Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Offensive struggles cost Deerfield Beach in semis
Poor shooting from field, at foul line dooms Bucks
LAKELAND — The spotlight got to the Bucks on Friday night and it cost them a shot at a state title.
Deerfield Beach struggled throughout the game and fell 52-39 to Wekiva in the Class 9A girls basketball state semifinals at the RP Funding Center, losing in the state semifinals for the second year in a row.
“I think it’s just the state finals,” Bucks coach Tami Vaughn said. “We were just nervous.”
The game started poorly for both teams, and the first quarter ended with Wekiva holding a 7-6 lead. But the Mustangs picked things up in the second quarter, while the Bucks continued to struggle.
“I thought the game at the beginning was sloppy — very sloppy,” said Wekiva coach Tommie Butts, who is a Blanche Ely alumnus and former Tigers coach. “The girls’ nerves were bad, which is understandable.”
Wekiva was able to get over those nerves, but Deerfield, which lost to Miami in the same round last year, did not.
The Bucks kept the game from getting out of hand with good defense, but their offense could never get going. Deerfield shot only 30 percent (13-for-43) from the floor and 11-for-22 from the freethrow line.
“I think it’s just the atmosphere, the nervousness, which is expected,” Vaughn said.
Wekiva pulled ahead in the second quarter by outscoring Deerfield Beach 19-14. The Mustangs steadily built on that lead and the Bucks could never cut into it.
Deerfield Beach senior DenAsia Mitchell, who played all 32 minutes, led the team with 18 points and grabbed four rebounds. Sedayjha Payne and Brierra Williams led Wekiva with 21 and 13 points, respectively.
“Sometimes it’s frustrating because I know we all are capable of doing it,” Mitchell said. “But everybody [doesn’t always] bring it to the table when it’s time.”