Palm Beach Gardens girls win district title, escape late charge from Palm Beach Lakes
FORT PIERCE — A nail-biting 47-45 victory over Palm Beach Lakes saw Palm Beach Gardens become the champs of Class 7A-District 7.
Win or lose, it was going to be a haul of a ride back to Palm Beach County from the host-site Fort Pierce-Central High for the local squads.
It would ultimately be the Gators driving the party bus home and returning a girls hoops district title to Gardens' trophy case after a three-year drought. But the hardware's final destination could've been Lakes if the Rams had just a few more seconds — or if Lakes still had senior guard Cienna Thigpen on the roster.
"My heart's beating a little fast ... wild last quarter," Gators' first-year coach Jessica Salero said.
After Gardens overcame the point-to-point battle that marked every preceding quarter, with a little under two minutes to go, the Gators dropped what was a 10-point lead to a fiery Ezria Pierre-Louis of Lakes.
A costly foul on Pierre-Louis made it a Gardens ball, and before the Rams knew it, Thigpen drove down the right sideline, swept left into the paint and banked the game-winning two-pointer.
Boys Hoops Postseason Preview:Breaking down the playoff picture for Palm Beach County boys basketball teams
In Case You Missed It:Lake Worth steals sold-out show, downs undefeated Dwyer
Despite being the key to the win, aside from clutch offensive and defensive rebounds from Gardens junior Kyana Poitier, Thigpen acknowledged Friday's performance wasn't her greatest, in large part due to facing her old teammates.
"It was a big setback in my head — I knew how they played, but at the same time I knew they weren't going to hold back on me," Thigpen said.
Thigpen finished with nine points, two assists and two steals. She's used to scoring about 20 points per game.
Between playoff pressure and a newly intensified Military Trail rivalry with Thigpen's transfer, the Gators knew everyone on the floor would have to step up.
"We've been trying to prepare ourselves for this moment. To put together three wins in a week at the end of the season with the fatigue, the injuries, and the battle wounds — the fact that they're still pretty young. They have the composure and mental toughness to overcome the things they've overcome," Salero said of her team.
Poitier led the Gators with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Alicia Russell contributed eight points and seven rebounds, earning Player of the Game honors from Gardens staff. Sophomore Azariah Marrero and freshman Latasha Whyte each tallied six points, teammates Poitier and Thigpen alike commending the not-so-elder for her often-overlooked role in controlling the flow of the offense.
Although the last few seconds of the game were "nerve-wracking," according to Poitier, she knows that Gardens learned some major lessons, like being more aggressive from the beginning or not getting stressed with the officials in critical moments before embarking on the last leg to Lakeland.
"We can go to show that we're really up there and do anything as a team if we put all of our efforts together," Poitier said.
"We're trying to prove a point this year and I'm trying to go to states this year, so we're not trying to lose anymore going forward," Thigpen said.
Cinderella Gardens 'ready' to go dancing
Who Palm Beach Gardens faces next will be determined on Monday starting at 12:30 p.m. on the Florida High School Athletic Association's live show to announce state tournament qualifiers.
Having the district championship in tow will help remedy some stresses for Gardens, which entered the matchup No. 21 in Class 7A and fourth in Region 2 and is now set to receive a top-four seed and first-round host rights.
Salero knows navigating playoffs will be tricky. Especially in Region 2, which hosts Dr. Phillips — No. 1 in the state regardless of classification — and No. 27 overall and No. 7 in Class 7A Oak Ridge.
"You just never know what you're going to get. You never know who's going to turn it on on any given night," Salero said, adding that games like the championship against Lakes are "what the postseason is all about."
"Moving on, we've been in this moment a lot and we haven't always been on the good end of it so the fact that they've experienced both I think has gotten us ready for next week."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Gardens girls win 'nerve-wracking' district title, escape Palm Beach Lakes
