Dr. Phillips holds off Father Lopez

BY ANDREAS BUTLER
DAYTONA TIMES

In a marquee girl’s high school basketball matchup, Father Lopez fell short to undefeated Orlando’s Dr. Phillips 71-68 this past week at Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona Beach.

The Panthers (25-0) used a combination of inside and outside shooting and converted 18 out of 22 free throws.

"We were able to make some big plays and finish the game. Our veterans and youngsters both stepped up," said Anthony Jones, Dr. Phillips’ head coach.

Lopez (22-3) took its only lead of the game at 53-52 with 5:07 remaining after Kat Ortolani converted a three point play.

"I though that we were fine. We were where we wanted to be," said Brad Ridenour, Father Lopez’s head coach.

Crucial shot by Panthers

Dr. Phillips went up 65-57 after a three pointer by Sydney McCaskill with 2:39 remaining.

"That was a really big shot and that really put us in a tough position," commented Ridenour.

The Green Wave got within 69-68 after a three pointer by Ortolani with 1.3 seconds.

The Dr. Phillips Panthers converted two free throws and a last-second desperation three-point attempt by Lopez’s Jessica Russi was short.

The Panthers led 48-34 with 3:34 to play in the third quarter after Shya Garrett converted one out of two free throws.

Jones: We got complacent

Lopez rallied behind its defense, closing out the quarter on an 8-2 run capped by two free throws from Shannon Crenshaw and trailed 50-42.

"Their 1-2-2 zone defense gave us some problems. Their press brought them back in it. We got complacent offensively and stopped attacking," stated Jones.

Dr. Phillips started the game off with a 14-3 run capped by a jumper from Alexis Brown with 4:47 to go in the first quarter. Brown is the daughter of former NBA star Dee Brown.

The Panthers took a 26-16 lead early in the second quarter after two free throws from Hannah Schaible, who led all scorers with 27 points.

"In the three games that we lost, we played like this. We were careless with the ball and had to fight back. We had to calm down. The game could have gone either way," added Ridenour.

Brown added 13 points for the Panthers while teammates Brittany Marshall tossed in 12 points and McCaskill contributed 11.

Crenshaw paced Lopez with 23 points while Russi and Jessica Swaby each had 12. Ortolani had nine points and Ashley Shannon had six points and six rebounds for the Green Wave. Father Lopez converted all 10 free throws.

Girl’s basketball district tournaments will be played from Feb. 4-6.