Telegraph Staff Writer
“The curse is over!”
So said Keystone Heights High School Head Girls Basketball Coach Jessica Carter, who watched her team rally from an 18-8 first-quarter deficit to a 52-35 win over North Marion in the semifinals of the District 4-4A tournament on Feb. 2.
It wasn’t of the nature of, say, the Curse of the Bambino that plagued the Boston Red Sox for decades, but the Indians had lost to North Marion in the past two district tournaments.
This year, Keystone, the tournament’s third seed, had to get past the second-seed Colts to reach the championship game, which will be played Friday, Feb. 4, at North Marion High School at 7 p.m. The Indians (19-4) will play top-seed Dunnellon (23-3).
“We knew this was going to be a hard game,” Carter said. “I mean, they’re a great team. A great team. (Stephanie Brown) is a great coach.”
North Marion (12-9) scored the game’s first six points and took a 12-2 lead on a jumper by E’niah Tensley. When Briana Garcia scored on a runout in the latter stages of the first quarter, the Colts had built an 18-8 lead. A free throw by the Indians’ Kiley Channell made the score 18-9 going into the second quarter.
“We were down, but never did you see my girls arguing,” Carter said.
Instead, the Indians began outplaying the host team, outscoring the Colts 17-4 in the second quarter. The tone was set early with a steal by Madi Mitzel — the first of 11 turnovers Keystone created in the quarter.
Mitzel and teammate Dezaray Bright scored the first baskets of the quarter off offensive rebounds. After a basket by North Marion’s D’Nhia Johnson, Emma Rogel sank a three-pointer for Keystone, making the score 20-16.
Rogel’s basket was the start of an 8-0 run, with five of those points coming from Mitzel. She scored off a Rogel assist following a steal by Channell and made a free throw to make it a 20-19 game. Mitzel then scored off an offensive rebound to put Keystone up 21-20 with 2:14 remaining in the half.
Johnson put the Colts back up after a pair of free throws, but the Indians took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Lindsay Qualls. A rebound putback by Rogel sent Keystone into halftime leading 26-22.
The Indians didn’t let North Marion get back into the game in the second half, outscoring the Colts 16-6 in the third quarter, which featured a pair of three-pointers by Channell and Rogel.
“We do not let up,” Carter said. “We just keep going and going.”
When it was all said and done, the Indians had a 17-point victory, getting 12 points from Rogel, nine each from Mitzel and Qualls, eight each from Channell and Bright, four from Rachel Roth and two from Yasmin Bryant.
The “curse” was over. Carter credited her players with not panicking after struggling early. She said it speaks to the strong bond between the players and how they believe in each other and care for each other.
“They come together better than any team I’ve ever seen,” Carter said, adding, “They truly believe they are a family. That’s what we are. That’s what makes us special.”
Indians defeat Santa Fe in quarterfinals
Keystone advanced to the semifinals off a 48-23 win over sixth-seed Santa Fe in a Feb. 1 quarterfinal game.
Channell and Rogel scored 11 and nine points, respectively, followed by Bright with seven, Bryant with six, Mitzel and Qualls with five each, Kasey Valentine with three and Jaynell Hill with two.
