Lady Pirates notch first win over Lakewood

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The Braden River High girls basketball has had its share of ups and downs this season.

The team lost its lone senior to a torn ACL at the beginning of the season, and six of its 10 losses have come within the district.

But through it all, the Lady Pirates still have had plenty to sing about. The team won its first tournament at the end of December, and on Jan. 19, the Lady Pirates defeated Lakewood Ranch 48-32, marking the first time in school history they have beaten their East County rivals.

“It’s been a year of firsts,” Braden River coach Carl Williams said. “We always talked about wanting to be a part of a rivalry, but you can’t have a rivalry if one team keeps winning. Now we have a rivalry.

“They’ve worked so hard, and I’m so proud of them, because they showed a lot of class out there,” Williams said. “It’s exciting, and what a lot of people don’t know is that our entire starting five will be back next year. They’re focused, full of energy and ready for whatever lies ahead of us.”

Braden River entered the game coming off a disappointing district loss to Port Charlotte, and with another district game scheduled for Jan. 20, the Lady Pirates weren’t able to focus solely on Lakewood Ranch.
But that didn’t mean the Lady Pirates weren’t eager to try and take down their East County rivals.

“We weren’t worried,” sophomore Madison Jaco said. “We just tried to play our pace, because when we get overly excited, we tend to get a little overly aggressive.”

After a slow start by both teams, Braden River took a 28-18 lead into the locker room and never looked back. Sophomore Madison Jaco finished with a team-high 18 points to lead the way for the Lady Pirates.

“It’s exciting,” Jaco said. “Ever since last year, when we lost to them, and it ended our season, we’ve been eager to beat them.”

Emily Bulfin finished with 18 points of her own to lead the way for Lakewood. Lakewood’s lone senior, Gabriella Diaz-Granados, who was recognized before the start of the game, was held scoreless.

Following the game, the Lady Pirates huddled together in celebration and belted out the lyrics to Nicki Menaj’s “Fly.” And as the final lyrics reverberated outside of the locker room, the team passed around a maroon and black rock, in honor of their former assistant coach, Dale Brannock, who died of cancer, and named an MVP.

“In our meetings, we always talk about coming to win, coming to fight and going hard, so this was the perfect song for us,” Jaco said. “The program’s developed so much from the beginning of the season to now. We’ve grown so much both on and off of the court.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].