Girls basketball: Palm Beach Gardens tops Jupiter

Saturday, February 06, 2010
by Paul Ivice

Third-ranked Palm Beach Gardens held on to beat fifth-ranked Jupiter 34-32 in the District 9-6A championship Saturday night.

The Gators (19-6) had several opportunities to seal the win but missed six of eight free throws in the final four minutes.

"They fouled us and we didn't finish or we could have put the game away earlier," Gardens coach Charlie Reppel said.

The Warriors (22-6), however, were unable to take advantage and their hopes of rallying to the win were dashed when Briana Van Dusen's three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left just missed.

"It could have gone either way," Reppel said.

Palm Beach Gardens scored the first 12 points of the second half to turn a six-point deficit into a six-point lead.

Two baskets inside by Kiara Pleasant — who finished with a game-high nine points — and another basket by fellow senior Jalisa Gandy tied the game at 19. Gandy and senior guard Chandler Day each contributed eight points.

"The inside game came through for us and we got some key defensive stops," Reppel said.

Junior guard Brandie Robertson then sank three of four free throws and Day capped the run with a three-pointer. During the spurt, the Warriors had four turnovers and an offensive foul.

"They have a little bit more size, so they took it inside and scored or drew fouls," Jupiter coach Mike Lynch said.

Reppel was pleased with his team's patience on offense throughout the game.

"It's something we've been working on the last couple of weeks, and it's been very successful," he said.