Malayna Stevenson scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, and the Panthers controlled possession in the fourth quarter to give Gateway a 46-37 victory over Lake Wales in a Class 5A, Region 2 semifinal on Tuesday night.
The win lifted top-seeded Gateway to 23-6 on the season and set the stage for a Friday night match-up against River Ridge (21-8), a 72-56 upset winner over Jones in the other regional semifinal. Tipoff at Gateway for the regional championship game is set for 7 p.m.
It was not an easy game for the Panthers, who routed Lake Wales by 29 points just 13 days earlier in the district semifinals.
“Everything would point to an easy game, but it’s never easy when you get to the state tournament,” Panthers Coach Justin Marino said. “Last time we played them they could not hit a shot, tonight they made some early and started playing with a lot of confidence.”
Gateway did appear headed for a rout in the opening minutes, jumping out to a 7-0 lead, and would hold the Highlanders to just one field goal in the first half. But the Panthers also committed four turnovers and hit just 5 of 13 field goals and only led 11-2 after one period.
Lake Wales guard Jameria Johnson would spark a 9-2 run in the second quarter with three consecutive three-pointers, as the Highlanders closed the gap to 13-11. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ cold shooting continued and the gap was just five at the half, 20-15.
It was at that point Marino made a halftime adjustment. “They were playing tight man and doing a lot of switching off. We knew if we spread the floor it was create some mismatches on Malayna that she could take advantage of. “
Stevenson was basically unstoppable in the third period, making five of six shots and scoring 11 points as Gateway took a double-digit lead several times in the period. But Lake Wales countered by starting to pound the ball inside to Vanessa Squires, who scored eight in the quarter, and a big three-pointer by Tateyanna Mickel allowed the Highlanders to close to within four at the end of the period, 34-30.
Stevenson would counter with two quick baskets to open the final stanza as Gateway jumped back to an eight point lead, 38-30.
From there, the Panthers would spread the floor on their offensive possessions, passing up open shots in order to keep the clock running. The strategy, combined with a solid defensive effort that created five turnovers, allowed the Panthers to limit Lake Wales to just five field goal attempts in the final period. Gateway hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to maintain the lead as they cruised to the nine-point win.
In addition to Stevenson’s big night, Vanessa Diaz added 12 points for the Panthers. Gateway shot 44 percent on the night (18 of 41) but was an uncharacteristic 21 percent (3 of 14) from beyond the arc.
“It comes down to confidence again,” Marino said. “We were cold form the outside, especially in the first half, so we made some adjustments.”
Robinson led Lake Wales (10-13) with 11 points, Squires had 10.
With the win, Gateway advances to an FHSAA Regional Final for a second straight year. They lost a heartbreaking 37-35 game to Bishop Moore last year on a Hornets bucket with 12 seconds left.
