Carrollton’s breakthrough girls’ basketball season ends in state semifinals

Sela Travesio’s 15 points were not enough as Carrollton’s girls’ basketball season came to an end with a 62-46 loss to Somerset Canyons Academy in the Class 3A state semifinal at UNF Arena on Monday.

Travesio scored on a variety of drives to the basket, converted four of six free throws and added a three-point shot from beyond the arc to lead the Cyclones (22-3), who made their state final four debut.

“She [Travesio] is the most underrated player in the state,” Carrollton coach Danny Ramos said. “She is always the toughest player on the court. She is a driver and she gets to the basket.”

Travesio sank a pair of free throws to give Carrollton a 4-2 lead two minutes into the game, but Somerset’s Alanna Fabrini answered with a trey from the right wing to take the lead back for the Cougars, who never trailed again.

Neither team generated much offense in defensive first quarter. The Cyclones handled Somerset’s intense man-to-man, full court pressure well, but had difficulty finding open shots in their half court offense. Somerset star Alana Pinnock, who has multiple Power 4 conference offers, was able to get into the lane but had trouble finishing. As a result, Somerset clung to a 9-7 lead after the first eight minutes.

The shots started falling for Pinnock and teammate Delanie Dotie in the second quarter, who scored seven points apiece as the Cougars extended their lead to 30-17 at the intermission. When Fabrini converted a conventional three-point play with 0:32 remaining in the third quarter to push the lead to 45-26, it appeared the top-seeded Cougars would coast the rest of the way. But Carrollton guard Alissa Azcuy rallied the Cyclones with two three-pointers from the top of the key and a lay-up on a fast break to cut the Cougars’ advantage to 55-44 with 2:16 remaining in the game, giving Carrollton a glimmer of hope.

Fabrini righted the ship for Somerset with two free throws and a lay-up to keep the Cyclones at bay in the final two minutes.

Carrollton, whose five starters range from 5-4 to 5-6, had difficulty contending with a significant height advantage enjoyed by the Cougars, who did not have a starter under 5-8.

“We played hard, and we do not quit. But we did not play our normal brand of basketball,” said Ramos after the game. “We let their physicality get to us.”

The 5-11 Pinnock led all scorers with 19 points, while Fabrini finished with 15. Dotie was also in double figures for Somerset with 12 points. The Cougars, now 23-4, advance to the state final where they will play Lake Highland Prep, a 62-54 winner over Jacksonville Bolles in the other Class 3A semifinal.

Josephine Salazar scored 10 points for the Cyclones. Ramos, in his third year as the head coach at Carrollton, was proud of his team.

“They exceeded expectations,” he said. “We won the regional, and we came here against the second-ranked team in the state. Even though they were bigger than us and faster than us, we competed.”