On a night when they did little wrong, the Gateway Panthers rolled to a 72-31 win over Ocala Vanguard in a FHSAA Class 5A, Region 2 quarterfinal game on Thursday night. With the win, the Panthers will host Lake Wales – a 68-54 winner over Lake Region – in a regional semifinal game on Tuesday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m.
Gateway, now 22-6, jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and led 22-15 after one period. Malayna Stevenson scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the period to lead the charge. Vanguard’s Kannaria Dowdy made three three-pointers in the period to keep the game relatively close, but the Panthers pulled away in the second quarter, when Gateway made nine of 14 field goal attempt. That included three baskets each by Alyssa Marino and Vanessa Diaz as the Panthers pulled away, 42-21. In the quarter, the Gateway defense limited the Knights to just 3 for 11 shooting and forced five turnovers.
Stephenson picked up five first-half assists, passing up several scoring opportunities in the process. “This team is incredibly unselfish,” Coach Justin Marino said. “Even our scoring leaders will look for an open teammate first.”
A 23-point quarter extended the Gateway lead to 65-29 after three periods, with the 36-point lead triggering a running clock for the rest of the game. Stevenson scored eight points in the quarter and three other Panther players hit three pointers.
With the large lead, Marino played his reserves for the entire four quarter. In addition to Stevenson’s 23 points, Marino and Diaz added 13 points each and Evanna Rivera added eight. Karli Cole and Sky Peterson had six each.
Gateway hit 12 of 21 three-point attempts (57%) but also made 17 of 27 two-pointers (63%) to shoot 60% for the game. “We have a reputation of just being a three-point shooting team but we are not afraid to work the ball inside when it’s available,” Marino said. “We displayed that tonight.”
In advancing to the regional semifinals, the Panthers will face a Lake Wales team that they defeated by 29 points in last week’s district semifinals. Still, Marino says his team will not be looking past the Highlanders.
“A few years ago, we were playing the same team and had a two point lead and were at the foul line with a few seconds to go. We missed the front end of the one-and-one and then fouled on a three-pointer. They made all three and we lost the game,” Marino said. “Given the nature of win-or-go-home basketball, I don’t think there’s any chance we will be taking them or anyone else lightly.”
In other regional action on Thursday night, Lake Gibson ended the St. Cloud Lady Bulldog season with a 71-53 win. It was Lake Gibson’s second win over St. Cloud in six days as they took a 47-38 in the 6A, District 7 championship game last Friday.
“No excuses, they outplayed us all night,” Coach Chad Ansbaugh said. “They out-hustled us, out-rebounded us and it seems like they won every 50-50 ball. They certainly deserved the win.” St. Cloud finishes the season with a 21-7 mark.
Harmony (17-4), fresh off its District 7A-5 title last week, drew the unenviable task of facing defending Class 7A state champion (and a likely favorite to repeat) Dr. Phillips (26-1). A lineup of three freshmen and a junior were no match for a Panthers team that looked like a starting lineup of all-stars, and the Longhorns lost, 70-9.
"We just don't have the horses for that yet, we didn't play anybody close to that this year and it was an eye-opener for the girls," Coach Paul Strauch said. "I told them to take it as a learning experience, an exposure to what we could be in the future."
It was Harmony's first playoff game since a run to the Class 7A championship game in 2014. Faith Wener scored five points, including a three-pointer, and Emerson Aslan and Ella Husbands chipped in two.
"We had a point where Faith hit a three-pointer early on that got called back for traveling that would have made it 17-10, and maybe (DP) starts thinking it'd be a game," Strauch said. "We got up the floor and got in position to score but we just couldn't finish the puzzle. Ella was all over the floor, for a freshman to not get rattled in that spot, and kept asking for more, is saying something.
"Maybe we weren't in the strongest district, but somebody had to win it and we had to be better than those teams to do it. Osceola (the district runner-up) was playing much better at the end of the year than the start. The reward was a playoff game and extra days of practice."
Editor Ken Jackson contributed to this report.
