Okeechobee, Lincoln Park Academy advance in girls basketball regional play

Going 4-22 from the free throw line and missing wide-open layups aren't the recipe for success in playoff basketball.

Fortunately, the Okeechobee girls brought their effort on the defensive end the entire night and the Brahmans needed overtime to outlast Northeast 40-37 and advance to a 4-5A regional semifinal.

Offense never came easy for either team as both the Brahmans and the Hurricanes had trouble taking care of the basketball the entire game. Okeechobee got a lift from a surprising source as freshman reserve Sanye Washington scored nine points to help her team take a 16-14 halftime edge.

Leading 28-25 entering the fourth quarter, Okeechobee could only muster six points as the Hurricanes forced overtime before the Brahmans (13-3) sealed the deal in the extra session to advance to next Tuesday's regional semifinal against one of the state's top-ranked teams in Plantation American Heritage.

Okeechobee head coach Jovanny Torres made the most of his timeouts he had at his disposal throughout the game to keep his girls focused despite their rough night finding the basket. The discipline on the defensive end to grind out a playoff win showed the growth of his team throughout the year.

"I tried to keep their spirits up, sometimes they can get down on themselves really quick," Torres said. "They really responded well, we did really well defensively, switching up our defenses with our 2-3 and our halfcourt 1-3-1 trap. I don't think Northeast was really ready for that."

On a night where their leading scorers Jasmine Shanks and Adryauna Baker combined for just 12 points, Washington led the way with a career-high 10 points to go along with five assists. Baker, who grabbed 11 rebounds and added six steals, Justice Shanks and Semaj Jasper each added seven points apiece.

The emergence of his freshman guard in a big moment with Jasmine Shanks mired in foul trouble early on was a welcome surprise for Torres that was the difference in advancing to next week.

"Sanye just came in and defensively got in people's face, made a few layups, she definitely was the player of the game for us," Torres said. "When I brought her in the first quarter, I don't think I ever took her out of the game. She put us on her back, I don't know how she did it but I'm so proud of her." 

Lincoln Park Academy 68, DeSoto County 16

It was a clinical beginning to the postseason for Lincoln Park Academy, who dispatched DeSoto County 68-16 to advance to the 3-4A regional semifinals.

The Greyhounds (17-1) were on fire from the perimeter in the first half as Sophia Marrero connected on four 3-pointers and Yale signee Christen McCann knocked in three of her own to help Lincoln Park lead 47-11 at halftime.

McCann led four Greyhounds in double figures with 20 points and added eight assists and five steals. Marrero scored all 16 of her points in the first half, South Alabama signee Deborah Reese went for a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Trisann Gordon pitched in 10 points and added five steals for Lincoln Park.

The road next week for Lincoln Park will stay on their home court as they will host Avon Park next Tuesday, who downed LaBelle 44-26 in their quarterfinal.

Palm Beach Lakes 53, Centennial 37

Reliable scorers can be the difference between a basketball team making a long postseason run or going home early.

On Thursday night, Palm Beach Lakes senior and FIU signee Zaida Gonzalez carried her team with 23 points to help the Rams pull away in the second half to knock off Centennial 53-37 in a 3-7A regional quarterfinal in Port St. Lucie.

After being upset at the hands of a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jupiter in the District 10-7A championship game last week to force their playoff journey to begin on the road, the Rams (10-1) were challenged by an aggressive Centennial defense in the first quarter.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively as the quarter ended tied at 12 and the second quarter didn’t see either team create much separation as the Rams held a 21-17 advantage at halftime.

Palm Beach Lakes turned up their defensive intensity another notch to begin the third quarter as they turned over Centennial multiple times in the first four minutes and got out in transition.

Using a 20-5 spurt, the Rams led by as much as 19 in the third quarter with Gonzalez scoring nine points in the stanza to push their lead out to 42-27.

The Eagles (9-4) wouldn’t threaten in the fourth quarter, as it was a struggle the entire night for Centennial’s offense to generate points.

Junior Kennedy Cannon scored 16 points, but left many more on the table as the 6-foot-3 center had trouble finishing at the rim all evening. Mya Heath added eight points for the Eagles, who only hit two 3-pointers and converted just 9-for-19 at the foul line.

Every key contributor for the Eagles will return next season for Centennial head coach Nene Johnson, who couldn't fault their effort level from start to finish Thursday but lamented the inability of her girls to not put the ball in the basket.

"Shots just didn't fall for us tonight," Johnson said. "We brought the pressure, we did what we were supposed to do on the defensive end, but we just didn't execute on offense. We're a young team, I'm a first-year head coach and it speaks volumes to what potentially could come in the future for us."

Palm Beach Lakes picked up nine points from Deborrah Seitu-Redmon, as the Rams will get another crack at Jupiter next Tuesday in the regional semifinal after the Warriors needed overtime to beat Vero Beach 48-41 in their quarterfinal.

Jupiter 48, Vero Beach 41 (OT)

Aayden Ghee was once again the difference in an overtime regional quarterfinal contest Thursday night, as Jupiter defeated visiting Vero Beach 48-41, advancing to the program’s first regional semifinal match since the 2010-2011 season. 

Ghee led the victorious Warriors with a team-high 21 points, coming up clutch with every shot for her team in overtime when the points mattered most.  

While Jupiter started slow out of the gate in last week’s comeback win against Palm Beach Lakes, Thursday’s regional quarterfinal saw the home team begin quick and decisive. 

The Warriors jumped to an eight-point lead, but multiple players including Ghee and senior Veronica Edwards ran into foul trouble. 

The latter of the two seniors was taken out once she tallied her third foul in the first half, and when the Warriors lost their middle presence, Vero Beach began to find their footing in a second quarter surge.

Vero Beach’s momentum continued into the second half, and the Indians grabbed their first lead of the night late in the third quarter. Destiny Nelson's layup in the final minute of regulation tied the the game to force overtime, but the Fighting Indians only mustered one point to come up short.

Senior Sara Pedraza, who was banged up in the fourth quarter still managed a team-high 18 points and Ratajah Dawson added 11 points for Vero Beach.

“This team gave it everything they had from start to finish,” Vero Beach head coach Jennifer Potter said “They got down and came back and left it all on the court at the end. It just came down to a couple little things that we didn’t do.”

-Alex Peterman

American Heritage 68, Fort Pierce Westwood 23

The Panthers (13-11) couldn't keep up with one of the state's top-ranked teams as their season came to an end in the 5A regional quarterfinals.

Victory Christian Academy 73, Morningside Academy 33

The Eagles (12-5) couldn't recover from a slow start, trailing 24-9 after the first quarter and ended their season in the 2A regional quarterfinals.

Boys Tennis

Jensen Beach 7, The Pine School 0: Singles: Gabriel Escobar d. Sam Schulman 4-0, 4-0, Nicolas Galligan d. Tanner Spurlin 4-0, 4-0, Olavi Poyhonen d. Peter Foley 4-1, 4-1, Dylan Tuccio d. Reyn Hyland 4-1, 4-2, Hunter Lerner d. Tate Small 4-1, 4-0: Doubles: Escobar/Galligan d. Schulman/Foley 4-0, 4-0, Poyhonen/Tuccio d. Spurlin/Small 4-0, 4-0

Treasure Coast 6, Centennial 1: Singles: Aaron Olivera (C) d. Gary Moore 8-3, Silas Rooney (TC) d. Austin Brandstein 8-0, Treasure Coast wins at No. 3, 4, 5 singles via forfeit; Doubles: Cyprien Cabanes/Johnathon Diaz d. Olivera/Brandstein 8-3, Treasure Coast wins at No. 2 doubles via forfeit

Girls Tennis

Jensen Beach 6, The Pine School 1: Singles: Sarah Schoppe d. Angela Charles 4-1, 4-0, Shannon Skinner d. Makenzie Kelly 4-2, 3-5, 1-0, Sabine Rudolph  d. Solana Rudnitsky 4-1, 2-4, 1-0, Mira Lerner d. Audrey Folex 4-0, 4-0, Sophia Sedelnik d. Olivia Turke 1-4, 1-0; Doubles: Schoppe/Skinner d. Charles/Kelly 5-3, 4-0, Rudolph/Konopka d. Villanova/Ruditsky 4-1, 2-4, 1-0

Centennial 4, Treasure Coast 3: Singles: Marissa Vander Ploeg (C) d. Ashley Medina 8-2, Isabella Nazario (C) d. Nicole Beltram 8-6, Camila Blanco (C) d. Nixa Arbelo 8-5, Juliana Mohr (TC) d. Keith Santil 8-0, Treasure Coast wins at No. 5 singles via forfeit: Doubles: Vander Ploeg/Nazario d. Medina/Beltram 8-4, Treasure Coast wins at No. 2 doubles via forfeit

Martin County 7, Port St. Lucie 0: Singles: Victoria Ponsoldt d. Gina Milano 8-0, Allison Daniel d. Maricelys Conde 8-0, Sophia Raley wins via forfeit, Ella Kate France wins via forfeit, Ashley Messer wins via forfeit: Doubles: Messer/Kate France d. Milano/Conde 8-0, Ella Johnson/Calista Pearlstone wins at No. 2 doubles via forfeit