LAKELAND – The Fernandina Pirates got over the hump by scaling the hill that was Florida High last week. With the win they defeated a team that had previously bested them in the regional finals a year ago.
Yet getting past Florida High was the equivalent of a molehill compared to the mountain that was Lake Highland Prep, whom they faced in the state semifinals.
Lake Highland Prep won back to back titles in 2015 and 2016, and is considered one of the elite girls basketball programs in the state. They proved that on Wednesday against Fernandina, dealing them a 55-37 regional finals loss.
Fernandina jumped out to a fast start in the first period. Led by Alexis Schultz 6 points, the Pirates matched the Highlanders shot for shot.
Kaylen Mitchell also added 4 points, hitting outside shots to keep pace with the inside outside duo of Zanoria Cruz and Kayla Blackshear for Lake Highland Prep.
After one period, the score reflected a game that was competitive and close at 11-10 in favor of the Highlanders.
Yet in the second quarter Lake Highland would blow the game open unlike anything the Pirates had seen all year. The Highlanders went on a 24 to 5 run in the second quarter by turning up the defense and forcing Fernandina into uncharacteristic turnovers.
“In studying them we realized that they come off screens and free themselves up and can shoot from anywhere, so we wanted to get our hands up and affect their shots,” said Lake Highland Head Coach Al Honor. “Our focus was number 23, number 1 and number 15.”
An intricate part of their plan came in the form of their “weapon X” Zanoria Cruz. Cruz took many shots away with her defense. Cruz also exploded on offense with 13 points in the half. She would finish the game with 18 points.
The Pirates had no answer for her low post presence and long wing span. Blackshear generated 7 points with hard nosed gritty efforts. She would finish with 13 points in the game.
Lake Higland Prep on a 14 to 1 run in the 2nd period. They now lead Fernandina 25-12! Fernandina can’t run their offense because of the active hands of @LHPS_athletics smothering the Lady Pirates ball handlers. @DuvalSports
— Andre' Ellis🗯 (@andreellis55) February 28, 2018
The shots that went down in the first period failed to go down in the second period and second half for Fernandina. The Pirates just could not find the bucket, going without a single field goal for the entire second period.
Their drought continued in the third, as they failed to score a field goal for most of the period. They finally scored their first field goal with just .28 seconds left in the third.
Alexis Schultz continued to play hard and finished the drought for the Sharks.
“We struggled from the field, but shooters keep shooting and we just wanted to give it everything we had till the end,” Schultz said.
Schultz finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds in the game. Her teammates Kaylan Mitchell finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds, and Sydne Caddy finished with 7 points and 5 rebounds in the losing effort.
“We’ve faced some really good teams this year like Sandalwood and Palm Coast, but Lake Highland Prep is the most difficult team we’ve faced all year,” Fernandina Head Coach Jacob Nantz said.
Many knew it would be a tall order for the fantastic Fernandina squad, but they showed grit and heart all season.
Going from inheriting a 3-19 team his first year to producing a regional final and now a Final Four team, Nantz and his players have certainly begun the trek of scaling the mountain that is a state championship.
