Blanche Ely girls’ basketball team downs Dillard to reach state semifinals
The Blanche Ely girls’ basketball team found its form in the third quarter.
It also means the Tigers are packing their bags and heading to the RP Funding Center in Lakeland for the state semifinals next week.
The Tigers used a 20-4 run in the third quarter to defeat rival Dillard 53-40 in a Class 6A regional final on Friday at Blanche Ely High.
“At halftime, we knew we had missed too may opportunities,” Ely coach Henry McNabb said. “We told them to stay poised and the shots will start falling.
“The run was momentum and the crowd got into it. Creating turnovers and playing transition basketball is our bread and butter.”
Blanche Ely (26-6), winners of 16 consecutive games, looks to win its state championship since 1992. The Tigers will play the Braden River/Fort Myers winner is a state semifinal game on Thursday,
The victory was the third in a row for Tigers over Dillard this season. Prior to the 2019-20 season, Ely had lost 12 consecutive games to Dillard.
During the third-quarter run junior guard Ja’Leah Williams scored eight of her game-high 15-points. Zaire Blake added 12 points for the Tigers
The first half went as expected for the most part.
Blanche Ely went for the long ball, while Dillard looked to go inside. Neither worked particularly well for either side.
The Tigers, who led for much of the half, went into the intermission with a 22-21 lead on a Williams’ layup at the buzzer.
Dillard had briefly taken the lead at 21-20 on a Khyala Ngodu basket with 24.1 left in the half. She finished with 10 points.
Chynna Mattair led the Panthers (20-9) with 11 points.
GIRLS’ WATER POLO
▪ Ransom Everglades 24, MAST Academy 2: Preston Edmunds 3 goals, 2 assists; Sarah Velazco 3 goals. RE: 2-0.
▪ Cooper City 16, Westminster Academy 6: Melody Wood 18 blocks, Kate Kaplan 6 goals, Nora Mirabal 5 goals.
BOYS’ WATER POLO
▪ Ransom Everglades 30, MAST Academy 8: Coren O’Brien 10 blocks, Lucas Gomez 5 goals, 3 assists, 4 steals; Strong defense from GK Coren O’Brien.
▪ Cooper City 16, Westminster Academy 11: Nick Gomez 10 goals.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
▪ Regional 4-3A quarterfinal — Westminster Christian 74, Ransom Everglades 38
BASEBALL
▪ Palmer Trinity 13, Everglades Prep 3: WP Sam Burnitz 3 IP, 2R. Gabe Rodriguez 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, Ryan Gomez 2-3, 2RBI, Gabe Gonzalez 3-4, 4 RBI.
SOFTBALL
▪ Colonial Christian 11, Archbishop Carroll 3: Emily Downing 2IP, 2Ks, 2R; Emily Friman 1IP, 2ks, 3R, Jenna Friman 2 hits, 2RBI, Morgan Wells 3RBI, 2 SB. CC: 2-0.
▪ Goleman 11, Miami Beach 1: WP: Valentina Jara. GOL: 3-0.
GIRLS’ TENNIS
▪ Krop d. Miami High 7-0: Gabriela Rondon, Ayami Maehama, Monique Lima, Ginella Grimes and Galit Beraja all won singles. Rondon/Maehama and Beraja/Lotter won in doubles.
BOYS’ TENNIS
▪ Krop d. Miami High 7-0: Sebastian Rondon, Andrés Escalona, Abraham Shaoul, Jaime Pérez and Bautista Lotter all won singles. Perez/Duran-Lotter and Gonzalez/Irwanto won in doubles.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
BOYS’ SOCCER (State semifinals)
7A – Cypress Bay at Boca Raton, 7 p.m.
6A – South Broward at Lakeland George Jenkins, 7 p.m.
5A – Naples Lely at Pembroke Pines Charter, 7 p.m.
4A – Gulliver Prep. at Orlando Bishop Moore, 7 p.m.
3A – Delray Beach American Heritage at University School, 7 p.m.
2A – Westminster Academy at St. Pete Shorecrest, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 8:54 PM.