American Heritage and Mainland roll into the FHSAA 6A girls state final

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – The stage is now set for Saturday's FHSAA Class 5A girls basketball state championship game, as American Heritage Plantation and Mainland each rode blowout semifinal victories into the final at Lakeland's RP Funding Center.

American Heritage 71, Clearwater 33

A fast-paced game between Clearwater and American Heritage (Plantation) was only close for the first quarter. The Patriots won going away, 71-33.

Both teams pressed for much of the contest, with American Heritage being the squad that truly made the most of the opportunities. Clearwater had nine turnovers from the first quarter alone.

For the contest, Clearwater had 26 turnovers, and American Heritage was credited with 15 steals.

American Heritage was quicker, more aggressive, and utilized better defensive cohesiveness to create fast break chances all game long.

The game was tied up at 12 each when sophomore center Dezuray McGill knocked in her third bucket of the game with 2:05 remaining in the first quarter. That started a mini-run for the Patriots, as they scored consecutive run-out buckets off Tornadoes turnovers to go up 18-12.

With Mariah McKenzie’s layup from an ensuing inbounds play, American Heritage extended its lead to 22-14 right before the first quarter concluded. Sophomore forward Taina Sturdivant was the primary scorer for Clearwater, as she had 6 points in the first half and 9 for the game.

As the second quarter got rolling, the Patriots kept stealing the ball – in the frontcourt or the backcourt – and the lead was at 31-14 with 5:03 remaining in the first half.

When there were not easy looks in transition with junior guard Arielle Facyson getting the bulk of easy hoops, McGill dominated in the paint. She scored 8 of her 10 points during the first half.

Facyson scored all of her 10 points during the first half. She set the tone early by way of using her excellent speed, defensive effort, and dribbling skills.

By halftime, American Heritage led Clearwater 43-16. The third quarter saw the Patriots continue to dominate the Tornadoes, as they out scored their opposition 16 to 9.

During the third, guard Teriyah McFadden was much like Facyson was during the first half. She was always around the ball and getting buckets with her effort. She had 12 rebounds by the end of the third stanza, and finished the game with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The Patriots led 59-25 heading into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter saw American Heritage let up some, but still cruised to victory even with the reserves in the contest for much of the final stanza.

Beyond McGill, Facyson, and McFadden, two more Patriots made their way to double digits. Big-time freshman guard Jasleen Green had 11, while Sydni Studesville had eight points in the third quarter and 12 overall to lead all scorers.

The Patriots were dominant for most of the contest, and will be tough to beat in the state championship game, although Mainland High School showed itself well in the second contest and will be an admirable opponent.

Mainland 56, Gateway 23

The Daytona Beach (Mainland) Buccaneers and the Gateway Panthers (Kissimmee) squared off in the second semifinal, and it was a much more half court-oriented ball game.

Despite that fact, Mainland still dominated and won 56-23.

Tia Dobson knocked down a triple from the top of the key with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter. That was the start of Mainland taking control overall, as they went up 7-2. Defense was the Buccaneers’ key component.

The 2-3 zone employed gave the Panthers fits, as they just could not connect. By the end of the first quarter, Gateway was only 2 of 11 from the field and trailed 12-4.

It did not get much better in the second quarter, as Gateway went 2 of 7.

The scoring of junior forward Anovia Sheals was the other key to Mainland for much of the first half, and the game. The 5-foot-10 junior guard was quick at getting her shot off, rebounded well, and was creative with scoring the basketball. Sheals had six points and six rebounds from the first quarter alone. By halftime, Sheals reached 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Sheals finished the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds to lead everyone in both categories. She opened the second stanza with a pair of made free throws, putting the Buccaneers up 14-4 with 7:30 remaining in the first half.

Mainland began to extend their zone pressure towards the half court line and that caused even more issues for Gateway. Deflections and contested shots were the norm.

Even though it was struggling from the field, Gateway continued to battle. After SkyLynn Paterson knocked in a free throw to close the gap to 16-10, Sheals came back with her fifth bucket of the game to make it 18-10 with 4 minutes to play in the half.

The half finished with a flurry. Mainland senior guard Jordan Boddie grabbed a rebound and put in. Then, a turnover led to Boddie getting a wide open 3-point shot that hit nothing but the bottom of the net to close out the half with Mainland leading 23-12 over Gateway.

The third quarter saw Mainland score consecutive buckets in 20 seconds, as Dobson and Sheals scored back-to-back layups that placed the Buccaneers up 31-14 with 4:24 remaining.

The route was on from that point forward.

The primary problem would be turnovers. Gateway had nine by half, and another 5 during the third quarter. Mainland took advantage.

Boddie drilled a three with 3:05 remaining in the third, and then rebounded the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup that put her Mainland team up 36-16 with 2:38 in the third.

It was 39-20 heading into the final quarter of play, and Mainland continued to dominate. Sheals opened the quarter with a made shot, and then Boddie stole the ball and drove down for a wide-open layup.

At 43-20, the game was completely out of hand and it was only a matter of what the final score would be. In addition to Sheals for Mainland, Boddie scored 12 and Dobson had 9.

For Gateway, Vanessa Diaz scored 6 points, while Malayna Stevenson knocked in 8.