- October 22, 2024
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Braden River freshman Aaliyah Capers takes the opening tip against Wekiva's Myanna Garrett.
Braden River junior O'Mariah Gordon floats over the Wekiva defense for two points. Gordon finished with 27 points.
Braden River senior Julia Rodriguez locks down Wekiva's Shadaria Smith.
Braden River senior Julia Rodriguez drives to the hoop. Rodriguez finished with 11 points.
Braden River sophomore Bella Patterson battles in the post.
O'Mariah Gordon gets fouled by Wekiva's Danesha Boles.
Braden River coach Stephanie Smith claps in excitement during a strong Pirates run. Braden River got within 11 points of Wekiva in the fourth quarter.
O'Mariah Gordon drives the lane. The junior guard hit eight of her 16 shots on the night.
Braden River junior Ellie DiGiacomo jumps and fires a three point attempt. She hit three long range shots on the night.
O'Mariah Gordon finds a teammate with a pass.
Bella Patterson forces a jump ball after ripping it from a Wekiva defender.
Braden River coach Stephanie Smith challenges her team during a timeout in the fourth quarter.
O'Mariah Gordon was forced to take off-balance shots like this one thanks to Wekiva's stingy defense.
Aaliyah Capers beats Wekiva defender Emmy James off the dribble.
Julia Rodriguez maneuvers into the post. She had 11 points on the night.
O'Mariah Gordon takes the ball to the hoop. She had 27 points on the night.
Ellie DiGiacomo finished with nine points on the night.
O'Mariah Gordon proves she is not afraid of contact when driving to the rim.
Bella Patterson had just two points, but five rebounds for the Pirates.
Julia Rodriguez nails a fadeaway jumper from the baseline.
O'Mariah Gordon proves she is not afraid of contact when driving to the rim.
Braden River senior Chelsea Morin dribbles up the court.
O'Mariah Gordon fires a three-point attempt. She hit three of them on the night.
Bella Patterson backs down a Wekiva defender.
Stephanie Smith comforts senior Julia Rodriguez on the bench.
Chelsea Morin wipes away tears as she leaves the court for the last time this season.
A quarter and a half of mistake-filled basketball doomed the Braden River High girls basketball team on Thursday in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 6A state semifinals.
It wasn't the game's beginning that troubled the Pirates. Braden River (17-9) came out strong against Wekiva High (23-7), the defending state champion, taking a quick 8-3 advantage thanks to crafty play from junior guard O'Mariah Gordon and company, taking advantage of misses and scoring in transition. The rest of the first half was back and forth, though the Pirates did lose the lead and trailed 35-29 at halftime.
It was the third quarter, and the start of the fourth, that put any thoughts of a down-to-the-wire contest to bed. Wekiva outscored Braden River 23-8 in the third, stretching the lead to 21. It did so with suffocating defensive pressure and electric ball movement on offense. For the game, Wekiva shot 50.9% from the floor — and 65.2% in the second half — compared to Braden River's 33.3%.
Wekiva carried that lead for the first part of the fourth, until the Pirates put on a full-court press, which rattled Wekiva and forced them into turnovers. The Pirates would get within 11 points, but the deficit was too large to overcome, and fouls made in an effort to conserve clock plus missed Pirates shots resulted in Wekiva's lead ballooning again.
Pirates coach Stephanie Smith said the team didn't play like itself until that late fourth-quarter run.
"We are inexperienced when it comes to playing in this type of arena and environment," Smith said. "You can chalk it up to that or to jitters, whatever you want to call it. I know my team can play how they did in the fourth quarter for (all) four quarters. (If) they played like that, I think it is a different outcome. I know it is. There is no way any team would score 80 points on us, ever. But give credit to Wekiva for what they did."
Smith also said she thinks her team got comfortable playing at home. The state semifinal, held at Lakeland's RP Funding Center, was the team's first road playoff game. Smith said that not only is the environment different, but the rims bounce differently. Teams like Wekiva that have played in Lakeland before have that advantage.
Gordon did her best to keep it close. She had a game-high 27 points in the loss, with six rebounds and three steals. The only other Pirate with double-figure points was senior Julia Rodriguez, who had 11.
