Regional Girls Basketball: Palm Bay and Holy Trinity advance to state final four
Region 2-4A: Palm Bay 63, Bishop Moore 27
MELBOURNE — Palm Bay (23-7) is heading to the state final four after defeating Bishop Moore (13-14) to win the Region 2-4A final.
Palm Bay built an eight-point lead in the first quarter after Zmharie Barber scored a basket as the period ended.
In the second quarter, the Pirates began to put some distance between themselves and the Hornets. With 3:08 remaining before the half, Palm Bay built a 26-9 lead after Jaida Civil got a steal and broke away for a layup. Civil scored 14 points in the quarter.
The Pirates’ defense only allowed the Hornets to score seven points in the second quarter.
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Palm Bay’s Jordyn Baker capped off the strong quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“I do think they were a little tight at first, but they settled down and we played hard. Bishop Moore is a well-coached team, they’re young and they’re going to be good for years to come,” Palm Bay coach EJ Murray said. “I think we just kind of needed to get the first quarter out of the way and then at the break between the first and second quarter we just kind of talked about calming down and playing our game and that’s what the girls did.”
After halftime, the Pirates picked up where they left off with Trishay Collins knocking down 3-pointer to start the third quarter.
The game was never close from there as Palm Bay advanced to the state final four. Civil ended the game with 23 points, Erynn Moffett had 10 points and Collins added nine.
Palm Bay will play Sarasota Booker in the Class 4A state semifinal March 4 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Region 2-2A: Holy Trinity 67, Lakeland Christian 13
Holy Trinity (22-6) rolled over Lakeland Christian (21-6) to win the Region 2-2A championship, earning a spot in the Class 2A state final four.
Leila Bryant led the Tigers with 21 points. Kylie Green and Savannah Schultz both scored nine points for Holy Trinity.
The Tigers will play Jacksonville Providence School in the Class 2A state semifinals Feb. 27 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
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