Osceola needed at 17-0 run in order to break open a tie game and escaped with 66-56 win over a tough Ridge club
KISSIMMEE — Ridge Community has never reached the regional playoffs, but the Bolts pushed the envelope and Kissimmee Osceola on Thursday.
Osceola needed at 17-0 run in order to break open a tie game and escaped with 66-56 win over a tough Ridge club in a Class 9A, District 7 girls basketball semifinal.
“This is what we worked hard for all season long. I believed in this team but we only had eight players,” Ridge head coach Nikki King said. “But no one thought Ridge would be here and we will be back next year. It was just a little bit of lack of experience on our part. No one from Ridge has ever played in this big of a game.”
Osceola advanced to the 9A regional playoffs and into the District 7 championship game tonight at Haines City with the win. The Hornets advanced after routing Gateway 61-32.
The Bolts (14-9) were trailing 19-11 at the end of the first quarter but hit another gear and had tied the game 30-30 at the half thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by sophomore guard Alexis Luster, who finished with 10 points.
Ridge came out halftime even more impressive, taking a 42-38 lead with 1:55 remaining in the third. But Osceola scored the final four points of the quarter and then opened the fourth with a 13-0 run to put the game away.
“I think we have some good shooters on our team and we have fallen in the habit of shooting from the 3-point line. But when those shots didn’t fall we started going to the basket,” Osceola second-year head coach Sarah Dileonardo said. “The girls got aggressive driving to the basket, it was out of their comfort zone but it worked and that aggression turned into even more on defense.”
Sophomore guard Rosalinda Gonzales led the Bolts with 15 points, Alexis Ferguson was solid with 14 and Luster added 10.
“We came out flat but in the second quarter we found our momentum. But in the fourth quarter, it was just shut down,” Ferguson said. “Our team has come a long way and it is because of motivation. Our coaches just pushed us and pushed us.”
But Osceola, which split two-close regular season games with Haines City, picked up 22 points with three 3-pointers from Taylor Stelley and 24 points with three 3-pointers from Jaden Langer.
“Haines City beat us by three here and we beat them by three points there,” Dileonardo said. “I think it is going to come down to a lot of different factors. We had a little tougher of a game tonight so I think that should carry over. (Fuji Nimmo) scored 40 on us when we played (Haines City) so hopefully our shots will be falling.”
Osceola had tied Haines City for the top seed in the Class 9A, District 7 race, but lost a coin toss and entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Ridge was seeded third after finishing district play with a 4-4 mark.
Osceola is now 19-4. Ridge concludes the season at 14-9.