Playoff basketball: Boca Raton girls overcome Miami rally to advance to region finals

BOCA RATON – Boca Raton High girls basketball overcame a second-half wobble to defeat Miami 56-47 on Monday in second round action in the FHSAA playoffs.

The Bobcats (21-7) led by as many as 19 points but saw their uncompetitive first half become an absolute nail biter down the stretch. In the end, the Bobcats overcame a stressful second-half to defeat the Stingarees (19-10).

Taty Campise-Pinkney's buzzer-beater heading into halftime may have felt like an early dagger to Miami's hopes of getting back in the game. The score, at the time, was 33-14.

Turns out, the Stingarees’ path back into the contest was a 13-0 run to start the third quarter.

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Boca's cold spell coincided with Miami finding their shooting chops – and when the third quarter finally ended, Boca's 19-point lead had evaporated to just a two-point advantage.

“We had a little drought in the third quarter,” Campise-Pinkney said. “We always have a drought, and it's not a good thing, but we knew we needed to pick it up.”

With just 3:03 left to play, the score was 45-45. That was when Vanessa Moore and Campise-Pinkney went back-to-back from downtown for the Bobcats.

You could almost hear the collective breath taken by the Boca fans.

“I practice those threes,” Campise-Pinkney said. “I trust myself to put myself in that situation to hit that three. I have a tattoo ‘believe in yourself.’ I trust that.”

The sophomore star led the Bobcats with 18 points, including an eight-point second quarter. Amaree Kone added 15 points scored, while Seanna Crooks tallied 12.

“Hot and cold” has become part of the Bobcats’ identity, but when the buckets aren't falling in, defense becomes the name of the game.

“If shots aren't hitting, get back on defense,” Campise-Pinkney said. “There are other ways to pick yourself up than offense.”

Even in crunch time with the score inexplicably close, Boca head coach Rod Johnson knew that all the girls needed was to calm down, to relax and execute.

They did, a testament to the Bobcats’ work ethic in situational drills.

“We've been practicing for this all our lives,” Kone said. “It was really good to pull away. We just had to keep our composure and stay together.”

Boca advanced to the regional final with the victory, the first of its kind under Johnson’s three-year tenure as head coach.

But just because they haven’t been there doesn’t mean they can’t find success, regardless of the youth on their team.

“Sky’s the limit for these girls,” Johnson said. “Sky’s the limit. We’ve just got to keep working and take one game at a time, and then it’s a trip to Lakeland.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton girls basketball overcomes rally to reach region final