Palm Beach Gardens girls basketball survives playoff thriller against gritty Palm Beach Central

PALM BEACH GARDENS — A third-quarter surge has secured Palm Beach Gardens girls basketball's ticket to the next round of playoffs.

Gardens built on a 3-point halftime lead to defeat Central 69-51 in Wednesday's region quarterfinal in a thrilling matchup that ends the Broncos' season at 11-12.

"We had another slow start. Had a hard time getting things going, but they stuck to it, they trusted each other, and managed to get back in and come back in the second half with a different energy," Gardens coach Jessica Salera said.

Gardens senior Kyana Poitier, who finished with a team-high 28 points, led the charge out of the locker room, putting in four buckets to contribute to her team's big third quarter which left the Broncos down by 19 heading into the fourth quarter.

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Sophomore steps up for Palm Beach Gardens against gritty Central

"As my coach says, it's one possession at a time," said Gardens senior Alicia Russell.

Russell supported Poitier, who's eighth in the state in rebounds with an average of 15.2 per game, with a 20-point outing.

Sophomore Latasha Whyte contributed 10 points, including the 3-point buzzer-beater that closed out the first half after Central sophomore Izabelle Vilmont took the lead, 26-25, with a drive to the net following a misfired pass for Gardens.

"Latasha, she can really score the ball. She can shoot it. She can get to the bucket," Salera said. "She stepped up huge for us tonight with a big shot."

Whyte also made Gardens' first score of the fourth quarter, which didn't happen until a little over three minutes remaining with a gritty Central chipping away at an 8-point deficit. Seniors Emily Guillen and Tamia Coleman were top scorers for Central with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

The first two times Gardens met Central this season, the Gators walked away with more decisive victories of 72-57 and 69-46.

"The pressure of win-or-go home is definitely there," Salera said. "Showing up every night and knowing that if you don't, your season's over, that does affect us."

"They played harder. They wanted it ... they came out like they had nothing to lose," Salera said of the Broncos.

That was the subject of Gardens' conversation in the locker room at halftime. As well as coming out with a stronger defense on Coleman, a 6-foot-2 center, Guillen, plus junior point guard Trinity Krouse, a force on both sides of the ball.

"They were just beating us to loose balls, hustle plays, rebounds, things that we're used to doing all the time," Salera explained. "They're a good team. They're very well coached."

Gators ready for return to region semifinals

Now that the Broncos have been corralled, Gardens is on to the second round of 7A state playoffs. The school will host No. 3 Oak Ridge, of Orlando, on Monday.

Russell said the Gators will need to "take our time, be patient, and work hard" with a rematch of 2023's region semifinal on deck. Last February, Oak Ridge ended a season that saw the Gators turn around from 7-10 to 16-9 overall.

The Pioneers are currently ranked No. 59 in the state compared with No. 23 Gardens.

Although Oak Ridge returns top-scoring point guard in senior Zahariah Jones, who is averaging 17.2 points, eight rebounds and 1.8 steals per game this season, this Gardens team is bringing back starters with the postseason experience it lacked in 2023.

"We truly believe that us at our best for 32 minutes is hard to deal with, and that's kind of what's propelled those scoring explosions we've been having," Salera said. "We don't take our foot off the gas pedal, even if we have droughts and frustrations."

The second-year coach is hopeful that the Gators won't allow the Pioneers to set the tone in the same way Central did and that it'll be Oak Ridge battling to make comebacks and match Gardens' "intensity."

"I've been telling them for some that you can't come out and dig yourself a hole because it's going to end up sending you home, so we've got to come out Monday ready from the jump," Salera said.

"You've got to be ready from tipoff."

More playoff results

Girls basketball first round

Boca Raton 36, Palmetto 26

Blanche Ely 71, Seminole Ridge 25

Boynton Beach 44, Homestead 41

St. Thomas Aquinas 75, Atlantic 22

Lincoln Park Academy 69, Suncoast 55

Somerset-Canyons 50, Mater Lakes 24

King's Academy 62, The First Academy 48

Somerset Prep 73, St. Andrew's 21

Miami Christian 73, Donna Klein 44

Wildwood 95, Pahokee 10

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gardens girls basketball survives playoff thriller against gritty Central