Day two of the the Gateway Conference Tournament was played Wednesday evening at Wolfson High School and Lee High School. Raines, Mandarin, Sandalwood, and Fletcher advanced Tuesday evening after their victories. It would be Ribault, Wolfson, Lee and Paxon awaiting them Wednesday after earning first round byes. Here’s a run down of the tournament action from Wednesday.
Wolfson High School
Mandarin vs Ribault
Mandarin’s victory over First Coast yesterday put them in position to face top seeded Ribault tonight. Though Mandarin showed tremendous effort on the court, the specter of playing the Lady Trojans seemed to much for the Lady Mustangs this evening. Mandarin’s play to the end is no doubt a mirroring of their head coach who coached hard all the way to the final horn.But Ribault was not distracted from the mission at hand. Led by #10 Rennia Davis’ (Re-Re) and her 20 pts Ribault shot lights out from the field. #1 Dawn Gipson and #24 DayNeshia Banks (Day-Day) added double digit points as well to cruise to the 63-29 victory. Ribault’s ability to dominate a game is matched only by their own humble approach to games. A trait instilled in them undoubtedly by their head coach. Ribault would face the winner of Raines vs Wolfson who played next.
Raines vs Wolfson
Tuesday night Raines played to their home crowd winning their game against Westside. Wednesday they would be visitors attempting to play the role of spoiler;they wouldn’t disappoint. #3 Inesha Dowdell scored 21 points grabbed 6 rebounds and 2 assists to pack a one two punch with #32 Tyra Mitchell’s 20 points, 10 points and 1 block for the Lady Vikings. The Lady Wolfpack kept the game very close as the score was 17-14 in the first half. #10 Antoinette Williams and #3 Tanesha Galloway kept the game close as they scored in transition and from the perimeter. #20 Mariah Preston’s tenacity kept Wolfson competitive on the boards and in the paint. But Raines was able to take home the victory 61-53, setting up a meeting with their rivals Ribault tomorrow.
Lee High School
Fletcher vs Paxon
Fletcher advanced to the second round after defeating Terry Parker in a close match. They knew going in that they would need more to stay competitive against the high powered Paxon Eagles. The Golden Eagle’s Rayven Wade #23 was silky smooth on the fast break as she skied for baskets. Paxon jumped out to a 32-15 halftime lead. Fletcher continued to play hard in the second half as #3 Gracie Thurson kept shooting the rock. But it wasn’t enough to bring the Senators back, as #11 Jillian West and #10 Arianna Wright kept Paxon’s prominent season going. With the 40-26 win, Paxon would face the winner of Sandalwood and Lee.
Sandalwood vs Lee
The game of the night featured Sandalwood visiting Lee. Lee came into the game with a first round bye, while Sandalwood defeated Atlantic Coast. Sandalwood would jump out to a commanding lead on the play of #23 Nahkia Robinson. She scored 15 points for the Lady Saints as they built a early lead 20-14. But the Generals would storm back thanks to their scrappy play in the second half. Lee would cut a 9 point lead in the 4th period to just three points, but Sandalwood’s Maliaysha Glover’ 11 points and Tiere Payne’s 8 points were to much for them to overcome. Sandalwood impressed with an overall team effort winning 49-44. They will need this again against Paxon. Sandalwood’s leader Nahkiah Robinson said after the game ” We’re ready for Paxon because they got us earlier this year, we want to show them that we are a better team”.
