Girls Basketball: American Heritage-Delray rolls in District 12-5A championship, Codio scores 32 points

BOCA RATON – After a regular season series of going 1-1 against each other, Heritage was able to take down St. Andrews in the district title game last night (Feb. 8).

The last time these two teams took the floor, St. Andrews came out on top with a close 46-42 victory over American Heritage.

But this time, American Heritage jumped out to a quick double-digit lead that seemed to catch St. Andrews by surprise.

With a little over two minutes left in the first quarter, the Lady Stallions held a 15-2 lead over the Lady Scots. Heritage capitalized on a host of St. Andrews turnovers to close the first frame with a comfortable 20-4 lead.

The Lady Stallions’ offensive attack in the second quarter was amped up by standout freshman Jordana Codio, who tallied 20 points by the end of the first half.

As a team, Heritage went into halftime with a 34-16 lead over the district tournament’s host school.

St. Andrews did show some signs of life late in the second quarter, as Kayla Deherrera hit a buzzer shot before the half to make the game a bit more interesting.

The Lady Stallions’ lockdown defense in the second half gave the Lady Scots fits as they turned the ball over multiple times. Codio was very dynamic and didn’t let up in the second half, as she ended the game with a total of 32 points.

Heritage continued its dominance in the fourth to win by a score of 65-30.

As a result of their district title, the Lady Stallions will host the first round of the Class 5A playoffs, which will be held on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.

The Lady Stallions improved their record to 19-8, while the Lady Scots dropped to 12-10 with the district title loss.

As for the Lady Scots, they will be on the road for the first round of the 5A playoffs on Feb. 14.

TAKEAWAYS

Codio is a special player and already holds two Division I basketball offers from Iowa and Seton Hall.

“Me and my teammates communicated very well,” Codio said. “The game plan tonight was to shut down their two best players (St. Andrews). We have a few defenses that we executed on, and our offense executed as well.”

American Heritage head coach Brett Studley would comment on the team’s victory.

“I’m extremely pleased,” Studley said. “I’m really happy with the win tonight, the district championship. This team earned it, put the work in to set a goal for the season, and went out and accomplished it.”