American Heritage, Ely, Miami Country Day advance to state in girls’ basketball
American Heritage’s girls’ basketball team built an 18-point lead then held off Miami Northwestern’s furious rally in the fourth quarter to win 53-47 in the Region 4-4A final Friday night.
The Patriots (17-8), a state champion in six of the past eight seasons, will play Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in a 4A state semifinal March 9 at the University of North Florida’s arena in Jacksonville. The Bulls (21-8), playing in their first regional final since 2001, saw their winning streak end at 10.
The Patriots led 45-27 late in the third quarter, but the Bulls used defensive pressure and Damaria Gatlin’s scoring spurt to get within 51-47 with 41 seconds left in regulation. But Zoe Rowe gave the hosts breathing room with two free throws, and American Heritage’s defense stood firm in the final seconds.
Northwestern’s Jade Yacinthe led all players with 14 points. Gatlin had 12 points, including Northwestern’s first eight in the fourth quarter. Isabella Aloisio led Heritage with 13, with Sarah-Renee Ingraham and Yinuo Wang contributing 12 apiece.
In the first quarter, 6-foot-1 junior Sarah-Renee Ingraham set the tone with four baskets in the paint. On the other end of the floor, Heritage’s stifling defense held Northwestern to three points in the first seven minutes.
“Every girl that has come in during the summer to right now has bought into defense,” Patriots coach Greg Farias said. “Defense wins championships, offense sells tickets – I’ve always said that. … Our defense is who we are.”
“We were fresher in the first half,” Farias said. “We were running our sets. Everything was working. We kept hitting shots.”
Added Aloisio: “We played together, found the open person, played defense. We were all communicating.”
But Ingraham committed two fouls in the final minute of the first quarter and wasn’t a factor in the second. After falling behind 21-7, the Bulls matched the Patriots point for point and trailed 34-20 at halftime and 45-31 after three quarters.
In the fourth, Gatlin made two 3-pointers and two free throws in a span of less than three minutes to get the Bulls within 49-39 with 2:06 remaining. A Yacinthe free throw and a Tayana Dixon layup off a nice feed from Kaitlynn Gibson made it 49-42 with 1:19 left. Myah Newton, one of four seniors on the Bulls roster, made a tough shot with 52 seconds left to make it 50-44. Gibson’s running 3-pointer cut the deficit to four, but Rowe’s free throws and one last round of defensive execution sealed it for Heritage.
“We lost a little bit of our defensive intensity toward the third and fourth quarter, but we did a really good job of fighting all the way through it,” Farias said.
“I think we started to get sped up,” Aloisio said. “Heat of the moment.”
“We had our ups and downs, but at the end of the game, we stuck together,” Wang said.
Farias, who will be bringing a team to the state championships for the 10th consecutive year, says this year’s team is unique.
“This one is really enjoyable. This is incredible. We were not given credit because I lost four starters. I have nine girls that are all role players that play as a team, and they care about each other. ‘One team’ is our motto.”
Region 4-5A - Blanche Ely 63, Sebastian River 32: The Tigers (20-5) advanced to the state final four for the first time since 2020 when they last won a state championship. Ely will take on St. Petersburg on March 11 in a state semifinal in Jacksonville. The Tigers are vying to win fourth state title overall.
Region 4-2A - Miami Country Day 63, Palmer Trinity 20: The Spartans (26-2), the top-ranked team overall in the state, cruised to their 13th regional championship in the past 14 seasons. Jalynn Belton led Country Day with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists while Alyssa Hill had nine points.
The Spartans will next try to win their 11th state title and fourth in a row, which would extend the state’s longest active title streak. The first step for Country Day in that path comes on Friday when the Spartans host Jacksonville San Jose Prep in a 2A state semifinal in Jacksonville.
Region 4-1A - Boca Raton Grandview Prep 51, Schoolhouse Prep 40: The Wolfpack finished 16-7.