The top seed Eastside girls basketball team beat the four seed Santa Fe Raiders, 57-22, in the 4A-District 5 semifinals Wednesday.
The Rams (14-8) had already defeated the Raiders (7-11) two times this season, but the third win secured a position in the district championship game.
Eastside will play Palatka (14-10), the third seed, at home at 7 p.m. Friday. Palatka beat Suwannee High School (9-9), 49-31, in the other semifinal Wednesday.
Playing in Harmony
Ka’Tierra Jones (4) helping the Rams employ an aggressive offense. [Amanda Roman]Precious Marshall set the tone with a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the first quarter.
The Rams were playing with amazing chemistry. Passes between Aniya West and Akira Martin flowed quickly and seamlessly.
Eastside had a 15-point lead halfway into the first quarter, while Santa Fe was not on the scoreboard. The Rams dominated both sides of play. Marshall, West and Martin crumbled the Raiders’ defense with their aggressive offensive plays, leaving the score at 21-4.
At the end of the first quarter, the Eastside Rams are up, 21-4, vs. the Santa Fe Chargers.
#21 Precious Marshall started off the game with a 3-pointer.
The Rams fell somewhat short this quarter in terms of making plays. The Raiders picked up their intensity, causing possession to be back-and-forth between the teams.
The Rams seemed to have slowed down their offensive pace, making some mistakes at the basket that resulted in the Raiders counterattacking for points. The Rams’ defense also allowed the Raiders to get many more opportunities to score this quarter.
The Rams still maintained their lead, but the score was 29-14 going into halftime.
The Eastside Rams are still ahead, 29-14, against the Santa Fe Chargers leaving the first half.
Akira Martin (14) on the move to make another play for the Rams. [Amanda Roman]Martin continued to showcase both her offensive and defensive talents. She dominated on defense, leaping to save balls from going out of bounds, while also using her speed to move the ball up the court.
The Rams were back to normal in the third quarter, playing much more organized and aggressive. Multiple layups were scored by West and Marshall, bringing the score to 44-20.
“Stay focused. Yes, we have played Santa Fe twice. Yes, we have beat them twice, but just like any other team, they’re working every single day to try to make it out of districts, just like any other team, just like us,” coach Lonna Turner said to describe her team’s adjustments after losing to Newberry last Thursday.
Ending the third quarter, the Rams are winning, 44-20, versus the Chargers.
#14 Akira Martin played an amazing game both offensively and defensively.
In the fourth quarter, Jashayla Myhand shined on defense, blocking and grabbing balls from the Raiders. The Rams dominated the ball, and took advantage of every opportunity to attack.
Eastside had a significant amount of shots at the basket, as each player fought to get more points on the scoreboard. Myhand scored in the last 40 seconds of the game to settle the final margin.
“That team chemistry, that bond that they have, you’ve seen it tonight. Everybody showed up tonight. It was a team effort,” Turner said.
The Rams are ready to face the Panthers. [Amanda Roman]
The Battle Isn’t Over
The Rams are ready to face the Panthers to secure the district trophy. The Rams’ chemistry is back.
“This is what we have been waiting for, so we can check off as we keep going down this line as we try to fight to go to state,” Turner said.
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