LAKELAND – There was a level of optimism surrounding the American Heritage (Delray Beach) Lady Stallions in their quest to win this year’s 4A state title.
For parts of today’s game against Lincoln Park Academy in the 4A state semifinal, it seemed to be the case.
But in the fourth quarter, the dream of at least reaching the title would steadily careen toward a different outcome, resulting in a 48-37 loss that ended their dream season.
Here’s how it went down:
With 6:07 left in the game, the Lady Stallions (13-5 final record) took a 29-26 lead over the Lady Greyhounds. A 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter made their three-point lead possible.
However, the next two minutes were all about Lincoln Park Academy.
At the 4:17 mark, the Lady Greyhounds (20-1) got some leadership from senior Christen McCann, who had 24 points almost midway through the final frame.
And with just 2:38 left, Lincoln Park Academy sophomore Sophia Marrero hit two consecutive three-pointers to give her team a 36-29 lead.
In essence, the Lady Greyhounds had a pivotal 10-0 run that helped to decide the winner of this game.
With 1:42 left in the game, the Lady Stallions made two straight basketball to pull within five points at 38-33. It seemed as if there was some potential for an epic finish.
But Lincoln Park Academy proceeded to put an end to this one from there, as it went on a 10-4 run to close out American Heritage (Delray Beach).
Regardless of the game’s final outcome, this 2020-2021 season will go down as the Lady Stallions best one in school history.
And despite today’s loss, the Lady Stallions will be bringing back every single player on their team. They have only two juniors and no seniors, which means that we could be seeing them back at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland next year and beyond.
Another thing to note: Lady Stallions junior guard/forward and Wisconsin commit Jordana Codio did not play in this game. She is recovering from a right leg injury that she had recently has surgery on.
With that, here is a listing of the Lady Stallions top scorers in the 4A state semifinal:
•Sophomore forward Alancia Ramsey – 18 points, 7 rebounds (team-highs)
•Sophomore guard Taylor Romano – 11 points, 5 rebounds
•Freshman forward Kiara Charles – 6 points, 3 rebounds
“Hopefully this is only the beginning,” Lady Stallions head coach Brett Studley said. “This is a special group of young ladies. Facing all of the adversity we dealt with this whole season,these young women could’ve got into themselves at anytime. Instead, they banded together and fought. These are tough, high character kids that earned everything they achieved the hard way. What an amazing group and incredible season. I’m proud to be called their coach.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Brett Studley
