In another close matchup, St. Thomas Aquinas edges Blanche Ely to keep title defense alive
It’s almost expected at this point.
When the St. Thomas Aquinas and Blanche Ely girls basketball teams face off, it’s going to be a close game.
That was the case once again on Tuesday.
The victor was the same, too.
Behind senior Jada Green’s 15 points and clutch free throws down the stretch from senior Maya Williams, host St. Thomas Aquinas held on to beat Ely 57-53 in a Region 4-6A semifinal. The Raiders, the defending Class 6A state champions, improve to 24-4 on the season and advance to Friday’s regional final against Seminole Ridge. Ely’s season ends at 18-10.
“I am so proud of our girls,” St. Thomas Aquinas coach Oliver Berens said. “We faced a lot of adversity throughout the course of the game and our girls stayed poised. They stayed composed and they made the big plays when it counted. They closed the game and that’s what this team is all about.”
The Raiders, after leading for all but a few seconds through the first three quarters, went into the final period down 39-38 after Ely’s Laketrice Peterson hit a layup just before the third-quarter buzzer.
The final eight minutes were a back-and-forth affair.
Aquinas opened the frame on a 9-2 run, with Green hitting a pair of free throws and center Alancia Ramsey added three points, to go up 47-41. Ely responded with a run of its own and retook the lead, 50-48, with three minutes left on a Michiyah Simmons three-pointer. Simmons, a senior, had a game-high 17 points and scored Ely’s final eight points of the night.
Aquinas took control from there. Reina Green hit a game-tying three-point shot with 2:23 left and the Raiders hit five of six free throws in the final 1:42 to ice the win.
“It shows that we can fight no matter what,” said Williams, who scored 10 points and made three free throws in the final 17.2 seconds to put the game out of reach. “Even when we’re down, we can come back up and we can get it done.”
That’s been the story of the Aquinas-Ely rivalry lately.
Aquinas won the previous two matchups this season against Ely by scores of 45-44 in the regular season and 43-39 in the district championship. Each of the last six games between the two teams dating back to last season have been decided by no more than seven points, with the Raiders now winning four in a row.
“They’re a tough team,” Berens said of Blanche Ely. “They never quit. They always fight and claw back into the game. A lot of talent. ... Our team is making plays in crunch time.”
Added Ely coach JR McNabb: “Anytime you have good teams, it’s going to be good games, close games. We’re pretty evenly matched. At the end of the day, they just made more plays down the stretch.”
More regional semifinal results
▪ Region 4-7A: Miami High 55, Doral Academy 23; South Broward 60, Western 50.
▪ Region 4-6A: Seminole Ridge 61, Everglades 57
▪ Region 4-5A: Plantation American Heritage 84, Northwestern 28; Okeechobee 42, Norland 40
▪ Region 4-4A: Calvary Christian 64, Cardinal Gibbons 22; Mater Lakes Academy 51, SLAM 40
▪ Region 4-3A: Miami Country Day 76, Somerset Academy Silver Palms 46; Westminster Academy 61, Palmer Trinity 40
▪ Region 4-2A: Miami Christian 93, Hebrew Academy 31; Berean Christian 58, Dade Christian 37
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:03 PM.
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