Winter Haven fights, loses close one to Dr. Phillips in girls basketball state semifinals
LAKELAND — It was a clean slate for the Winter Haven girls’ basketball team after what had happened a year ago against Dr. Phillips in the state championship game.
A year ago, the Blue Devils lost by four to Dr. Phillips, and they got another shot at the Panthers on Friday afternoon in the Class 7A state semifinals. And Winter Haven was in the thick of things again when Serenity Hardy, The Ledger’s 2023 Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year, fouled out with 3:54 to play.
But head coach Johnnie Lawson had been prepared for this situation all year. With his rotation set and with all-county sophomore guard Quin Sanders still in the game, it was all systems go.
However, when the Blue Devils missed a late 3-pointer, it resulted in a 65-62 loss.
Sure, it stung every Winter Haven player and coach despite making it to the Final Four for the 20th time in school history. But Lawson said he couldn’t be any prouder of the way his team fought against the No. 3 team in the state of Florida.
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“I’m probably as proud of a team that I have been in a long time. Just the fight, we’re known for that, but they're so young I just really, after Jaeden and Serenity had fouled out, in my mind I’m like, ‘OK it’s over.’ Great year, but then I seen something in everybody’s eyes: I mean Victoria Hall who’s a freshman, and Lauren (Jordan) that came off the bench. … They were just something different."
Hardy was certainly something different, as she did her best Michael Jordan impression in the first half.
She did everything, scoring 13 out of the 23 points the Blue Devils had at the break.
“My shot was definitely on this game. … They were face guarding me. The refs (could) call a hold but they wouldn’t (but) I did a good job of playing through it,” Hardy said.
Still, the nine turnovers Winter Haven had at the break led to a tie game at 23-23.
The Panthers eventually led by as many as nine points in the second half because of the scoring of point guard Trinity Turner, the team’s best player who was defended relatively well by Sanders. Turner scored 18 in the game, a point below her average.
Yes, Dr. Phillips ― a back-to-back state champion ― did eventually pull out the victory. But it was the scoring of Sanders and Hardy each had 11 points in the game, while Hall had nine rebounds and Williams six assists that gave Winter Haven every chance to win the game.
Former Lake Gibson point guard Jamila Ray played sparingly for Dr. Phillips as she returns from an ACL injury last May. Panthers coach Anthony Jones said Ray has a great shot at playing in the state championship game.
“(Winter Haven) is everything we expected,” Jones said. “When you have two teams in Winter Haven and us Dr. Phillips, we play the same style. We’re not playing Uno. We’re not playing checkers. We’re playing chess. … Going into this game preparing for them, we knew it was going to be like the state championship.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: FHSAA girls basketball: Winter Haven ousted by Dr. Phillips in 7A
