Palm Bay's 3-point barrage defeats St. Augustine in girls basketball semifinals

LAKELAND | Stop the three: St. Augustine girls basketball coach Eric Hancock knew the game plan against Palm Bay.

Turning that plan into reality was another issue.

"We knew they were shooters... but we were too aggressive on the ball, leaving people wide open on the wing," Hancock said. "That hurt us a lot."

Palm Bay unleashed a stifling defense and a barrage of 3-pointers to end St. Augustine's season, 67-36, in Thursday afternoon's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 5A girls basketball semifinal at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

The Pirates (23-3) nailed eight 3-pointers before the break and raced away with a decisive margin before halftime, snapping St. Augustine's winning streak at 21 games.

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It was a bombs-away day for the Pirates' shooters, who hit 43 percent of their shots beyond the arc and 53 percent before halftime.

"The girls were locked in, focused and ready to rock and roll," Palm Bay head coach Sara Murano said.

At the other end, playing their second final-four game ever and the first since 2001, the Yellow Jackets (26-2) came out frigid from the field.

Palm Bay started three players taller than six feet — Emani Burks, Emma Risch and freshman center Kiara Williams — and used that height to deny almost everything the Yellow Jackets tried in the vicinity of the hoop.

"They're all tall, and I had to be aggressive for rebounds against three people that were my height or bigger," said St. Augustine junior forward Janiyah Jackson, who led the Yellow Jackets with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

St. Augustine shot only 20 percent in the first half, and after Ronnie Hannah's 3-pointer a minute and a half into the game, it took eight minutes and 13 seconds before the Yellow Jackets connected from the field again.

The Pirates' press flustered St. Augustine into 12 turnovers before the break.

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"We just tried to do too much," Hancock said. "We had people down the court wide open."

Risch (three first-half 3-pointers) and point guard Mikyla Tolivert led the bombardment as Palm Bay stretched the lead to 20 points on a Burks jumper midway through the second quarter.

Scoring in double figures for Palm Bay were Georgia State signee Tolivert (18 points), Burks and Jazmine Major (12 points each) and Risch (11 points).

The defeat wraps up a season that ties for the deepest-ever run for the Yellow Jackets. Their only previous loss came on Dec. 7 in overtime against St. Johns County rival Nease.

"We gave the city something to cheer for," Hancock said.