BY CLIFF SMELLEY
A free throw by Nichelle Brown gave the Bradford High School girls basketball team a one-point lead, but the Tornadoes failed to score in the final 4:13 in what was a 42-38 loss to host P.K. Yonge in the quarterfinals of the Region 1-3A playoffs on Feb. 14.
The fourth seed Blue Wave (14-8) will now travel to Jacksonville to play top seed Providence (24-2) in a semifinal game on Monday, Feb. 19.
Bradford, who was the tournament’s fifth seed, ended its season with a 14-9 record. The Tornadoes suffered their third straight loss to P.K. Yonge.
Ar’Nayshia Griffin helped Bradford get off to a fast start as the Tornadoes scored 11 of the game’s first 16 points. Griffin had the first two scores of the game off a rebound putback and a Jada Hnakerson inbound pass. She was later fouled on a drive to the basket, making both free throws to put the Tornadoes ahead 6-3.
It was 6-5 when Brown sank a three-pointer for Bradford. Hankerson then scored off her own steal to make it an 11-5 game.
P.K. Yonge closed out the first quarter with an 8-1 run. The final basket — a three-pointer by Taylor Powers — gave the Blue Wave a 13-12 lead.
Two consecutive baskets by Griffin, who had 10 first-half points, sparked an 8-0 run in the second quarter. Her second basket during that span was off a steal and put Bradford ahead 18-16. Kha’Myra Hankerson scored off an offensive rebound. Griffin then grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled up court and found Ajiyah Jackson for a layup and a 22-16 Tornadoes lead.
P.K. Yonge went the entire quarter without a field goal, but 2-for-2 trips to the foul line by Powers and Ashlyn Young in the final 30 seconds pulled the Blue Wave to within 22-20.
Brown sank a jump with three seconds left to send the Tornadoes into halftime leading by four.
Young opened the third quarter by rebounding a missed Bradford shot attempt and dribbling the length of the floor for a basket, but the Tornadoes scored the next four points. After a Griffin basket, Jada Hankerson was fouled going in for a layup after a steal. She made both free throws to put Bradford up 28-24.
It was a two-point game when Bradford’s Kailyn Teal scored off an offensive rebound to give the Tornadoes a 32-28 lead. Griffin later added a free throw to put Bradford up by five, but Young made a three-point shot to make the score 33-31 going into the final quarter.
Jorryn Dye made a three-point shot to start the fourth quarter and put the Blue Wave ahead 34-33.
More than two minutes went by before the game saw another score, which was Jada Hankerson getting a basket off a steal. Each team shot 21 percent from the field in the second half and combined to make just 6 of 29 attempts in the fourth quarter.
P.K. Yonge’s Summer Barnett was fouled on a shot, but missed both of her free-throw attempts. Da’mar Wims, however, rebounded the second miss for the Blue Wave. That led to a three-pointer by Dye and a 37-35 P.K. Yonge lead.
A blocked shot by Griffin led to a transition basket by Brown with 4:13 to play. Brown was fouled on the play and made the awarded free throw to put Bradford ahead 38-37.
The Tornadoes wouldn’t score again.
Wims scored off an offensive rebound to put the Blue Wave ahead for good and rebounded two straight missed shot attempts by the Tornadoes.
Young, who went 3 for 4 from the foul line in the final 19 seconds and was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, rebounded Bradford’s third straight missed field-goal attempt.
Griffin led the Tornadoes with 13 points. Brown and Jada Hankerson each had eight, while Bradford also got four from Kha’Myra Hankerson, three from Jackson and two from Teal.
