In crunch time, the smallest player on the court ended up making the biggest plays of the game.
Danzy Mantilla hit a driving go-ahead layup with 13 seconds to go to give St. Cloud a thrilling 55-53 win over Lake Gibson in the Region 6A-2 semifinal.
The shot, and the win, propels the Lady Bulldogs (20-8) into Friday’s regional final at top-seeded Wekiva (23-2). The winner of that gets a bid to the Class 6A State Tournament in Lakeland starting Feb. 24.
Gateway may join them there. The Panthers (22-7) used a big fourth quarter to knock off Wesley Chapel, 51-37 in a Region 5A-2 semifinal.
With time running down, the 5’5” Mantilla drove past her defender and hit the layup over 5’11” Samari Wilson for the lead. Wilson would then miss a shot and Mantilla would tie up the loose ball with a Braves defender. With the possession arrow on its side, St. Cloud gained possession. Mantilla was fouled with 1.3 seconds remaining and made one free throw for the final margin of victory.
“I was just trying to get the ball to the basket,” Mantilla said of the game-winning play. “When I got past my defender, I knew I would either get a layup at the basket or be able to dish it off to an open teammate. She (Wilson) was late switching to me and I was able to get the shot off.”
St. Cloud appeared to have the game in hand with two minutes to go when Haley Collins hit a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 52-46, but the Braves scored the next seven points to take a 53-52 lead with 29 seconds remaining.
On an evening where the Bulldogs missed their first five shots and fell behind 8-0, they had to battle back all night. With St. Cloud trailing 13-8 after one period, Emily Lockey spurred the comeback with 10 points in the second period as the Bulldogs kept it close at 29-26.
They did not take their first lead of the night until the 6:48 mark of the third on basket by Kennedy Johnson. Collins, Lockey and Johnson all made three-pointers in the third period as St. Cloud took a 41-39 lead into the final stanza.
Lockey scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the second half and had a team-high 11 rebounds. Collins, who picked up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter, scored eight points in the second half. Johnson scored five points in the game and picked up four key rebounds the final quarter.
“I am incredibly proud of this team right now. I knew Lake Gibson was a really physical team and I was afraid they would be able to push us around. They did a little bit of that early but we responded,” Coach Chad Ansbaugh said. “We are perimeter shooting team and I thought we were at a disadvantage against physical teams. But our kids changed my minds about that tonight. There’s no way a soft team goes on the road and wins a game like this. We were absolutely tough when we had to be.”
Prior to the game, Ansbaugh confided his team would still have to hit three-pointers to have a chance. After making just two of eight in the first quarter, his team did catch fire from the outside and ended up with 11 three-pointers in the game. “We’re going to toss up 25 or 30 three-pointers a game and we have to make our share to win,” the veteran coach said. “We started off cold, but they started going down for us.”
Taniya Brown led three Lake Gibson players in double figures with 15. Jones added 14 and Wilson – who came into the game averaging 17 points a game – was held to 11. “That was a real key for us,” Ansbaugh noted. “I know she (Wilson) has dominated games this season and we were able to contain her.”
A trip to the Final Four will not be an easy road for the Bulldogs. Wekiva is ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 6A and has won four post-season games by an average of 17 points. The Mustangs only two losses this season was a road defeat to Florida State University High, the third ranked team in Class 3A and Pinkerton Central, the 7th ranked team in top division in Ohio. Wekiva defeated 5th seeded Winter Haven, 60-43, in advancing.
“Whether we ended up playing Winter Haven or Wekiva, it didn’t matter. It was like given a choice -- do you want to jump out of the window on the 25th or 26th floor,” Ansbaugh joked after the game. “Both teams are outstanding and we know a great challenge will be waiting for us on Friday night.”
Panthers in Regional final for the first time: Gateway registered its second road upset in as many games with a 51-37 win over Wesley Chapel.
The Panthers held a tenuous 35-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but locked it down by dominating the fourth quarter, 16-5.
“They played a tricky defense at us, an upside-down triangle-and-2, and I saw a wrinkle at the end of the third quarter,” GHS Coach Justin Marino said. “We took advantage of it all of the fourth quarter.”
While the defense slowed the Panthers’ outside shooting, senior forward Paige Alise took advantage, scoring 19 points. Fellow senior at University of Tampa signee Neri Moreau added 12.
Friday’s regional final is at Bishop Moore (21-6) in Orlando, a familiar spot. Gateway defeated the Hornets, 58-51, in the District 5A-7 semifinals. It means two wild cards from District 7 – and none of the four district champions – will play for the Region 2 title.
Editor Ken Jackson contributed to this story.
