Payne powers Wekiva
Mustangs earn rematch against No. 2 West Orange
Sedayjah Payne scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the third quarter Thursday as the Wekiva Mustangs rolled past MaxPreps Class 9A No. 1 Timber Creek 56-44 in a Region 1-9A quarterfinal. Wekiva (22-6) will get a rematch at MaxPreps No. 2 West Orange, a 45-37 winner over Colonial, on Tuesday. West Orange has beaten Wekiva twice this year.
“The West Orange game reminded us of last year,” said Payne, who also had 10 rebounds and five steals. “We played in districts and lost at home. We went on the road and lost. We didn’t want to go through the same thing again.”
Timber Creek (23-5) bottled up Wekiva early with a tight man-to-man defense, holding the Mustangs without a point until the 4:11 mark of the first quarter. Jourdan Avery scored eight of her 12 points to put the Wolves ahead 17-9 after the first quarter.
“We show resiliency,” Wekiva coach Tommie Butts said. “This team is always fighting. Sometimes they’ll get down on themselves, and they’ll pick themselves back up.”
Then the Mustangs gradually chipped away by matching Timber Creek’s intensity. Brierra Williams hit a couple 3-pointers, one of which gave the Mustangs their first lead at 21-19. Zora Fray Chinn’s free throws and bucket helped Timber Creek regain the lead, and Sara Napoli’s corner 3-pointer with 3 seconds left put the Wolves up 26-21 at halftime. Chinn finished with a team-high 14 points.
Wekiva took control of the game with an 18-6 third quarter.
“Being young and athletic, we thought the athleticism was going to come,” Timber Creek coach Freddie Cintron said. “It didn’t tonight. We learn from it.” Lynn Ramsey
Girls basketball
9A Region 1 quarterfinals Port Orange Spruce Creek 49, Lake Mary 48 Jacksonville Sandalwood 50, Seminole 28 West Orange 45, Colonial 37 Wekiva 56, Timber Creek 44 9A Region 2 quarterfinals Oak Ridge 47, Sarasota Riverview 32 D P 35, Lithia Newsome 23 Fort Pierce Central 50, Gateway 39 8A Region 2 quarterfinals Windermere 69, Melbourne 62 St. Cloud 61, East Ridge 34 6A Region 4 quarterfinals B. Moore 46, Palm Bay 36 Eustis 58, Rockledge 55 5A Region 2 quarterfinals Jones 64, South Sumter 28 LHP 62, Umatilla 12 4A Region 3 semifinals Seffner Christian 72, The Master’s Academy 65 Tampa Carrollwood Day 71, Cornerstone Charter 14 3A Region 1 semifinal North Florida Christian 72, Deltona Trinity 63 3A Region 3 semifinals OCP 61, McLaughlin 18 St. Pete. Keswick 60, Clermont Real Life Christian 25 2A Region 2 semifinal Kissimmee City of Life 58, Morningside 36
Boys basketball
Friday night’s district finals Class 9A, District 2 Oviedo at Seminole, 7 Class 9A, District 3 Evans at Wekiva, 7 Class 9A, District 4 At Colonial High School Lake Nona vs. Timber Creek, 7 Class 9A, District 6 Dr. Phillips at Oak Ridge, 7 Class 9A, District 7 At Gateway High School Osceola vs. George Jenkins, 7 Class 8A, District 5 Ocoee at Windermere, 7 Class 8A, District 6 Melbourne at Hagerty, 7 Class 7A, District 5 Atlantic vs. Mainland, 7 Class 6A, District 13 At Leesburg High School Poinciana vs. Eustis, 7 Class 5A, District 5 Villages at Ocala Trinity Catholic, 7 Class 5A, District 6 At The First Academy Lake Highland Prep at TFA (Orlando), 7 Class 4A, District 3 At Lakeland Christian School The Master’s Academy vs. Santa Fe Catholic, 7 Class 3A, District 2 At Warner Christian, South Daytona Christ’s Church vs. Lake Mary Prep, 7 Class 3A, District 3 Orlando Christian Prep at Mount Dora Christian, 7 Class 2A, District 5 CFCA at Lakeland Victory Christian, 7