DISTRICT ROUNDUP: Creekside gets revenge on Bartram Trail, advances to finals
ST. JOHNS — The Creekside Knights tried to play it cool on their postgame walk back to the locker room Wednesday. They tried to act like it was just another game. Not a ton of excitement or outward displays of emotion.
“We were trying to just chill,” senior captain and standout guard Melissa Epting said.
When they entered the locker room and shut the doors, the vibe changed.
“That was celebration time,” Epting said with a giggle.
The Knights (13-13) knocked off rival Bartram Trail 58-48 on their home court, eliminating the second-seeded Bears from the 7A District 1 tournament. Creekside will host No. 1 Mandarin for the district title Friday evening.
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Wednesday provided the Knights and Bears’ third matchup of the season. Bartram Trail (12-14) won the first two by a combined three points.
After beating Atlantic Coast Tuesday to set up the semifinals game against the Bears, who enjoyed a first-round bye, Creekside preached a business-like mindset. Epting said she and her teammates wanted to avoid any nerves and overthinking.
“The fact that they beat us two times, that put a lot of pressure in our court to come out here tonight and answer those two losses,” head coach Wade Cashwell said. “We always felt we were the better team. We just didn’t execute those two times. Today, we took care of business and did what we needed to do.”
The first quarter bounced back and forth. Fueled by two 3-pointers by senior top scorer Aja Pollard, Bartram Trail opened with an 8-2 lead. The Knights responded with an 11-0 run to go up 13-8. Then, the Bears snatched a 16-13 advantage heading into the second quarter.
Creekside grabbed its first lead of the quarter (20-18) with two free throws by sophomore Jade Spivey. Bartram Trail knotted it at 24-24 two minutes before halftime, but a Spivey three put the Knights ahead for good. They held a 33-30 lead at intermission.
The Bears kept their deficit mostly within six during the third quarter. After hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to kick off the fourth and cut Creekside’s lead to 47-45, Bartram Trail scored only one point in the next five minutes, ceding an 11-0, game-sealing run by the Knights.
“Our defense wins our games,” Epting said. “When our defense causes them to rush, it helps us on offense. It makes us more confident when our defense is playing well together.”
Creekside’s offense passed the ball around in the half court to drain the final 45 seconds from the clock. Epting and Spivey each tallied a game-high 13 points.
Pollard and freshman Audrey Beyer paced the Bears with 10 points apiece.
Here is a look at Wednesday’s other local games:
Spruce Creek 69, Seminole 44
Off a first-round bye, Spruce Creek lived up to its No. 1 seeding, handling Seminole in the 7A District 2 tournament semifinals. The Hawks (20-5) will look to keep rolling in the finals against Lake Mary Friday.
Ponte Vedra 43, Nease 36
After losing to rival Nease in their first matchup of the season last month, Ponte Vedra bounced back in the 6A District 3 tournament. The Sharks allowed only nine points in the first half to build a lead and preserved it the rest of the way. Third-seeded Ponte Vedra (15-8) will take on No. 1 Oakleaf for the district title at 7 p.m. Friday. No. 2 Nease is now 20-6.
St. Augustine 37, Menendez 29
Second-seeded St. Augustine trailed Menendez by a point at halftime but used a big third quarter to close out the Falcons in the 5A District 4 tournament. The Yellow Jackets outscored Menendez 24-15 in the second half.
St. Augustine (18-6) will battle No. 1 Mainland for the district championship Friday. The Falcons fell to 15-12.
Mainland 65, Deltona 33
Behind three scorers with at least 10 points each, No. 1 Mainland (15-8) eliminated No. 4 Deltona (10-15) from the 5A District 4 tournament. Anovia Sheals led the Buccaneers with 17 points and was followed by Tia Dobson (11) and Jordan Boddie (10).
Bishop Kenny 54, Beachside 18
Beachside fell behind top-seeded Bishop Kenny 15-8 in the first quarter of their 4A District 4 semifinals matchup and never recovered, dropping its record to 17-6. Anni Ament led the Barracudas with seven points.
Trinity Christian 37, Calvary Christian 36 OT
In a game too hotly-contested to be decided in regulation, No. 2 Trinity Christian edged No. 3 Cavalry Christian by one point in overtime in the 2A District 6 tournament semifinals. The two squads finished the fourth quarter knotted at 33-33.
Haylee Morelli paced Trinity Christian (14-4) in points with 17. It will face No. 1 Mount Dora Christian for the district crown Friday. Cavalry Christian fell to 10-6.
Mount Dora Christian 54, Halifax 10
After upsetting No. 4 Lake Mary Prep 46-36 in the first round on Tuesday, No. 5 Halifax was eliminated from the 2A District 6 tournament by top seed Mount Dora Christian in Wednesday’s semifinals. The Knights’ record stands at 2-13.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Girls basketball district roundup: Creekside advances past Bartram Trail
