Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School was seeking its playoff win since 2016, but host Providence made 15 of 18 free-throw attempts in the second half, which helped the number-one seed Stallions defeat the eighth seed Tornadoes 58-46 in a Region 1-3A girls basketball quarterfinal on Feb. 9 in Jacksonville.
Providence (20-5) played fourth seed Florida High (17-10) in a semifinal game this past Tuesday (Feb. 14).
Bradford (10-12) was making its sixth postseason appearance in the last eight years.
The Tornadoes outscored Providence 16-15 in the first quarter, getting four points each from Nichelle Brown and Jada Hankerson. Bradford scored only six points in the second quarter and trailed by three points going into the half.
Providence made seven second-half field goals to Bradford’s 10, but the Stallions put an 0-for-4 start from the foul line behind them, making 83 percent of their free-throw attempts in the second half.
Conversely, the Tornadoes went 3 of 7 from the foul line in the second half and 3 of 9 overall.
Hankerson and Ar’Nayshia Griffin each scored 13 points, which made them the game’s second-leading scorers behind the Stallions’ Ella Ortman, who had 19 points.
The Tornadoes also got 10 points from Brown, four points from Ayanna Pringle and two points each from Destiny Crum, Kah’myra Hankerson and Ajiyah Jackson.
