Ponce de Leon Captures Class 1A Girls State Title
Wed. February 22, 2012 at 2:20 p.m. | By Solange Reyner
Ponce de Leon High School's Ashley Harper (12), left, and Newberry High School's Jasmine Walker (20) battle for a rebound during their FHSAA Girls Basketball 1-A championship. (Photo by Michael Wilson | The Ledger)
By SOLANGE REYNER
THE LEDGER
LAKELAND | With 2.8 seconds left in the game and the state title on the line, Newberry’s Lasharrah Nattiel had a chance to cap a stellar second half performance by tying the game with a pair of free throws against Ponce De Leon.
But she missed the first one and was called for a line violation on the second. Moments later, Ponce’s JoJo Carlson was sent to the line and the junior guard sunk one of two to give the Lady Pirates some breathing room and, eventually, a 55-52 win in the Class 1A state championship game, the team’s first since the 2000 season.
Down by 23 points early in the third, Nattiel helped Newberry rally to make it a game.
The senior had all of her 19 points in the second half and scored in the paint with 1:51 left to get her team within four points, 54-50. She also had 15 rebounds, 10 on the defensive end.
Tayla McGee, who finished with 13 points for Newberry, made it 52-54 with a layup with less than a minute left to cap a 17-3 run by Newberry.
Kaitlyn Carroll, who had eight for Ponce, missed a pair of free throws after McGee’s layup and then Nattiel went to the line on the other end after getting fouled on a layup attempt.
But she had trouble focusing, and “got a little shook up,” before her attempts.
“A lot was going through my mind,” Nattiel said.
“And I know our girls wanted it bad. I feel like I let them down.”
Newberry wouldn’t have been in it if it hadn’t been for Nattiel, though.
“They responded and that’s huge,” Newberry coach Ray Parrish said. “You can’t ask for any more than to have a chance.”
Ponce’s size, especially at the post, gave Newberry fits. Four Ponce players top 5-foot-9 including Jasmine Flock, a 6-foot senior center who led all players in scoring with 26.
Jordan Thomas, a 5-foot-9 junior, had 12 for Ponce.
“I was just playing my game, I guess,” Flock said. “I was just working hard.”
PONCE DE LEON (55) – Jordan Thomas 4-8 2-4 12 Ashley Harper 1-10 0-0 3, JoJo Carlson 1-3 3-4 5, Kaitlyn Carroll 0-2 8-14 8, Jaicee Mayo 0-0 0-0 0, Delilah Bass 0-4 0-0 0, Jasmine Flock 8-11 10-12 26, August Brown 0-0 1-2 1, Brittany Alford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-38 24-26 55.
NEWBERRY (52) – Lasharrah Nattiel 7-20 3-6 19, Dawntavia Davis 1-9 4-6 6, Jaquandra Rowe 1-3 0-0 2, Tayla McGee 5-10 2-6 13, Ambria Rutledge 1-10 2-2 5, Nikita Curtis 0-3 0-0 0, Leondra Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Yasmine Douglas 0-2 0-0 0, Jasmine Walker 3-3 1-2 7. Totals 18-60 12-22 52.
THE LEDGER
LAKELAND | With 2.8 seconds left in the game and the state title on the line, Newberry’s Lasharrah Nattiel had a chance to cap a stellar second half performance by tying the game with a pair of free throws against Ponce De Leon.
But she missed the first one and was called for a line violation on the second. Moments later, Ponce’s JoJo Carlson was sent to the line and the junior guard sunk one of two to give the Lady Pirates some breathing room and, eventually, a 55-52 win in the Class 1A state championship game, the team’s first since the 2000 season.
Down by 23 points early in the third, Nattiel helped Newberry rally to make it a game.
The senior had all of her 19 points in the second half and scored in the paint with 1:51 left to get her team within four points, 54-50. She also had 15 rebounds, 10 on the defensive end.
Tayla McGee, who finished with 13 points for Newberry, made it 52-54 with a layup with less than a minute left to cap a 17-3 run by Newberry.
Kaitlyn Carroll, who had eight for Ponce, missed a pair of free throws after McGee’s layup and then Nattiel went to the line on the other end after getting fouled on a layup attempt.
But she had trouble focusing, and “got a little shook up,” before her attempts.
“A lot was going through my mind,” Nattiel said.
“And I know our girls wanted it bad. I feel like I let them down.”
Newberry wouldn’t have been in it if it hadn’t been for Nattiel, though.
“They responded and that’s huge,” Newberry coach Ray Parrish said. “You can’t ask for any more than to have a chance.”
Ponce’s size, especially at the post, gave Newberry fits. Four Ponce players top 5-foot-9 including Jasmine Flock, a 6-foot senior center who led all players in scoring with 26.
Jordan Thomas, a 5-foot-9 junior, had 12 for Ponce.
“I was just playing my game, I guess,” Flock said. “I was just working hard.”
PONCE DE LEON (55) – Jordan Thomas 4-8 2-4 12 Ashley Harper 1-10 0-0 3, JoJo Carlson 1-3 3-4 5, Kaitlyn Carroll 0-2 8-14 8, Jaicee Mayo 0-0 0-0 0, Delilah Bass 0-4 0-0 0, Jasmine Flock 8-11 10-12 26, August Brown 0-0 1-2 1, Brittany Alford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-38 24-26 55.
NEWBERRY (52) – Lasharrah Nattiel 7-20 3-6 19, Dawntavia Davis 1-9 4-6 6, Jaquandra Rowe 1-3 0-0 2, Tayla McGee 5-10 2-6 13, Ambria Rutledge 1-10 2-2 5, Nikita Curtis 0-3 0-0 0, Leondra Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Yasmine Douglas 0-2 0-0 0, Jasmine Walker 3-3 1-2 7. Totals 18-60 12-22 52.
