BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford was able to cut a double-digit deficit to as few as four points in the fourth quarter, but the Tornadoes couldn’t overtake host P.K. Yonge, which won 52-44 in the semifinal game of the District 2-3A girls basketball tournament on Feb. 7.
Second seed P.K. Yonge (13-7) will play top seed Trinity Catholic (15-9) for the district championship on Friday, Feb. 9, in Ocala. Third seed Bradford (14-8) now waits to see if it can earn an at-large bid to the Region 1 playoffs.
The Tornadoes trailed 5-4 before going on an 8-0 run. Ar’Nayshia Griffin grabbed an offensive rebound and passed the ball out of traffic to Khamyra Hankerson for a three-pointer. After blocking a shot on the defensive end, Griffin drove to the basket for a score. Hankerson scored off an offensive rebound before Jada Hankerson scored off her own steal to put Bradford ahead 12-5.
Summer Barnett made a three-point shot for the Blue Wave, but Bradford’s Nichelle Brown answered with a long-range basket of her own. P.K. Yonge’s Da’mar Wims got a basket following a turnover, which sent the teams into the second quarter with the Tornadoes leading 15-10.
P.K. Yonge scored the first nine points of the second quarter. Alyssa Williams opened the quarter with a three-pointer. Reniyah Clark then came up with a steal and was fouled on a drive to the basket. Clark made both free throws, while Bradford’s Jada Hankerson went to the bench with her third foul.
Clark made a three pointer after a turnover, while Barnett had a free throw to put the Blue Wave up 19-15.
Bradford finally got on the board with 3:23 remaining in the half when Ajiyah Jackson scored off an offensive rebound. Jackson later had a steal, which led to a basket by Brown, tying the score at 19-19.
Brown came up with a steal in the final minute, but the Tornadoes turned the ball back over. Ashlyn Young drove to the basket for a score for P.K. Yonge with 20 seconds left, sending the Blue Wave into the half leading 21-19.
Shooting was already an issue for Bradford, which made 30 percent of its field-goal attempts in the first half. The Tornadoes missed eight of their first nine attempts in the third quarter, with a three-pointer by Khamyra Hankerson being the only basket during that stretch.
Bradford, however, trailed by only four points before Kayla Evans drained a three-point shot, making it a 26-25 game.
The Blue Wave scored 10 of the third quarter’s final 12 points. The run began with back-to-back three-pointers by Young. Brown made a basket for Bradford, but P.K. Yonge made another three-point basket to lead 36-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Wims scored off an offensive rebound to give P.K. Yonge its biggest lead at 38-27.
Bradford was able to whittle P.K. Yonge’s lead to four. Griffin scored on a drive to the basket, drawing a foul and making the awarded free throw. Jackson had two points off a rebound putback, while a Khamyra Hankerson offensive rebound led to a three-pointer by Destiny Crum. Jada Hankerson scored off a Jackson steal, which left the Tornadoes trailing 41-37.
P.K. Yonge scored seven of the next nine points, with a three-pointer by Clark putting the Blue Wave up 48-39 with 2:15 to play.
Jada Hankerson and Griffin each went 2 for 2 from the foul line to make it 48-43 with 1:40 remaining, but the Blue Wave got two straight baskets, with Barnett sinking a jump shot and Young scoring off a steal.
The Tornadoes missed their final two shot attempts, with Griffin making a free throw with 30 seconds left for the game’s final point.
Grifin led Bradford with 10 points. The Tornadoes also got eight from Jada Hankerson, seven each from Brown and Khamyra Hankerson, six from Jackson and three each from Crum and Evans.
