Based on the final Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) regular season rankings, the Gainesville girls basketball team needs to win the district title to advance to next week\u2019s regional playoffs.<\/p>\n
GHS, which is ranked 10th\u00a0in Class 5A-Region 1, took the next step on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
The top seed Lady Hurricanes (11-9) defeated No. 4 seed Chiles (Tallahassee), 55-38, in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals at The Purple Palace. They will host No. 2 seed Lincoln (Tallahassee) at 7 p.m. on Friday for the district title.<\/p>\n
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Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Mateja Allen (0) drives to the basket against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
Lincoln eliminated No. 3 seed Leon (Tallahassee), 57-53, in the other district semifinal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came out and the goal was to execute as much as possible,\u201d said first-year GHS coach Ken Mitchell. \u201cWe wanted to apply some pressure, and it worked out as planned. We got the result we got, but the overall plan was to hit them as hard as we can hit them and see if they can hit back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u2018Canes (11-9) built a double-digit lead in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Junior Catalina Giraldo Vergara (5 points) started the scoring for GHS 30 seconds into the game with a runner in the lane, followed by a layup by junior Sarah Collins (6 points) for a 4-0 lead with 6:10 remaining in the opening period.<\/p>\n
Chiles junior Lainey Crisafulli (7 points) knocked down a 3-pointer on the left wing 30 seconds later to get the Timberwolves within one at 4-3.<\/p>\n
However, that is as close as Chiles would get for the remainder of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about being able to apply pressure and making the other team show us they can deal with it, and it just worked out in our favor,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cAll credit to the girls. They played hard. They executed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five different players scored in the opening quarter for GHS, which led 15-4 at the end of the first quarter.<\/p>\n
The lead got as high as 15 in the opening half as junior Mikinzie Hargon scored a layup on an assist from Vergara for a 24-9 lead with 3:32 to play in second quarter.<\/p>\n
Hargon came off the bench to lead all scorers with 15 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I love her,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cShe\u2019s our toughest kid. She\u2019s grown. Her development from day one to now is tremendous. I love to let her play freely. If you saw how she played, maybe a little awkward, but for us it works, so she\u2019s only getting better, and what she did tonight was just a testament to her work she\u2019s put in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chiles called timeout and finished the half on a 7-2 run to get within 10 at 26-16.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes pulled away early in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Timberwolves, 10-2, and led 46-24 with 5:28 left in the game. Less than a minute later, Mitchell brought his starters out.<\/p>\n
Senior Kaitlyn Fagan had a team-high 13 points and was the only player in double figures for Chiles, which finished the season 14-11.<\/p>\n
Junior center Takarii Jackson had 10 points for GHS, followed by junior point guard Mateja Allen (9) and sophomore guard Lady Taylor (8).<\/p>\n
Up next is a win and you\u2019re in scenario for the Purple Hurricanes, who get the opportunity to defend their home court and punch their ticket to the state playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best part about it is being able to get the people in to support you,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big deal for us, and we\u2019re excited about it. But me, being the coach, I am worried about rebounding and rotation. That\u2019s the most important thing. If we rebound and rotate, we give ourselves a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scores (district semifinals) \u2013 Wednesday, Feb. 4<\/p>\n
Rural Class-District 5 at higher seed<\/p>\n
1 Hilliard 64,\u00a04 Branford\u00a018<\/p>\n
3 Lafayette (Mayo) 51, 2 Madison County 42<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
3 Lafayette (Mayo) at 1 Hilliard<\/p>\n
Rural Class-District 6 at higher seed<\/p>\n
1 Fort White\u00a069,\u00a04 Trenton\u00a038<\/p>\n
3 Taylor County (Perry) at\u00a02 Dixie County (Cross City)<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
Taylor County\/Dixie County winner at\u00a01 Fort White<\/p>\n
Rural Class-District 7 at Bronson<\/p>\n
1 Williston\u00a064, 4 Hawthorne 42<\/p>\n
2 Wildwood 76, 3 Chiefland 38<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
1 Williston\u00a0vs. 2 Wildwood<\/p>\n
Class 1A-District 4 at St. John Lutheran (Ocala)<\/p>\n
1 Redeemer Christian (Ocala) 57, 4 St. John Lutheran (Ocala) 35<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Mikinzie Hargon (3) attempts to save the ball against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
2 Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) 60,\u00a03 Countryside Christian\u00a041\u00a0<\/p>\n
Class 2A-District 2 at higher seed<\/p>\n
4 P.K. Yonge\u00a0at 1 Trinity Catholic (Ocala)<\/p>\n
2 St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) 64,\u00a03 Saint Francis Catholic Academy\u00a037<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
2 St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) vs. PKY\/Trinity Catholic winner<\/p>\n
Class 3A-District 3 at higher seed<\/p>\n
1 Newberry\u00a078,\u00a04 Keystone Heights\u00a040<\/p>\n
3 Palatka at\u00a02 Bradford (Starke)<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
Bradford\/Palatka winner at\u00a01 Newberry<\/p>\n
Class 4A-District 5 at higher seed<\/p>\n
4 Crystal River 51, 1 Dunnellon 44<\/p>\n
3 Eastside\u00a048, 2 North Marion (Citra) 41<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
4 Crystal River at\u00a03 Eastside, 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Class 5A-District 2 at higher seed<\/p>\n
1 Gainesville\u00a055, 4 Chiles (Tallahassee) 38<\/p>\n
2 Lincoln (Tallahassee) 57, 3 Leon (Tallahassee) 53<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
2 Lincoln (Tallahassee) at\u00a01 Gainesville<\/p>\n
Class 6A-District 3 at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)<\/p>\n
2 Buchholz\u00a051, 3 Bartram Trail (St. Johns) 45<\/p>\n
1 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) 77, 4 Forest (Ocala) 54<\/p>\n
Championship \u2013 Friday, Feb. 6<\/p>\n
2 Buchholz at 1 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Sarah Collins (21) drives to the basket against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Catalina Giraldo Vergara (20) with a no-look pass against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Lady Taylor (4) drives to the basket against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Mikinzie Hargon (3) drives to the basket against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n
Photo by C.J. Gish Gainesville\u2019s Takarii Jackson (32) gets a hand on the ball against Chiles (Tallahassee) in the Class 5A-District 2 Semifinals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Based on the final Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) regular season rankings, the Gainesville girls basketball team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-144365","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-tallahassee","9":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","10":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}