For the Boca Raton girls basketball team, just staying on the court has been the most difficult part of the season.
The Bobcats have been in coronavirus quarantine three times during the season, with their latest three-week stint ending just before the district championship game. Boca Raton went 7-1 in the regular season but dropped the district-title game to Spanish River.
“[We are] just trying to get back in the flow of things again,” Bobcats coach Lawrence Hanna said.
Boca still had some rust to shake off in the Class 7A regional quarterfinals on Thursday, but they came alive in the second half and beat Coral Springs 67-44 on the road.
The Colts matched the Bobcats in the first quarter, staying within a few points of Boca Raton and briefly taking the lead in the second quarter. Coral Springs had an early advantage over Boca Raton in rebounding, out-rebounding them 24-18 in the first half.
The Bobcats opened it up in the second half, going on a 15-2 run in the third quarter. The fourth quarter had a similar theme, and Boca Raton outscored Coral Springs 40-19 in the second half. The Bobcats also out-rebounded the Colts 14-8 in the second half.
“[The difference was] rebounding and defense,” Hanna said. “That’s pretty much it.”
Coral Springs senior Norray Richards led all scorers with 16 points, and senior Angenai Martin had 13 points. Boca Raton’s offense spread the ball around, and five players reached double digits in scoring. Boca freshman Courtney Lowe led the team with 14 points, and senior Cassidy Lowe had 13 points. Senior Zoe Zeitlin, sophomore Madison Mingo and freshman Vanessa Moore had 11 points each.
“We preach team ball,” Hanna said. “Play hard, play smart and play together. That’s what we preach every day.”
Boca Raton will face Deerfield Beach in the regional finals on Tuesday, looking to continue their season and get one game closer to returning to the state Final Four.
“We’re trying to get back to where we were last year so we can make it to states,” Hanna said. “We’ve got a lot of young girls, but they’ve bought in. So we’re just trying to get back.”
Schnell, Calvary Christian find bearings after first quarter, roll to 3A regional semis
Elizabeth Schnell scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the third quarter to lead visiting Calvary Christian Academy to a 44-27 victory over Saint Andrew’s in the Class 3A regional quarterfinal girls basketball game on Thursday night.
Schnell, a junior guard, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points per game, keyed a second-quarter outburst where the Eagles went on a 12-0 run to close out the half with a 23-16 halftime lead.
Calvary Christian Academy (14-7) also held the Scots without a basket for 11 minutes between the second and third quarters to take a comfortable 40-18 lead into the final period.
Calvary Christian Academy will play Westminster Academy (15-4) on Tuesday in the regional semifinals. Westminster Academy, which lost in the regional final last season, drew a first-round bye.
The game was a rematch of last year’s regional quarter which Saint Andrew’s won 45-39.
“We only talked about this game,” said Calvary Christian Academy coach George Adams, whose team downed Saint Andrew’s 59-23 on Jan. 14. “We didn’t talk about Westminster Academy at all. Everything was predicated to this game. We were not looking past it.”
“At halftime, we talked about giving the extra effort and that defense was going to win the game,” Adams said. “We weren’t worried about our offense. We just wanted to put in the extra effort on defense.”
Saint Andrew’s had a 2-0 lead before the game even started as Sydney Rieland hit two technical free throws after Calvary Christian was assessed a uniform violation because three of their players weren’t wearing matching undershirts.
Rieland then hit a 3-pointer 12 seconds in to give the host Scots (4-10) a 5-0 lead. Calvary Christian tied the game at 5 on a short jumper from Samiyah Briggs and a 3-pointer from Jocelyn Gagnon.
Saint Andrew’s got baskets from Stephanie Theodossakos and Lilly Shaw to take a 9-5 lead. The Eagles then outscored Saint Andrew’s 9-2 to close out the first quarter for a 14-11 advantage.
The Scots’ Rieland hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and Theodossakos scored on a putback with 7:18 remaining in the first half for a 16-14 lead. They were the last points Saint Andrew’s would score in the half and began an 11-minute scoring drought.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 6-0 run before Saint Andrew’s Emily Husken finally got the Scots on the scoreboard in the third quarter with 4:40 remaining.
After the Scots’ Bret Marbach and Theodossakos opened the final quarter with baskets to cut the lead to 40-22, the Eagles went into a four-corner stall to slow the momentum. The Scots were able to get as close as 40-26 before the Eagles closed out the game.
Saint Andrew’s coach Victor Agapay was proud of his team’s effort, especially in the fourth quarter when they scored eight straight points to trim the lead to 40-26.
“We knew they were going to pressure and we knew their game plan,” Agapay said. “They didn’t change much from the time we played them before. It’s the game of basketball. You have to make baskets. We had a lot of good looks and we just didn’t make them.”
Rieland led the Scots with 10 points, all in the first half.
— GARY CURRERI
Regional quarterfinals
7A
Palm Beach Lakes 53, Centennial 37
Jupiter 48, Vero Beach 41
Deerfield Beach 71, Spanish River 57
Boca Raton 67, Coral Springs 44
Gulf Coast 62, West Broward 10
Western 53, Dr. Krop 48
6A
St. Thomas Aquinas 55, Atlantic 26
Blanche Ely 74, West Boca Raton 15
Lourdes 53, McArthur 39
5A
Okeechobee 40, Northeast 37
American Heritage 68, Westwood 23
4A
Mater Lakes 63, Cardinal Gibbons 60
3A
Benjamin 75, Holy Trinity Episcopal 73
King’s Academy 58, West Shore 24
Calvary Christian 44, St. Andrew’s 27
2A
Berean Christian 46, Lake Worth Christian 19
Grandview Prep 60, Glades Day 15
Regional semifinals
Tuesday
7A
Palm Beach Lakes at Jupiter
Boca Raton at Deerfield Beach
Western at Gulf Coast
6A
St. Thomas Aquinas at Blanche Ely
5A
Okeechobee at American Heritage
4A
American Heritage-Delray at Mater Lakes
3A
Benjamin at King’s Academy
Calvary Christian at Westminster Academy
2A
Berean Christian at Grandview Prep
Highlands Christian at Miami Christian
