Pressure gets to Keys Gate girls’ basketball in Knights’ first trip to state semifinals
Keys Gate arrived in Lakeland on Wednesday knowing it would need to behave like an underdog to have any chance of upsetting Orlando Lake Highland Prep. For eight minutes, the Knights executed the way they needed to. Keys Gate slowed the pace for the first quarter against Lake Highland’s zone defense and managed to hold a lead heading to the second quarter in its first appearance in the final four.
It was inevitable, though, for the Highlanders to make a change. Lake Highland turned up its pressure and Keys Gate turned the ball over nine times in the second quarter, resulting in 12 points for the Highlanders. A two-point lead for the Knights at the end of the first quarter quickly evaporated into a 16-point halftime deficit and Lake Highland pulled away for a 66-44 win in the Class 5A semifinals in Lakeland.
“We kind of turned it over and they got some easy baskets, and kind of got themselves a lead,” coach Ben Drummer said at his postgame press conference at the RP Funding Center. “I think they got a little bit more comfortable after that, so it kind of got away from us.”
The Highlanders advance to face Oxbridge Academy in the 5A championship Thursday at George W. Jenkins Arena. Keys Gate finishes its most successful season just shy of on all-South Florida title game.
The Knights’ run to the semifinals wasn’t just deepest playoff run for in the program’s history — it was the deepest run for any team at the Homestead charter school. No other team in any sport had ever even been to the region finals.
Keys Gate (27-5) succeeded on the strength of its three-point shooting. At 31 percent for the season entering Wednesday, the Knights began by firing from deep and led 12-10 after the first quarter by shooting 4 of 11 from three-point range. The Knights only even attempted two shots from inside the arc.
“We were comfortable holding the ball for as long as we possibly could in possessions,” Drummer said, “and hopefully at the end of it we’d take a couple open shots. We made some shots.”
From there, Lake Highland (26-4) turned up the pressure. The Highlanders outscored Keys Gate, 26-8, in the second quarter with nearly half their points coming off Knight turnovers. They forced Keys Gate out of their three-happy comfort zone and the Knights never recovered. Keys Gate missed all four of its three-pointers in the second quarter. The Knights finished 7 of 25 from deep after a 4-of-10 start and shot just 30.2 percent overall.
Amari Hunter led Keys Gate with 18 points and fellow point guard Riana Moore added 11 points. Those two and the rest of the Knights’ starting lineup will be back next season. Keys Gate hopes this will just be a springboard to something more.
“It was a fun experience,” Moore said at the postgame press conference. “Everybody was surprised for us to make it here.”
