Girls basketball: Holy Names eliminates Avon Park

Academy of the Holy Names guard Amanda McWilliams scored a team-high 11 points Thursday night, and Kelli Cartwright and Sarah Davis added eight points apiece to lead the Jaguars to a 39-25 victory against Avon Park in the Class 4A-Region 3 girls basketball quarterfinals.

The win improved the Jaguars to 19-6 and moved them into Tuesday night's region semifinals against district rival Tampa Catholic.

"It's a win," Academy of the Holy Names coach Melissa Ganther said. "Our school hasn't gotten this far in a while. We adjusted to the slower tempo, executed our offense and made the extra pass to the open player."

Academy of the Holy Names broke on top as McWilliams nailed a pair of 3-pointers and Sarah Davis drained a 3 to give the Jaguars a 12-8 lead heading to the second quarter. Avon Park, which was led by Toryana Jones' game-high 12 points, went six minutes without a field goal and Academy of the Holy Names pushed its lead to 18-11 at the half.

The Jaguars got hot from the floor as Ashley McWillams scored three of her seven points and Cartwright chipped in with four points to give the Jaguars a 32-17 lead heading into the final quarter. Academy of the Holy Names ran out the clock with each possession in the final period and cruised to the victory.

The win sets up a fourth game against Tampa Catholic, with the Jaguars looking for the elusive first win against the Crusaders.

"Tampa Catholic is a team that can shoot from inside or outside," Ganther said. "We just want to make a game out of it and see what happens in the fourth quarter."

Highlands Today

4A-3: Jones, Betts pace TC

Press and run. Unselfishness. Balanced scoring and defensive-minded.

That's the kind of basketball Tampa Catholic coach Nancy Kroll likes to see from her squad, especially at playoff time. And that's exactly what she got in a 78-46 victory against Lake Placid in the Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinals.

"What we've learned from our schedule this year is that we have to play our game," Kroll said. "We don't have the height to get into a slow-down game, and the transition game is what we do best."

Senior forward Kai Jones scored 24 points and junior guard Britany Betts added 22 to lead the way for two-time defending state champion Tampa Catholic (19-9).

Jones got a lot of those points in the paint while Betts, Micah Kroll (11), who got sick at halftime but managed to return, and Gracie Dziagwa (eight) were the outside threats that kept Lake Placid (17-4) honest.

Bill Ward

8A-2: Wharton falls

East Lake's defense sparked a nine-point run to start the second half, and the Eagles coasted to a 57-42 victory against Wharton in the Class 8A-Region 2 quarterfinals.

Clinging to a one point lead at the break, East Lake outscored the Wildcats, 28-14, in the second half. Jenny Parlik led the Eagles with 16 points.

Robert Adams

8A-2: North Port defeats Newsome

Newsome ended its season in the Class 8A-Region 2 quarterfinals, losing, 68-30, at North Port.

The season's highlight for Newsome (14-10) came in its district semifinal when it won, 53-49, against Plant.

Scott Purks

7A-2: TBT falls by one point

Tampa Bay Tech coach Reggie Lawrence watched a 16-point Titans run in the fourth quarter, but he couldn't help but think about how his team struggled on each side of halftime taking shots when opportunities were presented.

With two turnovers in the final 30 seconds, the Titans' season ended as Bartow squeaked by Tampa Bay Tech, 60-59, in a Class 7A-Region 2 quarterfinal.

"Making free throws and making layups, that's the difference in this game," Lawrence said. "Against a team that talented, you have to take each opportunity you're given and tonight we didn't do that."

TBT got off to a quick start behind Dasha Christopher's shooting, which accounted for 13 first-quarter points, but the senior was limited to just four points over the next two quarters.

The Titans were led by Christopher, who added six points in the fourth to finish with 23 points, followed by Erica Young with 15.

Jarrett Guthrie

7A-2: Haines City ousts Riverview

The shots weren't dropping for Riverview as the Sharks fell, 47-31, to Haines City in the 7A-Region 2 quarterfinals.

The Sharks (21-5) scored only once in the first quarter and trailed 23-8 at the half.

Jaitesha Hanson kept the Sharks in the game with 26 points.

Jeff Berlinicke

7A-3: Steinbrenner loses in OT

Danielle Daniels scored 11 points and had 16 rebounds as St. Petersburg beat host Steinbrenner, 42-39, in overtime in a Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinal.

St. Petersburg's Michael Everhart made a 3-point basket and Deja Swinton and Jordan Berenbaum each made one free throw to give the Green Devils a 40-35 lead in overtime that Steinbrenner could not overcome.

Rachel Briere had 11 points and Bailey Hooker scored 10 for Steinbrenner. Briere made two free throws with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the teams traded turnovers to send the game to overtime.

Don Trello

7A-3: Clearwater edges Freedom

The reason Freedom dropped its Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinal to Clearwater, 42-39, came down to simple arithmetic, said Freedom coach Laurie Pacholke.

"It's hard to beat someone when you only score 39 points," Pacholke said, pointing at the scoreboard. "Especially in a region game."

It was that simple for the Patriots. Late in the game, Freedom had numerous second, third and occasionally fourth chances after offensive rebounds to get a bucket but the ball just wouldn't fall.

Lee Diekemper

6A-3: Strong second half keys Sickles

Sickles won its Class 6A-Region 3 quarterfinal, 47-38, at Palmetto, but the Gryphons had a more difficult time than many expected.

The Gryphons (20-7) trailed by two at halftime before gaining a six-point third-quarter lead and pushing the gap to 10 in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore quard Kassidy Girdler led the way with 16 points with four 3-pointers, and Bre Crum added 10.

Scott Purks

6A-3: Wilson leads Jefferson

Jefferson pulled away in the fourth quarter en route to a 64-43 victory in the Class 6A-Region 3 quarterfinals against Largo.

Jefferson held a 33-25 lead at the half, but saw Largo go on a 10-2 run to start the third quarter.

Led by Shayla Wilson's 20 points, the Lady Dragons were able to outscore Largo, 19-8, in the final quarter. Shayla Upshaw added 12 points, while Chantrell Frazier had 11.

Jacob Perper

6A-3: Mitchell eliminated

Mitchell coach Jacob Tavo did his best to prepare his team for life outside Pasco County.

But nothing could prepare Mitchell for the Class 6A-Region 3 quarterfinal matchup with host Winter Haven. The Blue Devils, who have reached the state final four 10 of the last 12 years and were state champions in 2005 and 2007, downed the Mustangs, 56-17.

"There's no comparison to Winter Haven and teams in Pasco County," Tavo said. "Gulf is probably the closest and they don't even compare. Winter Haven has players that play all year and live and breathe basketball. We have none."

Rick Harmon

5A-2: Saunders lifts Gulf

Gulf will face Pasco for a fourth time this season as the Buccaneers, behind a 26-point performance from junior guard Kadejah Saunders, defeated Tavares, 57-45, in a Class 5A-Region 2 quarterfinal.

The Buccaneers (27-2) started the game with an 11-0 run, with three baskets coming via layups from Saunders. Tavares (16-7), however, slowly crept back into the ballgame and by halftime cut the margin to 28-19.

Gulf regained its balance offensively, despite being in foul trouble the entire evening, and in the fourth quarter was up by as many as 15 points. Lexy Schulman ended the night with a double-double, with 10 points and 11 assists.

Andy Villamarzo

5A-2: Pasco beats Nature Coast

Pasco scored the first 10 points of its Class 5A-Region 2 quarterfinal, then fought off a Nature Coast rally for a 61-50 victory.

Allahon Marbra scored 23 points for Pasco, backcourt mate Brianca Roberts added 22, and Ashley Webster had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"The first half they kind of neutralized us with good ball movement," Pasco coach Troy Moore said. "In the second half we made an adjustment, backed up a little bit, let them come to us so we could attack with our quickness."

Chris Bernhardt Jr.

5A-3: Bradenton Southeast stops Blake

Blake struggled right from the start in the Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals, being held scoreless in the first quarter en route to a 59-25 loss to Bradenton Southeast.

Southeast played a full-court press for most of the game. The bulk of the scoring for Southeast was handled by Bevin Mays (13), Deangela Mathis (20) and Keshawna Robinson (19).

Bryce Flemister

5A-3: Robinson struggles

Kasey Drayton and Lakewood took their game to another level, frustrating Robinson in a 63-8 blowout win in the Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals.

Drayton, a junior, scored the game's first six points and finished with 24 despite sitting out most of the second half. Shineice Beamon chipped in 12.

Phil Neary

3A-2: Seffner Christian earns easy victory

Ally Parimore scored six points to key a 10-0 run by Seffner Christian to open the game as the Crusaders cruised to a 65-29 victory over Lakeland Christian (13-11) in a Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinal.

Sabrina Whiting and Peyton Walker scored 13 points each to lead Seffner Christian (23-4), while Parimore and Sam Plager added 12 apiece.

The Crusaders' defense frustrated Whitney Houk, the Vikings' leading scorer, and limited her to one point in the first half. Houk, who averaged more than 23 points a game this year, finished with 12.

Kevin Orth

3A-2: Brooks-DeBartolo triumphs

Brooks-DeBartolo led from start to finish in a 54-42 Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinal road victory against Lakeland McKeel Academy.

Chelsea White led the Phoenix with 20 points, followed by Tatiana Manuel (11 points, seven rebounds) and Vintoria Hopps and Jazmine Curry, who had nine points apiece.

Scott Purks

2A-2: Academy at the Lakes rolls

Guard Ameila Oliver scored 26 points, forward Andrea Mauger dropped in 22 and point guard Samantha Fernandez had 19 as Academy at the Lakes (21-5) routed Winter Haven All Saints, 71-33, in the Class 2A-Region 2 quarterfinals.

Thanks to a 34-6 second quarter, the Wildcats, who were region finalists last season, had a running clock after halftime.

In the second, Mauger surpassed the 1,000-career-point mark in just three years with the Wildcats, becoming the third Pasco County basketball player to reach the feat this season.

Mike Camunas