By: J. Daniel Pearson for Positively Osceola
At the end of the day, it was matter of too little, too late.
The St. Cloud Lady Bulldogs basketball team fought back from a 19-point second half deficit, but came up short – dropping a 66-58 decision to the Wekiva Mustangs in an FHSAA Class 6A, Region 2 semifinal game on Monday night.
With the loss, St. Cloud finishes with a 22-7 record; while Wekiva (18-10) will meet Horizon (19-6) on Thursday night with a trip to the state Final Four on the line.
“We knew they were big, athletic and strong from film and our scouting reports,” St. Cloud coach Chad Ansbaugh said. “But we also noticed they tended to be a little wild and would take some bad shots, our game plan was to come out in a zone. Instead, they played a pretty disciplined game and moved the ball around well. We stayed in that zone way too long and that was 100% my fault.”
St. Cloud started off cold in the game, hitting just four first-quarter shots in falling behind 18-9. Some turnovers, combined with some good shots that simply did not go in, allowed Wekiva to build the lead to as many 21 points in the second quarter. But St. Cloud finished the period on an 8-2 run, that included a three-point desperation heave from half court by Vanessa Vohs at the buzzer – as the Bulldogs clawed back to within 14 at the half, 34-20.
Wekiva opened the third quarter with two quick buckets to up the lead back to 19, but after a quick timeout by Ansbaugh, senior Emily Lockey would lead a rally with six points as the Bulldogs finished the period on a 18-9 run to cut the margin to 10 (48-38) heading into the final stanza.
After the Mustangs opened the final period with two more baskets to extend the lead back to 14, senior Danigzy Mantilla would put the Lady Bulldogs on her back to lead a furious comeback. Mantilla would score 12 points in the quarter, bringing St. Cloud to within six on three different occasions.
Unfortunately after each Mantilla basket, Wekiva would find a way to break St. Cloud’s press and Tierra Coleman would finish the plays with three layups to push the lead back to eight each time. From there, St. Cloud would have to foul and Wekiva answered by hitting seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to build the lead back to double digits with 1:47 remaining.
Still, St. Cloud would show some fight. Mantilla would hit a free throw and score a basket and Vohs and Savannah Kroener would hit threes in the final 90 seconds to make the final margin eight.
“When you fall that far behind against an athletic team, you end up expending a lot of energy trying to catch up,” Ansbaugh said. “I was really proud how this group fought back but we just ran out of gas.”
Coleman ended up leading Wekiva with 23 points; while Senaia Asanya added 19 for the winners. St. Cloud was led by Mantilla (17), followed by Lockey (16), Kroener (8) and Haley Collins (6). St. Cloud made 21 field goals, but was just 5 of 19 (26%) beyond the arc.
Departing starters Mantilla, Lockey, and Collins – along with fellow senior reserves Jaelyn Bonilla, Dani Mann, Madelyn Baggett, and Kaisley Carswell finish the season with a 22-7 record. Over the last three years, that group went 63-18, won three consecutive OBC titles, and two District Championships.
“This was really a fun group to coach,” Ansbaugh said of his seniors. “They weren’t the most athletic team, but they were a gritty bunch that worked hard and gave their all. The biggest thing about them was their loyalty. In day when coaches and players from other teams are constantly whispering in your players’ ears to get them to transfer, this group stayed loyal to this team and this school. So many of them also played other sports and were involved in other school activities and more than the wins and more than the championships, I appreciated that most about them.”
