Games Tuesday and Wednesday at Gateway, St. Cloud; Finals Friday at Celebration
If recent history and current rankings represent a fair barometer, it’s a pretty good guess Gateway will meet St. Cloud in the finals of next Friday’s Orange Belt Conference girls basketball tournament.
The Panthers and Bulldogs they have met in the last two OBC title games and although both teams lost significant senior leadership last year, both are off and rolling again this season. Gateway (14-3) is ranked No. 8 in the state in Class 5A with a 14-3 record and St. Cloud (14-3) is 22nd in 7A, per Maxpreps.
If they do meet in the finals, it should be a pretty even matchup on paper but there is one little nagging detail that sticks out – the Panthers have had a really hard time beating the Bulldogs. St. Cloud has won the last five OBC titles and has defeated Gateway 18 straight times dating back to the 2011-12 season. Last year, the Panthers were the No. 1 seed but watched the Bulldogs win, 51-44 to match their 2023 win by a 44-31 score.
“As a coach or player you want to win every game you play,” Gateway coach Justin Marino says. “But we are in different classifications and a loss to St. Cloud doesn’t really matter more than a loss to a Lake Howell or any other school. Still, a lot of our kids played with and against a lot of their kids in middle school and our older players have a little sense of history. So, yes, we want to get to the finals and we want to meet St. Cloud in that game.”
Although both teams are favored to reach the final, St. Cloud coach Chad Ansbaugh says he is concerned about the prospect.
“Gateway is the top seed for a reason and they are playing great basketball right now. But we have an awful lot of work to do before we can even think about meeting them in the finals,” Ansbaugh said. Talent-wise we are very average team. Our kids play hard but we are not good enough to overlook any opponent.”
Part of Ansbaugh’s concern is that starter Savannah Kroener has been out with an injury since the third game of the season. In her absence, St.Cloud has been playing well, winning five of six heading into the final week before the tournament. Guard Arianna Viera is averaging 19.6 points per game.
The tournament begins Tuesday at Gateway and St. Cloud after the Martin Luther King holiday, with semifinals and placement games Wednesday, fifth and seventh-place games Thursday, and the third place and championship games Friday at 5 & 7 at Celebration High.
Behind the “Triple A” attack of junior point guard Alyssa Marino (19.9 ppg, 7.4 apg) and freshmen Ashlynn Day (22.4 ppg, 11.4 rpg) and Andrea Sauzo (9.6. ppg), Gateway has dominated many opponents this year. The Panthers have outscored opponents by 20 or more points in 13 of their 14 wins. Their only losses this season have come to Lake Howell (13-4), Central Florida Christian (13-4) and Sycamore – a team from Ohio.
“We’re starting to hit our stride,” Marino added after Gateway won its last three games by an average of 38 points. “We’re looking forward to a good tournament week.”
OBC girls tournament schedule:
Tuesday, Jan. 21
At Gateway: Celebration vs. Harmony, 5 p.m.; Gateway vs. Liberty, 7 p.m.
At St. Cloud: Tohopekaliga vs. Osceola, 5 p.m.; St. Cloud vs. Poinciana, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
At Gateway: Tuesday's losers, 5 p.m.; Tuesday's winners, 7 p.m.
At St. Cloud: Tuesday's losers, 5 p.m.; Tuesday's winners, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 24
3rd/5th/7th place games at higher seed, 7 p.m.
Championship at Celebration High, 7 p.m. (Note: Celebration will host its game at 5 p.m., regardless of seed, in order to be on site for championship game.)
MORE SPORTS NEWS
State wrestling duals
Osceola High will again host the FHSAA Duals wrestling championships, Jan. 24-25. Last week, Osceola edged Harmony to win the District 3A-5 championship. Both advance to this week’s sub regional in Viera, where the winner will be among the final 8 in the state meet.
Girls weightlifting
Team and individual OBC champions will be crowned Friday. Harmony will have a chance to end St. Cloud’s 14year stranglehold on the team championship.
