Defense shines as Lady Raiders win Regional Championship

On Thursday night, the Portland High School girls basketball team secured their second consecutive MHSAA Regional Championship with a 47-22 win of the Chelsea Bulldogs at Tecumseh.

Chelsea had been averaging over 57 points a game over their first 23 games of the season, but the Raiders held them to just 22 points on Thursday. This was Chelsea’s lowest point total of the 2021-2022 season.

The Portland defense consistently pressured Chelsea’s high powered shooting attack, holding the Bulldogs to a 24.2% field goal percentage. Portland also blocked three shots and stole the ball 19 times.

Senior Ashley Bower led Portland offensively with 23 points, including three three-pointers. Bower also had six steals in the game. Senior Alivia Densmore added 11 points and had five rebounds.

Scoring summary by quarter:

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

Portland 14 14 17 2 47

Chelsea 4 7 8 3 22

You can watch the video below to see Portland Head Coach Jason Haid’s comments to the media.

Portland advances to the state quarter-finals which are set for Tuesday, March 15th at 7:00 PM at Williamston High School. They will face Detroit Edison.

The Pioneers of Detroit Edison are currently 16-3 on the season. They knocked out Romulus 68-30 to secure their regional. The Pioneers’ fast paced offense is averaging more than 68 points a game this season.

If you plan on traveling to Williamston for the game, you must purchase tickets in advance at GoFan.co. Most schools do not sell post-season tickets at the door. The game will also be streamed on MHSAA.TV