Survive and advance. That’s the idea this time of year in the regional playoffs; play 32 minutes of basketball for the right to play another 32 minutes.
St. Cloud and City of Life’s girls have at least four more quarters in them.
The Bulldogs used another big game by its big center — Eno Inyang had 31 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks — in a 59-41 win over Lake Howell in a Class 6A regional game.
The Warriors kept their undefeated season intact despite a slow start with a 65-40 win over Clermont Real Life Christian in 2A.
They’ll play the next round Tuesday. St. Cloud (19-8) will travel to Tampa Bay Tech (22-6). City of Life (25-0) will host Deltona Trinity Christian (18-8).
Like most teams, the Silver Hawks (13-13) had little answer for Inyang in the paint. St. Cloud Coach Chad Ansbaugh said the team’s talked about different ways to get her the ball.
“She’s changed the way she plays the position, and it’s really taken the pressure off our guards,” he said. “The defensive effort in this one was as good as in any game last year, and he bench is doing good things. I’m never happy as a coach,
Ansbaugh called point guard Moriah Sanchez for her effort. She didn’t score but made the offense flow so Beka Benge (13 points), Erin Maloney (6) and Yazmin Padilla (6) could.
“Playing point guard is an IQ thing,” he said. “For us she’s the head of the snake.”
City of Life led just 10-9 after one quarter and 27-19 at the half, romped in the second quarter behind a defense that forced 31 turnovers. The Warriors were again led by its youth movement of eight-grader Camila De Pool (17 points) and seventh-grader Jayshlynn Vegas (15). Junior power forward Shannell Heredia had 13 points and 17 rebounds. Point guard Janlisse Marty added six points, seven assists and five steals.
The Warriors won the 2A state title in 2018 and reached the regional final last year.
