Basketball: No. 1 Dwyer girls roll over No. 5 Lakes

Wednesday, January 09, 2013
by Matt Porter

Fifth-ranked Palm Beach Lakes could afford few mistakes against a team as big, tough and talented as top-ranked Dwyer. For most of the first half Wednesday night in Palm Beach Gardens, the Rams didn't press their luck.

They fought for every loose ball, had their hands in every lane and hit a few sweet jumpers in traffic. They led Dwyer by a point late in the second quarter.

Then the Panthers (14-4) flexed their muscles. Trailing 19-8, Dwyer put together a 21-5 run to end the first half on the way to an 82-43 rout of Lakes (9-7).

In a lineup in which all five Dwyer starters had double-dou8bles, no one flexed more than senior forward Ayanna Holmes. In her first career triple-double, Holmes had a game-high 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting. She had 17 rebounds, 10 of them offensive. She also had more assists (10) and steals (six) than anyone.

"I think we realized we weren't playing as well as we could be," Holmes said. "We tried to kick it up a notch."

Holmes' teammates call her "B.G.," or "Big Girl," for playing larger than her 5-foot-9 frame, but she wasn't alone. Dwyer had 92 rebounds rebounds, led by 6-5 senior post Kai James (game-high 21, 12 points, 5 blocks).

Senior forward Samantha Glodis had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Junior guard Keyanna Harris had 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Dwyer, which lost three consecutive games to out-of-area opponents during the holiday break, was ready to get back in the win column.

"Our big people came to play tonight," Dwyer coach Jeryl Akins said. "We had all the weapons going."

After their hustling start, the Rams couldn't get anything going. Senior guard T'Maya Newby had 10 points and senior guard Shanovia Dove added nine.

"We didn't get rebounds, didn't play any defense, didn't knock down shots," Lakes coach Cassandra Rahming said. "It snowballed."

No. 4 Grandview Prep 77, FAU High 11: Neydja Petithomme had 28 points, 10 steals and 11 assists and Vionise Pierre-Louis added 21 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks as the Pride (14-1) rolled over the Owls in Boca Raton.

Wellington 59, Glades Central 31: LaToya Ashman scored 18 points and Brianna Sabbat added 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Wolverines (6-10) handled the Raiders in Wellington. Haley Thompson contributed 16 points for Wellington.

Lincoln Park Academy 65, Cardinal Newman 58: Brandy Montgomery had 33 points and nine rebounds as the Greyhounds (12-3) held off the Crusaders in Fort Pierce. Tytionia Adderly scored 20 for Newman.

Atlantic 58, West Boca Raton 35: Deandra Akins and Tehoni Owens each scored 13 points as the Eagles handled the Bulls (5-13) in Boca Raton.

Santaluces 42, Forest Hill 32: Kimberly Vicente had 23 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead the Chiefs (6-11) over the Falcons in West Palm Beach.

St. Andrew's 44, Spanish River 40: Allie Russo had 13 points and 10 steals and Blondelle Ngouchinghe and Meloney Crombie each added nine rebounds to help the Scots (12-2) hold off the Sharks in Boca Raton.

BOYS

Cardinal Newman 45, Palm Beach Gardens 44: John Collins had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Andrew Owes added 10 rebounds to help the Crusaders (8-5) edge the Gators in West Palm Beach.

Inlet Grove 41, Seminole Ridge 34: A.J. Mcadory had nine points and 10 rebounds and Junior Bellagarde added six points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Hurricanes (7-9) shut down the Hawks in Riviera Beach.