Gateway Panthers Surge Past New Smyrna Beach 51-46 to Capture Class 5A District 7 Title in Girls Basketball

By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola

In a game that lived up to all of its hype, the Gateway Panthers used a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter and went on to beat New Smyrna Beach, 51-46, in a Class 5A, District 7 championship game on Friday night.

The win, Gateway’s fourth in a row and ninth in their last 10, pushed them 23-3 on the season and clinched the number one seed for the Region 2 Championship that will begin next Friday. Ranked number 3 in Class 5A, the Panthers–as long as they continue to win — will have home court advantage throughout regional play.

New Smyrna Beach (17-8) came into the contest ranked fifth in the state and second in the region. They will receive an at-large bid to regional play and most likely hold on to the number two seed – setting up a possible rematch with the Panthers in three weeks.

It was not an easy game for Gateway.

“We had three goals tonight. Stop their best player number 11 (Iniya Reddicks), value the basketball and pressure them into mistakes. We failed in two of three. Fortunately, we did enough to win the game,” Panthers head coach Justin Marino said.

Reddicks, who came into the game averaging 18 points a game, went off in the first quarter. After Panthers star Ashlynn Day picked up a foul in the opening seconds of play, Marino switched her defensively off Reddicks – who proceeded to score 15 points in the period as NSB grabbed a 15-11 lead after one.

Day went back on Reddicks in the second quarter, holding her to two points. Meanwhile, Alyssa Marino scored eight points in the stanza as the Panthers went out in front at intermission, 28-24.

Still Gateway’s missed opportunities, poor free throw shooting and turnovers kept the game in doubt. The Panthers turned the ball over 15 times and missed 10 free throws in the first three quarters. NSB outscored Gateway in third, 12-8, to knot the game at 36-36 entering the fourth.

With Gateway trailing 41-40, Jalissa Yarborough grabbed a rebound and hit on a second-chance driving layup, Evana Rivera had a stick back and Marino hit a big three. The 7-0 run put the Panthers up by six – a lead they would not relinquish.

“It was a tough game, but we’re a battle-tested team. We were in a boxing match tonight and we punched back when we needed to,” Gateway coach Justin Marino said. “It’s why we play a tough schedule all year to get ready for these moments.”

In other girls’ district action involving Osceola County teams, Harmony (18-5) defeated Tohopekaliga (14-4), 48-43, to claim the 7A,D6 crown; while Haines City ended Poinciana’s season with an 83-24 win over the Eagles in a 7A, D9 Final.

The boys take over Saturday with three Osceola County teams looking win district hardware. Top-seeded Osceola (20-5) faces Davenport (13-13) in a 7A, D9 final on their home court at 7 p.m. St. Cloud (21-5) will look for the 7A, D6 championship when they play at Lake Nona at 6 p.m.; while second-seeded Liberty (15-4) will play at Bishop Moore at 3 p.m. in search of the 5A, D7 championship.

Basketball District Tournaments

Schedules and Scoreboard For Osceola County Teams

Boys Class 7A, District 9

Quarterfinals (Feb. 3)

Poinciana 64, Celebration 58

Semifinals (Feb. 5)

Osceola 79, Poinciana 45

Davenport 45, Ridge Community 43

Championship (Feb. 7)

Devenport at Osceola, 7 p.m.

Boys Class 7A, District 6

Quarterfinals (Feb. 3)