Evangelical Christian, Charlotte, Port Charlotte headed to regional finals
Six girls basketball teams from Southwest Florida entered the regional semifinals with their state championship hopes still alive. Following Tuesday's games, only three are left standing.
Here is a roundup of the FHSAA regional semifinal games involving teams from Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties:
Class 2A-Region 3
Evangelical Christian 50, Seacrest 18: The Sentinels can win with their offense, or they can win with their defense. On Tuesday, they did a little bit of both.
ECS, the No. 1 seed in the region, scored 21 points in the second quarter to go up 36-12 at halftime. When the shots weren't falling in the third quarter, the Sentinels (22-4) clamped down on defense. They didn't allow a single point to Seacrest in the third.
The Stingrays (13-11) hit just four shots all game, the rest of their points coming on free throws. Seacrest had six points total in the second half.
Maddie Oberski scored 20 points to lead ECS, including 13 in the first half. She sank all three of her 3-pointers before halftime.
Zaira Mitchell scored nine points for the Sentinels. Her bucket in the second quarter gave her 1,000 points for her career.
ECS finally got over the regional semifinal hump under third-year coach Dwayne Donnell. The past two seasons the Sentinels lost in the second round despite winning 23 games both years.
Madison D'Elia led Seacrest with eight points, all on free throws and all in the second quarter.
Keswick Christian 60, St. John Neumann 45: The Crusaders (22-7) opened the fourth quarter on a 19-6 run to put Neumann away. Keswick also had a 19-4 run in the second quarter.
The Crusaders lost at Neumann in the regional finals last season. Now they're headed to this year's regional championship at Evangelical Christian on Friday.
Ava Graham scored 20 points to lead Keswick, including nine in the fourth quarter. Hannah Jantomaso scored 15 points for Keswick, while Sophie Aust added 11 points.
Neumann junior Sydney Martin kept her team alive in the second half. She had 17 points after halftime to finish with a game-high 21 points.
Class 5A-Region 3
Port Charlotte 47, Parrish Community 46 (OT): Hailey Cohen's layup with one second left delivered a thrilling comeback win for the host Pirates, sending them to the regional championship game.
No. 2 seed Port Charlotte was headed toward defeat but came to life in the fourth quarter. The Pirates had trailed the entire game and were down 30-22 to start the final period. However, they tied the game 37-37 to force overtime.
Senior Bryanna Griffith led the Pirates with 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Cohen, a sophomore, had 11 points and six rebounds. Chloe Reece and Nayeliz Verges had seven points each for Port Charlotte.
The Pirates play at No. 1 seed Clearwater in the regional finals Friday.
Class 6A-Region 3
Charlotte 55, Arwood 33: The Tarpons were all over Arwood from the beginning while earning their second straight blowout win in regionals.
Charlotte led 35-14 at halftime and coasted in the second half. The Tarpons, top seeded in the region, won by 22 after winning by 45 in the first round.
D'Yanis Jimenez scored a game-high 24 points to lead Charlotte. The Tarpons will host No. 2 seed Bloomingdale on Friday for the regional title.
Bloomingdale 55, Fort Myers 44: Playing on the road, No. 6 seed Fort Myers led 25-20 at halftime. Bloomingdale responded by outscoring the Green Wave 16-10 in the third quarter, taking a one-point lead. The Bulls then held a 19-9 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Fort Myers ends the year with a 19-6 record. Bloomingdale (25-2) will play at No. 1 seed Charlotte on Friday in the regional finals.
Regional Semifinals
Class 6A-Region 3
(2) Bloomingdale 55, (6) Fort Myers 44
(1) Charlotte 55, (5) Armwood 33
Class 5A-Region 3
(2) Port Charlotte 47, (3) Parrish Community 46
Class 2A-Region 3
(1) Evangelical Christian 50, (4) Seacrest 18
(3) Keswick Christian 60, (2) Neumann 44
Regional Finals
Friday
Class 6A-Region 3
(2) Bloomingdale at (1) Charlotte
Class 5A-Region 3
(2) Port Charlotte at (1) Clearwater
Class 2A-Region 3
(3) Keswick Christian at (1) Evangelical Christian
