Shell both added four points.

Hardy said she had a chip on her shoulder squaring up against Mount after Renaissance coaches informed her about the award before the game.

"My coaches let me know, and I feel like I had something to prove that game," Hardy said. "I came out with a lot of energy."

Renaissance came out of the gate with unmatched intensity, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first four minutes thanks to two early 3s from Sanders and Autry and two layups in transition off live-ball turnovers.

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Cass Tech started to whittle into the lead, thanks to a layup and 3 from Mount and three points from Parker, but struggled to slow down Hardy inside on the other end, giving up eight first-quarter points to her on layups, putbacks, and trips to the free throw line as Renaissance built a lead.

"I'm glad (Hardy) showed she's one of the best players and best big in the state," Wood said.

The second quarter continued as a defensive slugfest in the early minutes, with both teams only scoring one point from the free throw line in the first four minutes. Hardy had the first field goal of the second half on a putback layup, followed by a layup from junior Imani Johnson. Shell, Cass Tech’s freshman point guard who dealt with nonstop pressure from a full-court press, answered with a 3 to make it 21-12 Renaissance, but Hardy followed it up with another layup and two free throws. Autry buried another 3-pointer in the final two minutes of the half to give the Phoenix their biggest lead of the game yet going into the locker room at 28-13. Hardy finished the first half with more points than Cass Tech, with 15.

"In the first half, we had some struggles offensively, but the defense holding them to 13 points allowed us to control the game and make it physical," Wood said. "And I tell them, with our physical defense, eventually over time, we'll get the game where we want it."

The start of the second half was eerily similar for Renaissance, who began the third quarter with an 11-0 run in the first three minutes to go up 39-13. Makayla Johnson couldn’t miss coming out of the locker room, draining four 3s, while Hardy added three layups to make it an 18-3 Renaissance run in five minutes to go up 46-16. Renaissance maintained a near-30 point point advantage, leading 51-22 heading into the fourth quarter.

Makayla Johnson spent extra time working with coaches on her shot and footwork after the team's practice on Saturday, which led to her second-half barrage from deep. After her second 3 of the third quarter, she said she felt confident in her shot and had the trust of coaches and teammates to keep pulling and stay hot.

"After practice, I stayed for a little bit, got extra time with the coach, got my footwork right and got my shot right," Makayla Johnson said with a smile and a medal around her neck afterward.

It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, as Makayla Johnson and Hardy opened the quarter by hitting consecutive 3s. Mount hit a layup for Cass Tech, but Makayla Johnson continued her hot shooting with another three from the corner in front of her bench. Both teams cleared their benches at the end of the 39-point blowout to allow the reserves to get some action. After the game, Renaissance stormed center court in celebration of another Public School League title.

"We are not finished by any means," Wood said. "We got a lot of work to do and got to keep moving forward."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Renaissance thumps Cass Tech, 66-27, in girls PSL championship