A mere 365 days ago, give or take a day or two, Bishop Kenny and Ribault were both competing against one another in the State Regional Semi-Finals. Fast forward to present day, both teams would push through a challenging season to find themselves in the same predicament once again in the 2019 Regional Semi-Finals.
Weeks prior in the district finals, Kenny would defeat Ribault by a close (52-49) in a triple overtime game. The rematch nicknamed ‘The Red Out vs Black Out Game’ would feature an array of fans adorned in black and red aligned throughout Bishop Kenny’s John Baldwin’s Athletic Center for another battle in this seemingly annual war.
Kenny would pull off the win this year defeating Ribault 56-41 thanks to sensational sophomore Jasmyne Roberts who led the Lady Crusaders with 23 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Fabulous freshman Maddie Millar followed up with 12 points and 6 rebounds. In addition, Rose Dolmovich contributed 11 points and Cara McCarthy 6.
Ribault’s Shayla Bouie would be the first to score followed up by Jada Atkins leading the Lady Crusaders 4-0 in the first quarter. The lead would be down cast and short lived when Kenny’s Maddie Millar shot and landed one of her famous 3 pointers catapulting the birth of Kenny’s comeback. Ribault’s display of a well executed half court press placed pressure on Kenny’s offense. The exchange of super powers that is Kenny’s offense and Ribault’s defense collided, ending the first quarter with Kenny leading Ribault 14-9.
Kendra Williams and Asia Fleming’s 3-point expertise would revive Ribault’s scoring in the second quarter. The Trojan’s continued half court press staggered Kenny’s offense which would allow Ribault to outscore Kenny 11-9 ending the first half 23-20.
In the third quarter, the queen Kenny’s Jasmyne Roberts claimed the throne for her team when she scored 11 points breaking down the Trojan defense and capturing rebounds. Yet Shayla Bouie and Peris Starks combined equally, working on the Crusader defense finding holes in the zone defense to once again outscore Kenny by a slim 12-11 margin ending the third quarter. However Kenny led 34-32.
Starks finished with 13 points, and Bouie 9 points in the game for Ribault, as Coach Dorian Stevens dialed up play after play to keep her team in the game. Yet she had no answer for Roberts, who would go on to terrorize both the Trojan offense and defense during the entire fourth quarter. At times it seemed like a bird, maybe even a plane, that was snatching rebounds in mid air away from the Trojans. Her super hero-like effort was simply too much for Ribault.
The renowned offensive performance by Kenny wouldn’t have been complete without Millar’s solid shot implementation. She along with Rose Dolmovich’s performance led to the the Crusader offense outscoring Ribault 22-9 in the fourth quarter. It was the difference in the battle, and the reason the Lady Crusaders march on.
Ribault bows out gracefully after an impressive 17-9 campaign. Head Coach Charlsea Clark and her Crusaders improved to 27-2 on the season and will face Rickards (Tallahassee) Friday in the regional finals. The team is highly anticipating a trip to the Final Four in Lakeland, they have just one more game to achieve that goal.
