District girls basketball roundup: Centennial outlasts Central in OT, advance to title game

Here's a roundup of district quarterfinals girls basketball games involving Treasure Coast teams from Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

District tournaments will resume with championship games on Friday.

District 7-7A

No. 2 St. Lucie West Centennial 58, No. 3 Fort Pierce Central 55 (OT): The host Eagles outlasted the Cobras in a back-and-forth overtime battle in Port St. Lucie.

Central clung to a 29-27 halftime advantage before Centennial surged ahead by holding the visitors to three points in the third quarter. Tied 50-50 at the end of regulation, the Eagles outscored the Cobras 8-5 in the extra frame.

Stats were unavailable.

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Centennial (15-9) can claim its first district title since 2021 when the team plays at 7 p.m. Friday at No. 1 Palm Beach Gardens. The two teams met on Dec. 29, with the Gators emerging with a 60-50 victory. Central (18-9), who entered districts with the last at-large spot in Region 2-7A, saw its three-game winning streak come to a close.

No. 1 Palm Beach Gardens 52, No. 5 Vero Beach 33: The visiting Indians were upended after losing every quarter to the top-seeded Gators. Leading 29-21 at halftime, Palm Beach Gardens put the game away by taking the third quarter by a 13-3 margin.

Three players scored in double figures for the home team. Alicia Russell and Latasha Whyte each had 14 points, with Whyte added 10 rebounds and four steals. Kyana Poitier added 11 points and 14 boards.

Stats were unavailable for Vero Beach (12-9), who entered districts ranked ninth in Region 2-7A.

District 8-6A

No. 1 Martin County 40, No. 4 Viera 34: Up by double figures with eight minutes left, the top-seeded Tigers held off a Hawks rally to capture victory at Don Wallen Arena and advance to the district title game.

The hosts held a 33-21 advantage at the end of the third quarter, but were outscored 13-7 in the final quarter. Stats were unavailable.

With its fifth win in a row, Martin County (16-7) plays host to Heritage at 6 p.m. Friday. The Tigers defeated the Panthers 64-38 on Dec. 1.

No. 3 Heritage 34, No. 2 Sebastian River 32: The Sharks were held to their second-lowest point total in a narrow home loss to the Panthers. The loss was a blow to the Sebastian River’s playoff hopes as the team entered district ranked ninth in Region 2-6A.

Scoring only four points in the second quarter, the hosts entered halftime trailing 14-10. The gap remained the same at the end of the third before Heritage held on in the fourth.

Samiya Adams led Sebastian River (16-6) with nine points.

District 14-5A

No. 1 American Heritage 72, No. 4 Jensen Beach 28: The high-flying Patriots put up points in bunches to take down the visiting Falcons. Jensen Beach was outscored by double figures in each of the first three quarters

Lizzie Fitzwater, Christen Bell and Jayla Brinkley each had six points to pace the Falcons (13-12).

As long as there aren’t any upsets in the other districts, there’s a strong chance the two teams could meet again in the state playoffs, as American Heritage is ranked first in Region 4-5A while Jensen Beach is eighth.

District 13-5A

No. 1 Lincoln Park Academy 62, No. 5 Fort Pierce Westwood 17: Alexa Titherington and Olivia Titherington each had 12 points and four assists to lead the top-seeded Greyhounds to a home blowout over the Panthers.

Leading 29-9 at halftime, LPA doubled its cushion with a 25-5 third quarter. Olivia Titherington also had six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Juliana Ball added 11 points, three assists and three steals.

Stats were unavailable for Westwood (6-17).

The Greyhounds (25-2) have won their last five games. They’ll play for their first district title since 2021 on Friday at home against No. 2 Eau Gallie.

District 8-3A

No. 2 Somerset College Prep Academy 2, No. 3 Cardinal Newman 0 (F): The Spartans advanced to the district championship via forfeit. Somerset (16-9) plays No. 1 King’s Academy on Friday in West Palm Beach.

District 14-2A

No. 2 Atlantic Christian 55, No. 3 Pine School 44: The Knights saw their hopes of a district title come to an end on the road against the Sharks. Stats were unavailable.

Suffering just its third loss this season, Pine (18-3) will have to wait till Sunday’s regional bracket reveal to see if its playoff bound. The team was ranked seventh in Region 4-2A.

District 13-2A

No. 2 Morningside Academy 40, No. 3 St. Edward’s 36: Surging ahead just before halftime, the Eagles kept their postseason hopes alive with a home victory over the Pirates.

The two teams were tied 7-7 through the first eight minutes before the hosts won the second quarter 19-11. Stats were unavailable.

Morningside (17-5) plays on Friday at top-seeded Merritt Island Christian. St. Edward’s saw its season come to a close with an 11-8 record.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Girls Basketball roundup: Wednesday scores from Treasure Coast semifinals