St. Augustine High girls fall in Final Four, 67-36, to Melbourne Palm Bay

LAKELAND — The St. Augustine High School girls' basketball team lost, 67-36, to Melbourne Palm Bay on Thursday in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 5A at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

"When the clock hit zeros, it just sucked," senior guard Kyra Stauble said as she fought back tears. "It's not how we wanted to end, but it happens."

The Yellow Jackets ran into a buzz saw as they trailed by as many as 31 points.

St. Augustine finishes its season 26-2. It was St. Augustine's second Final Four appearance. The Yellow Jackets also lost in a state semifinal in 2001.

Palm Bay is 23-3 and advances to Saturday's championship game.

The Pirates went on a 3-pointer explosion as they hit 43 percent of their shots from beyond the arc and 53 percent before halftime.

The Yellow Jackets had no answers. 

The Pirates swished eight 3-pointers before half time and held a 21-point lead at halftime, snapping St. Augustine's winning streak at 21 games.

"We just let them get open shots and their 3s were hitting," Stauble said. "I mean, they were open 3s. So that really defeated us."

St. Augustine Head Coach Eric Hancock blamed some of Palm Bay's open shots on the Yellow Jackets being over-aggressive. 

"They would pass the ball to the wings and then pass the ball back to the top," Hancock said. "We were too aggressive getting back to the top, and they would kick it back and we would leave them wide open for a jump shot."

Junior forward Janiyah Jackson led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

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St. Augustine hung around in the first quarter but trailed, 15-8, at the end of the period. Then the floodgates opened as the Pirates outscored St. Augustine, 22-8, in the second quarter.

Palm Bay guard Emmy Risch hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter while the Yellow Jackets’ offense was overwhelmed by the length and athleticism of Palm Bay’s defense.

The Yellow Jackets' defense struggled to limit Palm Bay’s shooters as the Pirates drained five 3-pointers in the quarter. They led, 37-16, at the half.

The Yellow Jackets fought back in the second half and cut the lead to 45-30 near the end of the third quarter, but Palm Bay went on a 7-0 run and guard Emani Burks scored at the buzzer to put the Pirates up, 52-30, entering the final period.

Senior guard Dana Art felt the moment caused the team to be too nervous.

"I feel like confidence was one of our biggest issues. People were really nervous," Art said. "We were on edge before the game had even started.

"When you walk into a room that fits 10,000 people, it's a big deal to a lot of people. It's not an everyday experience. A lot of their players have been here before, so they're more experienced. Hopefully, next season, St. Augustine can come back and do it again, and get farther."

A blowout loss to end the season leaves a bitter taste, but Hancock is happy with the season.

"It was fun; sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days," Hancock said. "Fun year. We won district in back-to-back years. Won conference for the first time in however long. We did good this year."