Bishop Kenny HS- It’s without question the toughest classification in Northeast Florida, and quite possibly the state of Florida. With Bishop Kenny, Raines and Ribault, all perennial powerhouses vying for playoff supremacy in North Florida, the Class 4A playoff early rounds are literally a twisted metal drag race to the finish. On Thursday, we saw the Raines Vikings get knocked out of the race by Bishop Kenny.
Jasmyn Roberts led Bishop Kenny with 19 points. Junior Maddie Millar chipped in 17 points, while Jamia Nesmith added 12 points. The Lady Crusaders led for most of the game thanks to the efforts of Millar who hit four 3-pointers in the game.
Nesmith was once again a force in many different fazes of the game. Grabbing rebounds (7), putting up second chance points and finding holes in the defense to convert baskets. Sydney Roundtree was an enforcer on defense with 5 blocks while Ivey Saig had 4 steals. Their ball movement and unselfish play showed as Raines had no answer for Bishop Kenny. who led at halftime 34-27.
In the second half, Raines would make a comeback trailing by as much as 15 points in the game. Ahliah Brown and Selah Reddick would hit big shots, get steals, and get to the free throw line. In the fourth, Jamicia Davis hit one of the biggest baskets of the night to tie the game at 52-52 to force overtime.
In overtime, Jasmyn Roberts (University of Miami commit) scored all 8 points, and Kenny’s defense did the rest as the Lady Crusaders moved on to the Regional Semifinals. It went all the way to the last quarter and then some, but in the end the Lady Crusaders would top the Lady Vikings in overtime 60-55 to improve to 18-9. Raines ends their season 19-6 and short of an opportunity to return to Lakeland. They’ve fallen to Bishop Kenny in consecutive playoff appearances since moving to 4A.
After winning their district championship last week over Bolles, and following up with a big win over Raines, Bishop Kenny will now host Ribault on Tuesday February, 16th at 7pm. Ribault defeated Bolles 56-38 in their Regional Quarterfinals matchup. Their last playoff matchup saw Bishop Kenny defeat the Lady Trojans 56-41 in the 2018-2019 season. This time, the game will most certainly be closer as Ribault and Bishop Kenny bring their district championships to the court.
