Brookville withstands Heritage comeback bid in Seminole final

The Heritage Pioneers have made up for their lack of height inside this season by becoming a fast-paced, quick-scoring offense threat.

More often then not, they have been able to dictate the outcome of a game by controlling the pace.

Not the case on Friday.

For visiting Brookville (18-4), the goal was simply to hold the ball, practice patience and run the clock. The plan worked for coach Warner Dyke’s squad as the Bees held on to down the Pioneers, 57-53, and capture the Seminole District tournament championship.

Heritage (17-5) didn’t want to get into a man-to-man matchup with the Bees — who posted five girls throughout the all-district selections —

— which stepped up its offensive game in the third –

— Seminole District player of the year —

knocked down a pair from the line at the 4:06 mark in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 46. But by then, she was in foul trouble. She played with four for several minutes before being tagged with her fifth with 1:15 remaining.

"I’m a firm believer that if Cameron hadn’t fouled out, we would have pulled out the game," Heritage coach Tracie Hayes said.

Brookville senior forward Peyton Thompson (11 points, eight rebounds) said that her team worked especially hard to prepare for its third matchup of the season with the Pioneers.

"We split the season, so, of course, we really wanted to win this game," Thompson said. "We worked really hard in practice. We were excited the whole week to play them and we just had a lot of energy and intensity on the court. Everyone contributed and we did what we were supposed to do."

Almost immediately after Carter tied the score, Brookville’s Anitra Thomas (12 points) scored in transition, and the Bees were rewarded for tough defense when Heritage turned the ball over on its next trip.

After Brookville’s Taneisha Graves (10 points, 4 assists) connected with a pair of free throws, Thomas struck again by sliding around the perimeter, lulling the Pioneers to sleep, then finding an uncontested opening inside. Armed with their no-hurry offense, the Bees outscored Heritage 9-4 to close out the game.

Dyke said that those scoring runs are critical to his squad’s success. The Bees used an 11-0 run in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game to earn a spot in the championship.

"We have the ability to score in bunches at times," Dyke said. "We did that in the semifinals, too."

While Brookville wasn’t able to shut down Carter or junior guard Chantal Colmore (12 points), it did limit guard Kadijah Anderson to six points. Anderson has wreaked havoc on many opponents this year with her lightning-like quickness and ability to score in transition.

The Pioneers also only shot 5 of 17 from the free-throw line, a stat which Hayes said was the decisive factor.

Middaugh, a constant long-range shooting threat for the Bees this year, said that her team rallied around the advice it received from Dyke after Carter tied the game.

"I think we came out ready to play tonight and we did everything we could." Middaugh said. "He told us to stay together as a team, and we would get the outcome that we wanted."

Thompson said that Dyke had been under the weather all week, and that the Bees were spurred on by his absence in practice.

"He wasn’t here to get us through practice," Thompson said. "So we just wanted to win it for him, because he deserved it."

refused to go away.

With her team down by 11 midway through the third quarter, Heritage senior guard Cameron Carter had seen enough. She scored on a fast break, was fouled and converted the three-point play. Heritage guard Amber Bryant followed with a 3-pointer from the right wing and suddenly Heritage was back in the game.

Carter

and settled instead for a variety of zone defenses for the majority of the contest.

After a shaky offensive start, Brookville started running the clock, at times spreading out into a four-corners’ offense. The result was eight unanswered, sparked by back-to-back 3s by senior guards Holly Middaugh (11 points) and Nikki Mathis (6 points).

"We just decided that, if they wanted to stay in a zone, we were going to hold the ball," Dyke said. "They were either going to come out of the zone, or we were going to hold the ball, and we played like that the rest of the game. From there, it was a battle."

The Bees led by as many as 10 late in the second quarter, but watched as Heritage