HIGH-SCHOOL

Hilliard girls fade at the finish in basketball state semifinal loss

Flashes have several comebacks, but can't overcome Panthers

Justin Barney

LAKELAND - The Hilliard girls basketball team enjoyed everything about its first state semifinal appearance in 17 years on Tuesday.

Just not the result.

The Flashes' late burst in the fourth quarter wasn't enough to overcome the clutch shooting of Newberry in a 49-45 loss in the Class A state semifinals.

The young Flashes, who lose just three players to graduation, got plenty of ringing endorsements from the Panthers, who fully expect them to return even stronger next season.

But knowing how close they were to a state championship game appearance against Ponce de Leon is going to sting for a little while.

"I had a feeling we were going to come back," said Hilliard's Bria Saunders, who was held to seven points, well below her 24-ppg season average. "I knew we could pull it out."

With its top two scorers, Saunders and forward Kasha Austin mired in foul trouble from the midway point of the opening quarter and forced to play out of its element, the Flashes (25-3) found themselves in a 41-all game with just under two minutes to play.

That's when Kayla Jones' third 3-pointer of the game helped end a 9-2 Newberry run and put the Flashes right back where they wanted to be. Even after a back-and-forth game of runs that often went in the Panthers' favor, Hilliard was back in it.

But just as quickly as the Flashes erased that 41-35 deficit to force a tie, they gave it right back.

Newberry spent the rest of the game burning time off the clock and then often forced Hilliard to foul.

"I think our senior leadership showed up today," said Newberry coach Ray Parrish. "Next year, they'll be tough to reckon with, I promise you that."

The Panthers went 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the game's final 68 seconds and forced a pair of costly turnovers. The final giveaway came with less than a second left when the Flashes attempted to get off a 3-pointer and hope for a foul to go along with it.

"It didn't click today," said Hilliard coach Tara Franklin, a former Hilliard player who was a part of the last Flashes' team to reach a state title game in 1988.

Hilliard was fortunate to be in the game in the fourth quarter. The Flashes fell into a lull midway through the first quarter, giving up an 11-2 run to Newberry to end it. They'd eventually fall behind by 10 before finally starting to knock down some shots.

Caroline Cochrane and Austin hit 3s one possession apart and Hilliard went in trailing just 22-18.

For Hilliard, Miriah Durrance had a double-double (12 rebounds, 10 pounts). Jones and Austin followed with nine and eight points, respectively. Lasharrah Nattiel and Tayla McGee combined for 37 points for Newberry.

Justin Barney: (904) 359-4248