Girls basketball: Shorthanded King's Academy gets extra contributions to win district title

WEST PALM BEACH — King's Academy's girls basketball team was missing two starters for the District 8-3A championship game Friday night against Somerset Prep.

Junior forward Jade Jones, the team's leading scorer, was healthy, but other players were going to have to step up in the absence of center Brielle George and guard Julia Vasquez.

Sophia Kateris, a junior forward who usually plays a secondary role, answered the call. Kateris attacked the basket in the first half, scoring 12 of her 20 points, and King's Academy rolled to a 60-48 victory to capture its fourth straight district title.

"I knew I really had to step it up and score more," Kateris said.

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The Lions (17-9), seeded second in Region 2-3A entering the tournament, will host a regional quarterfinal Wednesday night. The Spartans (16-10), from Port St. Lucie, are likely to receive their first-ever regional bid as a wild card.

Jones also had a big hand in the victory, finishing with a game-high 21 points after a quiet first half, but that was to be expected. Kateris' effort was more of a surprise for coach Chris Race.

"So-So to me is one of our best players, so I love it when she's a little more assertive," Race said. "She always looks for everybody else; she's super unselfish. Sometimes I want her to play more like she did tonight, and she's capable of it."

Somerset Prep made a game of it for two quarters, trailing only 30-26 at halftime. But Kateris opened the second half with a layup to spark a 7-0 run for the Lions, and the Spartans wilted under their defensive pressure. King's outscored Somerset 19-2 in the third quarter to open a 21-point lead.

"We came out (in the second half) with the intensity that I was hoping we would start the game with," Race said. "I think some of the girls had some jitters at the beginning — we were a little tentative. When we came out of halftime, we just turned up the defense, and that led to the offense, and we just kind of got rolling."

Jones took a more aggressive approach in the second half, working her way inside for easy baskets. Sophomore guard Madelyn Buccilli scored 11 points to complement the 1-2 inside punch of Jones and Kateris.

"In the first half, Jade was kind of settling for that jump shot," Race said. "She's been working on it all summer and she's been hitting a lot of jump shots this whole year. But you saw when she attacks the basket, she's unguardable. ... She needs to do both, but it's a little different when she's going to the basket like that."

Now the Lions, who made it to the state tournament last year, will try for a repeat run with a full roster. George and Vasquez have been cleared to play in the regionals, Race said.

"I feel like we can go pretty far," Jones said. "I feel like we can make it to states again, and honestly just win it this year. We just have to get really locked in and then when our hurt players come back, we're going to be better."

For Somerset Prep, making the district final and earning a likely regional bid represent landmark achievements for a program that went 0-11 just three years ago.

Spartans coach Ralph Ciceron credited the Lions' experience for the third-quarter blitz that turned a close game into a blowout.

"They're a very seasoned team with a lot of leadership," Ciceron said. "We have to tip our hat to that team. They really made a big adjustment on us. ... What we look forward to is building on these kinds of games. I would say there's a lesson in a victory and a lesson in a loss, too."

Somerset senior center Kayla Curry was difficult to stop for much of the first half, but King's limited her effectiveness by "packing the paint a little bit more" in the second half, Ciceron said.

"I'm proud of the ladies, and our coaching staff as well," Ciceron said. "They did a good job of fighting. Our team has been resilient all year."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: King's Academy girls hoops finds new contributors to win district title