BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Struggles with maintaining possession and shooting from the field and at the foul line plagued the Bradford High School girls basketball team, which lost 53-30 to District 2-3A opponent P.K. Yonge on Dec. 1 in Starke.
The Tornadoes (3-1) had won their last two games by margins of 56 and 59 points, but trailed by as many as 26 to the Blue Wave, which improved to 3-0.
Bradford turned the ball over six times in the first four minutes, but P.K. Yonge led only 5-0. The Tornadoes’ Ar’Nayshia Griffin stole an inbounds pass underneath her own basket and scored at the 4:12 mark of the first quarter. Destiny Crum later knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 5-5 game.
Bernaria Nichols hit a three-pointer of her own to help Bradford go into the second quarter with the score tied at 8-all.
The Tornadoes’ problems handling the ball continued as they committed 10 turnovers in the second quarter. They also made just 2 of 13 field-goal attempts as P.K. Yonge built a 19-8 lead. Nichols made two free throws with 3:33 on the clock to give Bradford its first points of the quarter. She knocked down a field goal later to make the score 20-12, but the Blue Wave closed the half with a 9-2 run.
Bradford made just 2 of 13 field-goal attempts in the quarter.
Nichols did go 2 for 2 in the Tornadoes’ first trip to the foul line in the second quarter, but Bradford went 0 for 5 the rest of the half and finished the game making just 5 of 19 attempts.
The Tornadoes put together a brief spurt in the third quarter after falling behind 41-20. Griffin grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the ball upcourt before dishing it off to Nichols for a basket. On P.K. Yonge’s following offensive possession, Griffin grabbed another rebound and threw a pass downcourt to Nichols for a basket.
Still, it was a 22-point game entering the final period.
Nichols scored all five of Bradford’s fourth-quarter points and finished with a team-high 17. Griffin added seven points, while Crum and Sky McMillian each had three.
Prior to playing P.K. Yonge, Bradford had no trouble with Middleburg, outscoring the visiting Broncos 52-7 in the first half en route to a 70-11 win.
Griffin scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first half.
Nichols and Nichelle Brown each scored 10 points in the first half and finished with 12 points each.
Ayanna Pringle scored seven points, while Crum and McMillian scored six and five, respectively. Jada Hankerson and Kimber Woods each added four points, while Jackson had two.
The Tornadoes host Dunnellon on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. and will host Williston on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. On Monday, Dec. 12, Bradford travels to play Bishop Snyder at 7:30 p.m.
