Jewett's Floater Lifts Dunbar to Class 4A Finals

Wed. February 22, 2012 at 10:14 p.m. | By Polk Preps Staff

By RICK BROWN
THE LEDGER
LAKELAND | After Keri Jewett committed two turnovers late in the game that allowed Coral Springs Charter to take the lead, Fort Myers Dunbar coach Dwayne Donnell could have taken his freshman out, thinking the moment was too big for Jewett.
Instead, Donnell kept her in there and it paid off in the end.
Jewett hit a floater with under three seconds remaining to lift Dunbar to a 53-51 victory over CSC in the Class 4A state semifinals Wednesday.
With the victory, the Lady Tigers (28-1) advance to today’s state final game where they will take on Jacksonville Ribault. The Class 4A title game is scheduled to start at 2:35 p.m. where Dunbar will look to win its first title.
"We have never made it this far," said Johnetta Williams, who led Dunbar with 18 points. "We always knocked out in quarterfinals. But this year, this team, the confidence and cockiness we had, we were determined we were not going to get knocked out. We made up our minds going to Lakeland."
Now, they're going for a title.
After CSC missed a free-throw with 12 seconds left and the game tied at 51, Jewett got the ball and sped down the right side. She angled toward the basket and avoided a collision with a CSC player and banked the game-winner in the basket.
“I knew I was going to attack,” said Jewett, who also hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 51.
Donnell had no thoughts of taking out his freshman.
“She didn’t quit,” Donnell said. “And we didn’t quit on her and we continue to find a way. I’m extremely proud of their efforts.”
Jewett ended up with 12 points but Dunbar was led by the inside attack of Johnetta Williams and Kiara Desamours. Williams had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting and Desamours added 16 on 7-of-7 shooting.
Dunbar shot 51.2 percent for the game but had 23 turnovers that kept Coral Springs (23-7) in it.
“We came here prepared to win,” said CSC coach Fitzroy Anthony. “They just made some plays down the stretch.”
Aisha Edwards led all scorers with 22 points for CSC. Emily Williams added 15.

Coral Springs (51) - Celia Wojcik 4-5 0-0 8, Jade Wyatt 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Williams 5-12 1-1 15, Morgan Smellie 1-7 1-4 3, Aisha Edwards 8-21 5-10 22, Karen Vardi 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Smith 1-2 1-1 3, Totals 19-48 8-16 51.
Dunbar (53) - Johnetta Williams 9-11 0-2 18, Charrie Dennard 1-6 5-6 7, Keri Jewett 5-12 0-0 12, Kadiedra Burger 0-7 0-0 0, Kiara Desamours 7-7 2-3 16, Keva Pittman 0-0 0-0 0, Ireysha Morrison 0-0 0-0 0, Sabrina Bouie 0-0 0-0 0, Catoria Sirmons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-43 7-11 53.

Coral Springs 16 13 13 9 - 51
Dunbar        12 19 11 11 - 53

3-pointers: Coral Springs 5-19 (E. Williams 4-8, M. Smellie 0-4, A. Edwards 1-7). Dunbar 2-8 (C. Dennard 0-1, K. Jewett 2-7). Rebounds: Coral Springs 22 (C. Wojcik 8), Dunbar 34 (K. Desamours 9). Assists: Coral Springs 9 (A. Edwards 5), Dunbar 14 (K. Burger 6). Records: Coral Springs 23-7, Dunbar 28-1.