Lakeland Fl- Jasmyne Roberts led all scorers with 23 points and Maddie Millar was second in scoring with 14 points, as Bishop Kenny defeated Cocoa 52-40 in the Class 4A State Semifinal. Said Bishop Kenny Head Coach Charlsea Clark, ” We started off slow but got hot later in the game, I wish we would’ve finished stronger, but I’m still very proud of them”. Bishop Kenny came into the contest with a 21-9 record while Cocoa came into the game at 26-3.
At the start of the game both teams struggled from the field, as the players attempted to adjust to the large arena at JP Funding Center. Shooting just 21% and going 3 of 14 in the first quarter, Bishop Kenny found itself fortunate to only be down 14-9 to Cocoa. Jaliyah Flowers hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring for the game after a scoreless two minutes. Savannah Arroyo also hit big shots for Cocoa.
In the second, Kenny caught fire as Jasmyne Roberts scored 9 points in the half to lead her team from behind. She attacked the basket as no one from Cocoa was able to stop her. In addition, Jamia Nesmith contributed mightily scoring 9 of her 10-points in the half as well. She grabbed rebounds and put up second chance points for Bishop Kenny as they went from being down by five to start the quarter to up by 3 points to end it. The Crusaders took a 24-21 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Jasmyne Roberts and Maddie Millar took over. Millar hit two 3-pointers to increase the Crusader lead. Although she went just 4 of 13 from the field goal range and 4 of 11 from 3-point range, Millar kept shooting and kept plugging. Her aggressiveness was the perfect compliment to Roberts who went 8 of 17 from the field and finished up with 23 points. Roberts made shots in the paint, and grabbed offensive rebounds. They were determined to finish the game out.
The lead would balloon to as much as 20 points before Cocoa knocked the score down to 12 points to end the game. Shakara Robertson finished with 11 points, a team high for Cocoa. While Flowers finished with 8 points and Arroyo 7 points. Credit the Crusader defense that grabbed steals and clogged passing lanes to frustrate the scorers of Cocoa.
#2 Bishop Kenny will need to do the same in the championship game when they face #1. Lake Highland Prep. Similar to their championship match-up against American Heritage last year, LHP is big, long and a matchup nightmare for teams. However Roberts believes they are ready for the challenge.
“Last year against American Heritage they had several tall players and I was the tallest player we had. This year we have more players and are more of a complete team”. –Jasmyne Roberts
Kenny will try to complete their unfinished business Saturday at 12:30 pm, when they go for the title. As the only Northeast Florida girls basketball program down in Lakeland this year, the pressure will be on to bring the trophy up I-95.
:Featured Image Courtesy of Bishop Kenny Athletics Twitter
