Girls high school basketball: The Villages scores 36 points from distance to beat Tavares

THE VILLAGES – A basketball season is often filled with ups and downs.

Monday’s girls game between Tavares and The Villages showcased both ends of the spectrum.

The Buffalo raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter and led from start to finish in a 57-17 win at the Range. It marked the fifth time in eight games The Villages scored at least 57 points in a game and was third time this season it held an opponent to fewer than 20 points.

It was Tavares’ second-lowest offensive output of the season.

With the win, The Villages improved to 5-3 on the season. Tavares fell to 3-4.

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The Buffalo set the tempo for the game in the first four minutes of the game. Defensively, The Villages pressured the ball from baseline to baseline, forcing turnovers on Tavares’ opening four possessions.

Tavares trailed 7-0 before managing its first shot.

On the offensive end, the Buffalo outran Tavares up the floor more often than not, which often led to easy layups. When Tavares got back on defense and slowed the Buffalo down, The Villages swung crisp passes around the perimeter, looking for an open shooter from distance.

For the game, The Villages hit on 12 three-pointers, including three in the first quarter while racing out to a 17-5 advantage. Emily Calkins and Evah Watterson paced the Buffalo’s long-range attack, each draining four from distance.

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Conversely, The Villages made only nine shots from inside the arc.

Tavares simply got its offense in gear. The Bulldogs went scoreless for the first 3 minutes and 56 seconds of the game and struggled for every basket.

The Villages outscored the Bulldogs in every quarter and methodically built on to its lead. Fittingly, a triple by Watterson with 7:40 left in the game gave The Villages a 53-16 advantage and started a running clock.

By then, both coaches – The Villages’ Marquez Porter and Tavares’ Brenda Staten – began to empty the bench, substituting liberally to give every player an opportunity to see court time.

Calkins led all scorers with 14 points, followed by Watterson with 13 – 10 of which came in the second half. Essiance Jasper added 11 and Re’nae Brant dropped in eight.

For Tavares, Mari Turney-Jones led the way with five points, followed by Riley Miller and Deandreia Leslie with four.

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Monday’s game was the first of three home games this week for the Buffalo. The Villages hosted South Lake Tuesday and will play Gainesville P.K. Yonge Friday to close out a busy week.

Tavares, meanwhile, has time to correct its trouble spots. Next up for the Bulldogs is a road game Friday at Ocoee Legacy Charter.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: HS basketball: Buffalo girls maintain healthy lead to beat Tavares