Ribault Senior High School
Round three of the Gateway Conference Girls Basketball Tournament kicked off with the four remaining teams in the tournament. Raines, Sandalwood, Paxon, and Ribault. These teams earned the right to play one another in a chance to play for the Conference title. Check out the game recaps below.
Sandalwood vs Paxon
This game pitted two of the best guards in the tournament. #23 Nahkia Robinson of Sandalwood, and Paxon’s #23 Rayven Wade have lifted their teams to victories in earlier rounds. Robinson’s cat like quickness makes her hard to guard, but Wade’s height and length make her almost un-guardable. The first half proved this as Paxon built a 20 point lead at half time. Also fueling the Golden Eagles was Kitana Stokes with 14 points, as Paxon built a seemingly insurmountable lead. But the Saints would come back as eMaliaysha Glover and Tiere Payne turned up the pressure by hitting shots and contesting shots. Robinson was clearly the focus of the Eagle’s defense but she was able to shake loose in the fourth.
Paxon’s lead was cut to 3 with under a minute to play, but they stepped up in the clutch by blocking Sandalwood’s attempt to tie and hitting their free throws at the end. Wade ended the game with a game high 17 points, and never seemed pressured when the Saints mounted their comeback. She said after the game ” Coach always says we should be a reflection of him so we try to stay cool at all times”. Coach Evan Jefferson’s confidence was displayed throughout the game. Asked how he felt after the win and the prospects of playing Raines or Ribault next; ” I feel really confident about our chances. We’ve played both opponents already so we know what they’re going to do. I’m happy after this win, we kinda fell asleep in the second half of the game but a win is a win and we’ll take it”. Paxon’s 51-43 win means they will face the winner of Raines and Ribault.
Raines vs Ribault
The prime time game of the evening featured long time rivals Raines vs Ribault. Raines came into the contest winning with its scrappy individual play. Inesha Dowdell and Tyra Mitchell have been two of the Lady Vikings most effective players. But on Thursday they would face the Ribault Trojans who’s entire team plays scrappy, and this game was no different. Ribault started the game with a 10-0 run thanks to their full court press and aggressive attacks to the rim. #10 Rennia Davis’ (Re-Re) and #1 Dawn Gipson contested shots and intercepted passes while #24 DayNeshia Banks (Day-Day) owned the paint. Coach Shelia Pennick knew that her team could harass the young and inexperienced Vikings. She drew up the perfect game plan to dominate with Banks and Davis. Raines played better in the second half. A testament to their coaching and pride as a team. Dowdell finished with 16 points and 3 rebounds, while #10 Kenya Jones and company played hard till the end. In the end it was Ribault winning 74-43 and will face Paxon for the Gateway Conference Championship Friday at Paxon.
