Defending champion Dr. Phillips returns to FHSAA state tournament
Defending girls basketball state champion Dr. Phillips displayed the dominance of a title contender Friday night while running away with its second consecutive FHSAA Class 7A Region 2 trophy.
Sensational junior guard Trinity Turner poured in a game-high 32 points as the Panthers (28-1) dismantled visiting Oak Ridge (20-9) during an 83-50 win.
Turner showcased her athleticism while delivering no-look passes that set up teammates to score, picking up fouls on hard drives to the rim and draining multiple mid-range shots.
“Trinity is a very unselfish player,” DP coach Anthony Jones said. “Everybody knows she’s our elite player, but what they don’t know and have had to figure out is that we’ve got an entire team that can play.”
Sophomore Sariah Johnson finished with 15 points. Freshman Kendall Perry and sophomore Anilys Rolon each scored 12 points while combining for 6 made 3-pointers.
“We know she’s going to perform every day, so we’ve just got to keep helping her out,” Rolon said of Turner. “I know she’ll
always find me and my teammates for shots.”
DP is one of five Orlando area teams advancing to the Florida High School Athletic Association state tournament this week at RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Other area regional winners Friday were Colonial (7A), Kissimmee Gateway (6A), Lake Highland Prep (4A) and Faith Christian (2A).
“Last year they were very hungry and came in with something to prove. That gave them so much confidence,” Jones said of his team. “Now it’s been about keeping their egos in check, keeping them humble and challenging them all season with a tough
schedule so we can be prepared for mental games like we had today.”
DP and Oak Ridge were knotted at 13-13 with 1:05 left in the first quarter after sophomore Christiana Glover sank a 3 and junior Zaharia Jones scored from the post for the Pioneers.
Turner scored the next three baskets and Johnson added another in the opening minute of the second quarter to put the Panthers in front for good at 21-13.
Oak Ridge got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Senior Shayla Sandiford led the Pioneers with 13 points. Jones added 12 points.
It was DP’s third win vs. Oak
Ridge this season. The Panthers, who suffered a controversial loss in Washington, D.C., against Georgetown Visitation Prep in December, have won 48 of their past 50 games over the past two seasons.
Class 7A semifinal games are scheduled for Thursday at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. in Lakeland.
“We’re going into it with the mindset of trying to repeat,” Turner said. “We already know what it feels like being there and what we’re getting ourselves into. We’re just trying to go out and finish it off.”
Region final results
7A-1: No. 2 Colonial 61,
No. 1 Port Orange Spruce Creek 49 7A-2: No. 1 Dr. Phillips 83,
No. 2 Oak Ridge 50
6A-2: No. 6 Lakeland Lake Gibson 75, No. 1 Edgewater 73
5A-2: No. 1 Gateway 69,
No. 2 New Port Richey River Ridge 40 4A-2: No. 1 Lake Highland Prep 67, No. 2 Melbourne Palm Bay 45 2A-2: No. 2 Faith Christian 61, No. 1 Central Florida Christian 52