A pair of convincing regional playoff victories set up the Gateway girls basketball team with a shot—the only one left among all Osceola County teams—at reaching the FHSAA state tournament in Jacksonville.
The Panthers (25-3), who played in the Final 4 in 2023, will get a rematch in Region 5A-2 finals Friday night at 7 p.m. at Bob Baker Gym against New Smyrna Beach (19-8). Those two teams played a tight District 5A-7 championship game won 51-46 by Gateway.
In that Feb. 6 game pitting the two teams ranked No. 1 and 2 in the region, the Barracudas’ Iniya Riddicks scored 21 points as New Smyrna battled to a 36-36 tie after three quarters before Gateway pulled ahead in the fourth.
“They are an outstanding team and Riddicks is a good player but she was on fire that night,” GHS Coach Marino said. “It’s going to be a challenge and I’m glad we have them at home again.”
A convincing 67-34 regional semifinal win Friday over Leesburg (12-10) set this week’s game up. It wasn’t artwork— both teams turned the ball over a combined 48 times, but the Panthers shot the ball fairly well and won all four quarters.
“I think they also knew they would have to be really physical tonight and try to muck things up to have a chance,” Marino said after the game. “I think that’s how they approached the game and we fell into that style early.”
Still, Gateway was never in danger. The Panthers hit 45.4% of their field goal attempts in the first half, including 6-for-12 on three-pointers. Defensively, they limited Leesburg to just five field goals on 20 attempts and forced 15 first half turnovers in building a 31-15 cushion. Another 10-1 run in the fourth extended the lead to 54-27 with 4:03 remaining. which allowed Marino to empty his bench.
Gateway super sophomore Ashlynn Day led all scorers with 22, Bella Davila added 14, Andrea Sauzo had 10 and Alyssa Marino chipped in nine.
A win Friday puts Gateway in the FHSAA semifinals on Wednesday, March 11 at the CSI Companies Court at UNF Arena—the state tournament moved this year from its longtime home in Lakeland to Jacksonville. The state championship would be played Friday, March 13.
