Standing in familiar territory

Dillard returns to state final, sets its sights on 10th title

LAKELAND —Dillard will get a chance Saturday to add a 10th state girls basketball championship banner.

The Panthers (24-5) defeated Daytona Beach Father Lopez 53-38 on Friday in a Class 7A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Dillard returns to the state championship game for the first time since 2015, which feels like an eternity for the powerhouse program.

“Titles are not so much for me, but for them,” longtime Dillard coach Marcia Pinder said, gesturing to seniors Raven White and Genovea Johnson. “They’ve been with us all through middle school and high school, so this one is kind of special for me [and] for them.”

The Panthers jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, but the Green Wave rallied and kept the game close throughout the first half. It wasn’t until the third quarter that Dillard began to pull away.

Sophomore Kintaeja Ling got hot from the 3-point line in the third quarter for the second straight game, knocking down three shots from behind the arc — just as she did in the regional finals.

“That’s normal for her,” Pinder said.

Dillard outscored Father Lopez 19-9 in the third quarter.

White paced the Panthers with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Johnson added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ling scored 13 points.

“This is what we worked for since October,” White said. “My teammates just got me the ball, and it just happened.”

Dillard will play Ponte Vedra Beach Nease in the Class 7A state championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. Nease beat Fort Myers on Friday in the other Class 7A state semifinal.

“After last year’s loss, we all took [that] loss tough,” Johnson said. “The majority of the team this year knew how it felt to lose in the semifinals, so from October till (now) this is what we worked for.

“And we’re going to bring it all.”