Deja vu: Palm Beach Lakes girls basketball beats Boca Raton High to return to state semis

WEST PALM BEACH — After falling in the state semifinals last year, Palm Beach Lakes girls basketball entered this season with a motto: unfinished business. Friday, the Rams moved one step closer to their ultimate goal of a state championship, beating Boca Raton 59-44 in the Region 3-Class 7A final.

Senior Zaida Gonzalez led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Lakes beat the Bobcats in the regional final for the second consecutive season. 

This time, though, the Rams aren't just happy to be at state. They want more.

“It’s a lot of returners, and they made an honest statement in saying that last year, they were just glad to go,” Palm Beach Lakes coach Cassandra Rahming said. “So this year, they have a different mindset. They want to go win.”

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Gonzalez, an FIU signee, led the way, but she had plenty of help as Zuri Miller-Whiteside (11 points, three steals), Deborrah Seitu-Redmon (10 points, seven rebounds), and Casey Lewis (11 points, five rebounds) all had double-digit point totals.

“First, be disciplined on defense,” Gonzalez said of the plan going into Friday’s game. “Don’t rush things and just have patience. If we’re up, slow the ball down. We don’t have to take any bad shots. Just take good shots the whole game.”

But though the final score gap might suggest otherwise, the Rams (12-1) didn't pull away until late.

Lakes led 13-11 after one quarter, the difference coming on freshman Miller-Whiteside’s mid-range jumper to beat the buzzer.    

“Zuri Miller-Whiteside was amazing,” Rahming said. “She did not play like a freshman.”

At halftime, despite 11 points from Boca's Cassidy Lowe, Lakes led 29-19 with Gonzalez's 10 points the difference. 

Staked to a double-digit lead, the Rams still had to fight off multiple third-period responses by the Bobcats (9-3), including a triple by Lowe to begin the second half. 

And though Boca cut the lead to six points going into the fourth quarter, it was a constant game of catch-up. Eventually, Lakes outpaced their opponents down the stretch.

“We just kept our composure,” Gonzalez said. “We didn’t want to get too ahead of ourselves. We play disciplined on defense and keep doing what we’re doing.”  

Gonzalez put an exclamation point on her evening early in the fourth quarter, scoring a contested layup amid multiple defenders. Though she missed the ensuing free throw, the Rams got the rebound and quickly scored again to push the lead to 51-37.

All said, Lakes opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, extinguishing any momentum Boca had left.

“I’m proud of these girls no matter what," Boca head coach Lawrence Hanna said. “We lost this game, but no one even expected us to be here. We quarantined three times this season. We have five freshmen on the team — two of them are starters. I’m very proud of the girls and what they overcame this season. We’ll be back.”

While Boca returns a bevy of youth next year, Lakes turns its attention to the state semifinals, where many of the players have a been-there, haven’t-quite-done-that history.

The Rams will face Miami High (14-8) at 2:30 p.m. next Friday in Lakeland with a berth in the state championship game on the line. 

“Their whole motto has been ‘unfinished business,’” Rahming said. “So in their minds, we’ve got to get back to finish the business that we left behind.”