By Sam Ritchie
The Ponte Vedra High School girls basketball team has had a hot playoff run so far, winning the regional quarterfinals and semifinals. The Sharks defeated Springstead High School in the regional quarterfinals on Feb 14 in a dog fight of a game. Springstead was leading in the first quarter after hitting some big three pointers, with a score of 10-11. The Sharks trailed going into halftime with a score of 19-22. The Sharks stayed solid on defense, leading to points on the other end. The Sharks came out with a different energy at halftime, which sparked a great third and fourth quarter. The Sharks trailed by two going into the fourth quarter. After the Sharks got some points in the paint it led to some threes on the outside, led by the two senior captains, Kennedy Rosendahl and Morgan Gavazzi. Those big shots on the outside led to a positive fourth quarter for the Sharks, but Springstead stayed right with them. It was tied 40-40 at the end of the fourth quarter. The Sharks put on an incredible defensive performance in overtime, with some big time rebounds by senior, Maya Richards. The Sharks won 6-3 in overtime, leading to a total score of 46-43. Rosendahl exclaims, “They were a great team and although we didn’t have our best game, we all came together and did our jobs.” Rosendahl ended up with a team and game high of 17 points. Gavazzi was right behind her with nine points, and Richards led the team in rebounds with seven.
“This was a great team win, we are taking it one game at a time.”
Kennedy Rosendahl (12)
The Sharks also came up big, winning the regional semifinals game against Lincoln High School on Feb 19. The Sharks came out hot taking an early first quarter lead of 13-8. The Sharks came out with high energy on defense and took their time on the offensive end. Then in the second quarter Lincoln hit some difficult shots, ultimately tying up the game going into halftime at 22-22. The Sharks came out hot after halftime, putting up 15 points in the third quarter. Richards had some clutch second chance points in the paint. The Sharks led going into the fourth quarter with a score of 37-30. The Sharks high octane offense kept rolling into the fourth quarter with some big shots from Rosendahl and junior, Breah Usry. PVHS came out on top, winning 51-42. Richards had a huge game, scoring a game high of 17 points along with a game high of 14 rebounds. Richards exclaimed, “This was a great team win, we are taking it one game at a time.” Rosendahl backed that up with 15 points and three steals. Usry stepped up for the Sharks scoring nine points on 67 percent shooting. The Sharks will face Niceville High School in Niceville for the regional finals on Feb. 22.
Kennedy Rosendahl (12) preparing to shoot a free throw
