Thursday's girls basketball roundup

Thursday, December 08, 2011
by Matt Porter

Dwyer players admitted they were humbled by last week's loss at national powerhouse Orlando-Dr. Phillips, the top-ranked Panthers' first loss of the season.

"Our heads were getting a little too big," said junior Kai James, echoing several teammates and Dwyer coach Jeryl Akins, who said the loss "came at the right time."

Dwyer got back to work Thursday, beating third-ranked Palm Beach Central 54-49 in front of several Division I women's basketball coaches, including assistants from Louisville, UCF and Miami head coach Katie Meier.

The Panthers (7-1, 3-0 District 9-8A) had more power in the middle than the Broncos (6-1, 2-1). James, a 6-foot-5 center, scored a game-high 24 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks and was near-impossible to defend inside. Junior Sam Glodis, a 6-3 forward, put up 20 points and 12 rebounds.

"When they're at 100 percent, no one down here can stop them," Akins said of James and Glodis. "If our bigs play, we're going to win."

However, Palm Beach Central nearly matched Dwyer with 6-0 senior Lexus Love, who had 13 points, 13 rebounds and four steals, and 6-2 senior Mariah-Cauhryn Smesler (12 points, nine boards and four blocks).

The Broncos took their first lead with 12 seconds left in the first half, when Smesler put a baseline up-fake on James and banked it in off the glass.

Central maintained the edge after the third thanks to its big two and strong guard play, especially from slick-handling freshman Crystal Primm and senior Ashante Doby, who drilled a three-pointer to put the Broncos up 42-38 after three.

The fourth quarter, however, belonged to Dwyer. It retook the lead on four free throws by James and a strong sequence from Glodis, who blocked a shot, pulled down two rebounds and hit two jumpers to put the Panthers up by six with 3:55 left.

No. 2 BOYNTON BEACH 75, JENSEN BEACH 37

Ta'Kerria Brown scored 18 points and Taylor Shade added 16 points and seven rebounds as the Tigers (6-0) routed the Falcons in Jensen Beach. Ashley Robinson had 24 points for Jensen Beach.

No. 7 SANTALUCES 55, BOCA RATON 33

Miriam Pierre had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Leeanna Rathel added 17 points to lead the Chiefs (6-3) past the Bobcats in Lantana. Abby Bukovich and Kathryn Levy each scored eight for Boca Raton.

NO. 9 SEMINOLE RIDGE 64, JOHN I. LEONARD 32

Kaitlin O'Hara scored 25 points and Jessica Cody added 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Hawks (8-2) rolled past the Lancers in Loxahatchee. Tamoya Merritt scored 24 points for Leonard.

PALM BEACH GARDENS 40, NO. 10 CARDINAL NEWMAN 30

Deshantia Bell scored 18 points and Maniffha Pierre added 11 rebounds to lead the Gators (5-4) over the Cruasaders (6-4) in Palm Beach Gardens. Natasha DeVita had 11 for Newman.

JUPITER 51, WELLINGTON 18

Jamie Ugles had 17 points and Liz Bolchoz added five steals as the Warriors (4-5) rolled past the Wolverines in Wellington. Marcela Marin and Heather Brown each scored six points for Wellington.

LAKE WORTH 58, OLYMPIC HEIGHTS 19

Storm Bureau had 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals to help the Trojans (3-7) rout the Lions in Lake Worth. Shatavia Smith added 18 points for Lake Worth. Jade Dowdell led Olympic Heights with 11 points.

PARK VISTA 64, SPANISH RIVER 37

Emily Lochten had 18 points and nine rebounds and Kiana Terrell added 17 points and eight rebounds as the Cobras (6-2) rolled past the Sharks in Boynton Beach. Emily Rosenstein scored 11 points for Spanish River.

WEST BOCA RATON 53, ATLANTIC 42

Rachel Stempel had 22 points and four assists to lead the Bulls (6-2) past the Eagles in Delray Beach. Breeanna James added eight points and 12 rebounds for West Boca. Toya Schidly scored 17 for Atlantic.

BOCA RATON CHRISTIAN 40, FAU HIGH 22

Amber Domond had 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Blazers (4-1) handled the Owls in Boca Raton. Natasha Atencio scored eight points for FAU High.

LAKE WORTH CHRISTIAN 45, DONNA KLEIN ACADEMY 22

Emily Wade scored 12 points for the Defenders (3-3) in their win over the Eagles (3-2) in Boynton Beach. Taytum Orshan scored 12 points for Donna Klein.

AMERICAN HERITAGE 42, SUMMIT CHRISTIAN 32

Sarah Cooper scored 21 points and Deanna Bradley added 11 to lead the Stallions (6-1) past the Saints in Delray Beach. Victoria Locke scored 13 points for Summit Christian.

JUPITER CHRISTIAN 48, PAHOKEE 35

Lindsey Powers had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Stephanie Kumler added 12 points and 17 rebounds as the Eagles (7-1) defeated the Blue Devils (3-4) in Jupiter.

BEREAN CHRISTIAN 43, KING'S ACADEMY 40 (OT)

Emily May had 30 points and 13 rebounds and Taisha Fanfan added nine rebounds and eight steals as the Bulldogs (2-5) edged past te Lions in West Palm Beach.

FORT MYERS-DUNBAR 74, CLEWISTON 31

Tianna Thomas had eight points and five rebounds, but the Clewiston (5-3) fell to Dunbar in Fort Myers.