PREP ROUNDUP: Saint Stephen's pressure defense too much for Southeast
BRADENTON — The Saint Stephen’s Episcopal girls basketball team used pressure defense early to create turnovers that led to easy baskets and went on to a 62-29 victory over host Southeast on Wednesday evening at John Harder Court in Buzz Narbut Memorial Gymnasium.
Senior Maddy Boehm led the Falcons with 24 points. Senior Jamie Springstead ended with 20, helping Saint Stephen’s bolt to a 29-4 lead after the first quarter.
Tianisha Montes led the Seminoles with seven points.
The Falcons (9-6) return to action Thursday at Bayshore High. Southeast (1-14) competes in a tournament at St. Petersburg Lakewood High on Friday and Saturday.
Saint Stephen’s takeaways
• The Falcons put this one away early by scoring the first 13 points of the game and then having a 15-0 run later in the first quarter. “Just the way they were playing defense,” Saint Stephen’s coach David Gaulman said on what he liked.
• Gaulman thinks a four-point loss at Seffner Christian to open 2022 has propelled his team to the recent four-game winning streak. The Falcons still are battling injuries with starting freshman guard Ava Rogers sidelined. Boehm missed time with a broken bone in her wrist. Saint Stephen’s is 6-1 since Boehm returned and 8-1 overall with the senior guard in the lineup. “Right now for us it’s about getting on track and getting ready for the playoffs,” Gaulman said.
• Looking down the road, the Falcons have their sights set on Cardinal Mooney, the area’s top-ranked team in the FHSAA power rankings. Saint Stephen’s, which is ranked 158th in the state and 25th in Class 3A by MaxPreps, does not play the Cougars during the regular season. “Our focus right now is trying to take down that monster at Cardinal Mooney,” Gaulman said. “Right now, we are trying to put together a roster of players, who play physical and hard and understand their roles. The one benefit we’ve had from issues with COVID and injuries has been players being put in positions to play when they might not have. So it adds to some of the depth we have and experience. It comes down to playing basketball the right way at the right time and getting healthy when it matters most.”
Southeast takeaways
• The Seminoles had trouble with the Saint Stephen’s pressure early, which led to turnovers and not many shots at the basket. Southeast did not score for the first 3 minutes, 44 seconds and managed 10 points in the first half. Six of the eight Seminoles who dressed scored at least four points. Southeast matched its season average of 29 points per game.
• First-year coach LeYenketa “L” Blackmon, who came from Georgia, did not arrive early enough to have an offseason program leading up to the season. Another reason for the slow start is all the Seminoles are underclassmen. Of the eight players who suited up Wednesday, three are juniors, four are sophomores and one is a freshman. Southeast also had a number of players transfer elsewhere.
• Southeast has lost six in a row after opening the season with an eight-game losing streak. The Seminoles’ lone win was 65-14 over winless St. Petersburg Hollins on Dec. 17.
Port Charlotte 48, Lakewood Ranch 35
TOP PLAYERS: PC, Delaini Morris(16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Aryianna Lockey-Progl (11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists), Bryanna Griffiths (8 rebounds, 6 points); LR, Hannah Pruszinske (14 points)
NEXT: Lemon Bay at Port Charlotte on Thursday
BOYS SOCCER
Riverview 2, Sarasota 1
AT: Sarasota High
GOALS: R, Ryan Sims, Jonah Schildkraut 1
ASSISTS: R, Sims, Luke Spycher 1
GOALIE: R, Josh Weisman (1 save), Luca Stefenoni (1 save)
RECORD: Riverview (10-0-3)
NEXT: Riverview vs. Manatee 7 p.m. Jan. 20
BOYS BASKETBALL
North Port 47, Braden River 41 OT
AT: Braden River High
TOP PLAYERS: BR, Marcus Schade (11 points), Isaac Heaven (10 points), NP,
James King (17 points, 6 rebounds), Eli Lybsey (10 points, 8 rebounds), Jackson Kinker (4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals)
OF NOTE: North Port Jose Santiago hit a 3-pointer on a back screen to the corner with 3 seconds left to send the game in overtime. North Port scores first and went on to victory.
RECORD: Braden River (5-12)
NEXT: Braden River at Bayshore on Jan. 20
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: PREP ROUNDUP: Saint Stephen's pressure defense too much for Southeast
