By: J. Daniel Pearson
Positively Osceola
Sophomore Ashlynn Day scored 19 of her game-high 27 points in the second half to lead undefeated the Gateway Girls Basketball team to a 72-53 win over previously unbeaten Lake Howell on Thursday night.
The Lady Panthers, now 13-0 on the season and ranked number one in the state in Class 5A, struggled in the first half against the taller and more physical Hawks – who were ranked number 6 in the state (6A) and came into the contest with an 8-0 record.
Gateway started off strongly, scoring 21 first quarter points and grabbing leads as big as seven before settling for a 21-17 margin at the break. But the second period was a struggle. The Panthers made just two field goals in the quarter and had more turnovers (9) than shot attempts (8), but still managed to cling to a 27-26 lead at intermission,
“Give them some credit, they wanted to play big, take advantage of their size, slow the game down, and play a half-court game,” Gateway coach Justin Marino said. “That’s not our style. We like to play fast, press and get out on the break. I just told them at halftime that we needed to speed things up; and go back to running, jumping, chasing and trapping.”
The Panthers looked like a totally different team in the third.
Day scored nine while slashing to the basket numerous times and the team made a couple of three-pointers as Gateway went 11 for 20 from the field, scored 22 points and built nine-point lead, 52-43, with one to play.
With the Hawks using a full court press, point guard Alyssa Marino, Day and freshman Yaya D’Amore took over. Outlet passes from Marino set up Day and D’Amore for easy baskets under the rim. Both players scored eight points in the quarter as Gateway built a double-digit lead and were never challenged the rest of the way,
“Ashlynn’s a special player for us and continues to grow her game,” Marino said. “A lot of people don’t know she broke a finger on her shooting hand a few weeks ago. She’s a great shooter but with the hand injury, she’s been playing off the ball but has still been able to take it to the basket.”
In addition to Day, D’Amore and Marino scored 14 points and Evana Rivera added12. Skii Fournier led the Hawks with 16 and Kali Murphy had14.
Although happy to finish the pre-Christmas portion of his scheduled undefeated, Marino noted that things will become more challenging after the break – starting with the three-game Florida Prospects Tournament (Dec. 29-31).
In the first game of that tournament, Gateway will face North Miami (7-1). The Pioneers feature a pair of outstanding players in 6-3 center and Florida State commit Lailah Wills (20.2 ppg, 13.1 rpg) and shooting guard Ryna Benoit (28.0 ppg). “They are extremely big and physical and it will be a great test for us,” Marino said. “We’re not a big team so we have to use our speed to neutralize size. We’ll learn a lot about our team in that tournament.”
THURSDAY BOX SCORE
Quarters 1 2 3 4 –Final
Lake Howell 17 9 17 10-53
Gateway 21 6 25 21-73
LH Points: Skii Fournier 16, Sophia Bautista 3, Dilara Orer 3, Kali Murphy 14, Seriyah Savain 6, Lizzy Martinez 8
GHS Points: Ashlynn Day 27, Alyssa Marino 14, Evana Rivera 12, Jalyssa Yarborough 3, Andrea Sauzo 3, Yaya D’Amore 14
FG Percentage:
LH: 19-44 (43.1%); GHS: 28-57 (49.1%)
FT Percentage:
LH: 9-17 (52.9%) GHS: 13-25 (52.0%)
