By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

Poinciana High claimed the school's first district basketball championship, girls or boys, with a 57-46 over host Harmony on Saturday in the Class 4A District 6 title game. With the win comes a regional playoff home game on Thursday.

The Eagles will host 4A-5 runner-up Leesburg at 7 p.m. The Longhorns will travel to 4A-5 champion Ocala Vanguard on Thursday.

The Gateway Panthers, by virtue of a runner-up finish in the 6A-6 tournament, will also play in the regionals on Thursday, for the first time in school history. GHS travels to 6A-5 champion Apopka.

Poinciana Coach Jamerson Jones nearly missed his team's epic victory. Tending to a family emergency the first part of Saturday, he arrived at halftime, looked at the scoreboard and saw his team trailing 30-23 at the half.

The Longhorns (15-10) scored the first four points of the half to open a 34-23 lead before the Eagles began the first of two big runs. Poinciana (17-8), keyed by two three-point plays from Kedesia Johnson, one by Brittany Garrett and and three-pointer by Brandii Walker, went on a 16-3 run in third quarter to tie it, then take their first lead with 1:32 left in the quarter on a Gerri Navarro jump shot. Harmony's Sam Van Tassel re-tied it with a jump shot, but thanks to Walker's three-pointer nearing the end of the quarter, Poinciana led 43-41 headed to the final quarter.

Marie Gilbert, who led Harmony with 21 points (and eight rebounds, three assists and three steals), scored five points to open the fourth and give the Longhorns a 46-45 lead, but it was the last time Harmony would lead -- or score, as the Eagles scored the final 12 points of the game.

Navarro, who led PHS with 21 points, kept her team within striking distance in the first half with five three-pointers. Garrett (seven points, 10 rebounds), Walker (13 points, five rebounds) and Johnson (14 points, 11 rebounds) also came up big on Saturday.

Gateway earned the first playoff berth in the school's 25-year history thanks to a 43-37 win over Port St. Lucie Centennial in Friday's 6A-6 semifinals. Carla Garcia scored 13 points and Jovana Smith chipped in 12.

The success translated to Saturday's final against Vero Beach, but for only three quarters. The Panthers (14-10) led until the 6:09 mark of the fourth quarter, but lost to the host Indians 38-34. Garcia scored 8, Smith and Leslie Soto added 7, and Helen Collazo and Tiffany Charneco scored 6.