White keys Dillard’s rout of Jensen Beach

FORT LAUDERDALE — Jensen Beach did not have an answer for Dillard post Raven White.

The Panthers’ Southern University signee posted a double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds) to lead Dillard past Jensen Beach 66-41 Thursday in a Class 7A-Region 4 quarterfinal.

Dillard (22-5) will play Palm Bay Heritage in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Palm Bay Heritage crushed Boyd Anderson 62-18 to advance.

“It felt good,” said White, the daughter of former Dillard and Michigan State star and eight-year NFL veteran running back Lorenzo White. “You know, we practiced hard for this. It took a lot to get to this point and I couldn’t do it without my team.”

White owned the paint. She connected on 11 of 18 shots from the floor. Fellow senior and Southern signee Genovea Johnson was also in double figures with 14 points.

Jensen Beach (12-13) has just one senior. It was led by sophomore guard Hope Donow’s 12 points. It is Jensen Beach’s first appearance in a regional since 2014.

Dillard led 16-12 after one quarter and 27-20 at the half before pulling away in the third quarter. The Panthers outscored Jensen Beach 23-5 in the period to pull ahead 50-25.

“We had a bad quarter -the third quarter,” Jensen Beach coach John Bridges said. “They started shooting it a little bit and it got away from us. But three of the four quarters we were right there with them.”

Dillard has lost to just one Florida program — St. Thomas Aquinas — this season. Dillard’s other four losses came against Mater Dei (Calif.); Bradley Central (Tenn.); Wesleyan (Ga.); and St. Francis (Ga.).

Last year Dillard lost to Fort Myers in the state semifinals. White said the Panthers not only want to get back to state but this time win it all.

“That’s the goal,” White said. “You know, we went last year but we came up short. So we just want to finish what we started and we want to get there [to Lakeland]. We’re trying to win it all.”