Tuesday, Jan. 18 sports roundup: Balanced scoring sends Okeechobee past Jensen Beach

Bryan Cooney, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·4 min read

JENSEN BEACH — McKenzie Neal scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Jasmine Shanks added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead Okeechobee to a 55-42 victory over Jensen Beach on Tuesday night.

The Brahmans (15-4) raced out a 20-5 first quarter lead with its defense forcing turnovers that turned into easy baskets in transition.

Okeechobee’s Jasmine Shanks goes for a layup against Jensen Beach in a girls basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Jensen Beach High School. Okeechobee won 55-42.
Okeechobee’s Jasmine Shanks goes for a layup against Jensen Beach in a girls basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Jensen Beach High School. Okeechobee won 55-42.

Jensen Beach settled down and got back in the game, trailing by only nine at 23-14.

Okeechobee used another spurt fueled by its defense to open up a lead that was as big as 21 in the third quarter, taking a 42-26 advantage into the final quarter.

Jensen Beach, which was without leading scorer Lauren Cioffi due to a knee injury, chipped away at the deficit, getting it to under 10 on a couple of occasions but never threatened down the stretch.

Okeechobee got 10 points, seven steals, six rebounds and four blocked shots from Semaj Jasper, Adryauna Baker added nine points and Leta Adamo chipped in eight points for the Brahmans, who are in position to have the top seed in the District 13-5A tournament.

Jensen Beach’s Kiosha Smith takes a free throw against Okeechobee in a girls basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Jensen Beach High School. Okeechobee won 55-42.
Jensen Beach’s Kiosha Smith takes a free throw against Okeechobee in a girls basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Jensen Beach High School. Okeechobee won 55-42.

Kiosha Smith scored a game-high 24 points and added nine rebounds and six steals and Natalie Evans added 11 points for Jensen Beach (9-5).

Girls Soccer

Treasure Coast 3, Centennial 1: Brenda Vargas, Valentina Breault and Natalya Paula all found the back of the net as the Titans (7-1-1) kept their strong season going.

Vargas rifled home a strike from the top of the box in the first half that stood as the halftime lead for Treasure Coast.

Breault finished off a scramble in the Eagle box after a Titan corner kick early in the second half to make it 2-0 Treasure Coast.

Treasure Coast's Brenda Vargas races down the pitch with Centennial's Rocio Espinosa tracking back to defend during a high school soccer match in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Vargas scored a goal in the first half and added an assist in the second half as the Titans won the match 3-1.
Treasure Coast's Brenda Vargas races down the pitch with Centennial's Rocio Espinosa tracking back to defend during a high school soccer match in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. Vargas scored a goal in the first half and added an assist in the second half as the Titans won the match 3-1.

Centennial made it a one-goal game right after the water break as Rocio Espinosa pounced on a loose ball in front of the Titan net, but shortly after Vargas fed a wide-open Paula inside the box and the sophomore made no mistake to restore Treasure Coast's two-goal cushion.

Pine School 6, St. Edward's 0: Hannah Squier scored four goals to lead the way for the Knights (9-2-2). Keziah Anderson and Lyla Baldwin netted a goal each, Reese Habicht and Ava Pearl each picked up one assist and Justina Southern made seven saves to keep a clean sheet for Pine School.

Jensen Beach 1, Martin County 1: Delaney Gribben scored a second-half goal off an assist from Peyton Fitzherbert to cancel out Peyton Zuloaga's successful penalty as the Tigers and Falcons played to a draw for the second time this season.

Jade Andersen made seven saves for Jensen Beach (8-6-3) and Dakota Moberg made seven saves for Martin County (7-0-6)

Boys Soccer

Centennial 5, Okeechobee 0: Ceasar Andrade scored two goals and assisted on another as the Eagles (7-5-2) blanked the Brahmans. Cooper Levenstien and Luan Cabral each added a goal and an assist, Daniel Bloomfield found the back of the net, Florencio Damian and Diego Castillo each picked up one assist and Armando Soto made four saves to keep a clean sheet for Centennial.

Boys Basketball

Martin County 57, Port St. Lucie 43: Ryan Davis scored 17 points to lead the way for the Tigers (15-3). Jack Pierrelus added 14 points and Kamari Haston chipped in 12 points for Martin County.

Vero Beach 90, Palm Beach Gardens 67: Timarion Bardwell scored 30 points to send Vero (8-7) to an impressive District 10-7A win. Eddrick Willis scored 20, Shawn Charles added 14 points and Derrick Davey gave Vero Beach four in double figures with 11 points.

John Carroll Catholic 76, Somerset College Prep Academy 40 (From Monday): Wilky Denaud scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and five steals to lead the way for the Rams (15-2). Tony Colebrook scored 12 points, Alex McFarlane filled the stat sheet with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals, Aidan Singleton added 11 points and four assists and Aaron McFarlane had 11 points, four steals and three assists for John Carroll.

Girls Basketball

Fort Pierce Central 42, John Carroll Catholic 18: Tabitha Lincifort scored 14 points and Harmoni Randolph added nine points to send the Cobras (4-14) to victory.

Morgan Scott led the Rams (7-7) with seven points in the loss.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Tuesday roundup: Balanced scoring sends Okeechobee past Jensen Beach