High School Girls Basketball: Size reigns supreme in as taller Gulf Breeze squeaks by PHS

A contrast of styles between a pair of rising girls basketball teams was the featured theme on the hardwood Friday night at Gulf Breeze High School.

In one corner, the host Dolphins and their size was an active presence in controlling the glass and scoring in the paint out of the half-court. In the other corner, Pensacola High utilized its speed to rack up turnovers, push the pace and get out on the break.

After 32 minutes of action, size barely won over speed.

Gulf Breeze held off a furious Tigers rally to take a 41-39 victory. The home team led from wire-to-wire and owned as much as a 12-point advantage before Pensacola made it a one-possession game on three occasions in the fourth quarter.

“It was a battle from the beginning,” Dolphins head coach Stephanie Lawrence said. “Both teams looked fantastic and I think everyone executed very well. I think our girls came together as a team, as a unit. They were able to find each other and play with their full heart. And when they do that, they end up on top. I’m very proud of them.”

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Snatching an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, Piper Tieman put in a putback attempt to give Gulf Breeze a 27-15 cushion midway through the third quarter. The tallest on the floor, standing at 6-foot-3, Tieman made numerous clutch plays down the stretch.

The Tigers trimmed their deficit down 34-29 with a 7-2 run to open the fourth. Following a made free throw from Zion Perkins, the visitors deployed a 2-2-1 trap, which at times led to tipped passes and steals. However, the Dolphins patiently broke it, with Tieman scoring inside as part of a three-point play.

Later, Perkins was on the money with a dish in the lane to Jada Richardson, who made it a 39-36 contest. But the hosts once again responded when Jayah Jones found Tieman on a backdoor cut for a layup and eventual difference in the game.

“When (the Tigers) got on runs, we went back and canceled it out by scoring on our own. We made smart decisions with passing and what shots or not to take,” said Tieman, who finished with a team-highs of 11 points and 14 rebounds. “I was really excited. My teammates passed it (inside) to me, so I was appreciative of them. And that kept building up the energy.”

Gulf Breeze enjoyed a five-point lead in the final two minutes and maintained possession with ball movement. The team was aided by Pensacola being slow to play the foul game. Charged with one team foul to that point, the Tigers allowed chunks of time to tick off the clock and didn't gain possession until there was less than 30 seconds remaining.

Ter’koiyah Long drilled a corner 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds to go, but the Dolphins ran out the clock.

“We’re going to have to stop playing from behind,” Pensacola head coach Alison Davis said. “Certainly, not getting off to a good start in the first half caused a lot of problems for us. Anytime you are on the road, you need to make sure that you are getting off to a good start.”

Long had a pair of 3-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points. Richardson added 12 points for the Tigers, who's record dropped to 9-5 with the loss. They’ll look to bounce back at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Tate.

On the same night, Gulf Breeze (10-4) visits Central.

Here are three takeaways from the night:

Gulf Breeze towers over Pensacola High

The Dolphins had four looks at the rim during a possession in the second quarter.

On an inbound from the baseline, the hosts lofted a high-pass at the elbow to Tieman, who caught the ball over two defenders and passed it inside to Maleeya Brammer, but the sophomore power forward missed a turnaround. Tieman crashed the lane to collect the offensive rebound, but even with additional attempts, Gulf Breeze failed to score on that possession.

Yet, that was one of several examples of the Dolphins having their way in the paint. They owned that area by either getting multiple second-chance opportunities or frequently limiting Pensacola to one shot.

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Brammer, who stands at 6-1, was the only other player on the home team to score in double figures with 10 points, half of which generated from early post-ups in the first quarter. She also pulled down 11 rebounds.

"So for me, I really work on getting the rebounds and boxing people out," Tieman said. "And Maleeya uses her post moves and going into people. (It makes) for mismatches."

Lawrence added: "I think size did play a part. We for sure have fast guards, but our post game is strong. And when we can execute that and take advantage of that, we're exactly where we need to be."

Tigers use the running game

It took 11 trips down the floor for the road team to get on the scoreboard.

A Perkins putback off a missed layup with 1:58 left in the first quarter did the job, but also illustrated the Tigers' troubles in the half-court. They had success penetrating and dicing into the lane, but struggled finishing, as it took well into the second half for shots to drop.

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Pensacola's best solution to combat the cold spells was the transition game. After a stop or a turnover, the likes of Long and Richardson got easy buckets by leaking out or motoring up the floor to create numbers.

"We try to work hard in all facets, but certainly developing speed and the conditioning drills that we do should help against a team that has that type of size," Davis said. "I just didn't think that we were well-poised or executed well on the offensive side. I think we have a lot of work ahead, but we want to work to get there."

Winning programs again

Even after Friday's result, both Pensacola and Gulf Breeze are on pace for their best respective season in years.

The Tigers are poised to capture their first winning season since going 15-12 in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, the last time the Dolphins reached the 10-win mark in the first week of January was 10 years ago. They also are just one win away from matching their win total from the 2022-23 campaign − Lawrence's first as head coach. In that season, the team had an 8-2 start before an key injury changed its course.

This season, Gulf Breeze's roster got a boost when Jones, Maleeya Brammer and 5-10 sophomore guard Makayla Brammer transferred over from Navarre. Described by Lawrence as "a leader," Jones is an all-around player that handle the ball, pass, score and defend. Meanwhile, the smaller Brammer is another big that helps on the boards.

They're joined by Tieman and sophomore guard Lila Jacobs, an All-Area player as a freshman who currently leads the team in scoring and assists.

"I've got 10 really girls. Blending them all together, we had to learn each other and get that synergy and chemistry going," Lawrence said. "When the girls play for each other and focus on us, it all comes together. They don't play selfishly, they find each other."

Although it also has transfers, Pensacola is a bit more reliant on experience within the program.

Players like senior Erica McCray, Long and Perkins − a PNJ All-Area First Teamer a season ago − have fought through the years of losing to have the team now in contention for a postseason spot. The Tigers entered play ranked fifth in Region 1-4A.

"We're just developing kids hoping that we can get them strong enough for the playoffs," Davis said.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: H.S. Girls Basketball: Gulf Breeze use height advantage to beat Pensacola