Raines High School- Junior Ahliah Brown jumped out of the gate scoring 11 points in the first half, leading Raines to a 51-45 victory over rival Ribault in the FHSAA Regional Semi-Finals. Jamicia Davis scored 4 points in the first period, giving the Lady Vikings an early first quarter lead. Ribault made it tough for Raines play makers Nyla Allen and Selah Reddick holding them to just 3 points between the two after the first period.
Yet Ribault would struggle to get open shots thanks to the acrobatic play of Reddick and other Lady Vikings. In stepped freshman Asiana Britt for Ribault who found open looks in the second quarter when she hit two 3-pointers to pull Ribault closer to Raines. Yet at the half, the Lady Vikings held a 26-18 lead over the Lady Trojans.
It was win or go home, and in the second half Nyla Allen refused to let her team go home. After scoring 6 points in the entire first half, Allen scored 7 points in the third quarter, including the first 4 points for Raines. Allen penetrated to the basket and knocked down shots.
The Vikings turned up the defense as well, smothering Ribault in trapping situations, forcing the Lady Trojans to get out of rhythm. Raines would balloon their lead to 15 points in the third quarter.
In the fourth, Ribault would fight their way back into the game with scrappy play and transition buckets. A Jada Atkins lay-up would bring Ribault to within 8 points late in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Trojans would knock the lead down to 6 points 47-41 with less than a minute to play, but a steal by Jamicia Davis sealed the win for the Lady Vikings.
The Raines win sets up a regional semifinal match-up with cross town powerhouse Bishop Kenny. The Crusaders will travel to Raines after defeating Pensacola 74-57 Tuesday evening.
As for Ribault, their season comes to an end once again in playoffs. However, Head Coach Dorain Stevens has an incredibly young group of talented players who will look to be back next year to make a title run.
Coach Julius Paden and Raines will look to return to the “Final Four” if they can get past Bishop Kenny on Friday. It will be the game to watch, as both teams made it to Lakeland last year.
