Gallery: Trinity Catholic Defeats Buchholz 60-55

Trinity Catholic center Rose Gravel scored a team-high 24 points and guard Heaven Sanders added 15 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer, as the Celtics eased past Buchholz by a score of 60-55 on Tuesday night.

The loss dropped Class 6A Buchholz (Gainesville) to 2-5 overall, while the win improved Class 3A Trinity Catholic, which committed 22 turnovers and saw a double-digit halftime lead disappear, to 9-6 on the season.

“We got after it a little aggressive early with a full-court press and everybody made plays,” said Celtics coach Matt Moyer. “We let Buchholz back in the game in the end, but then again what would a good game be without some adversity. There were four different stretches where we played two and half minutes throughout the game and had no points and averaged two or three turnovers. That’s tough and we’ve got to improve.”

Being led by a pair of juniors in Gravel in the paint and Sanders at point guard, Trinity Catholic has a good offensive balance with an inside-outside game.

“Rose is just outstanding and growing into her role,” Moyer said. “She was the best player in the county last year and she’s the best player this year. Heaven is so athletic and would rather pass the ball than shoot, but she hit a couple of big shots tonight.”

Trinity Catholic got rolling early in the first quarter as a suffocating full-court press forced Buchholz into numerous turnovers which the Celtics turned into baskets. Gravel, who pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, poured in nine points and Sanders added eight as Trinity Catholic jumped out to a 21-10 lead heading to the second period.

Buchholz made a run sparked by the play of sophomore Jamison Cardwell who scored seven of her game-high 31 points, but Trinity Catholic answered as Delaney Baker scored four points and Gravel added a pair of put-backs to give the Celtics a 31-21 lead at the half.

The Bobcats came out strong in the third quarter as Taylor Booth scored eight of her 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers from the wing and Cardwell added seven to pull Buchholz within two points, but Trinity Catholic’s Leanna Pabst scored three points and Gravel added four to give the Celtics a tenuous 43-39 lead heading to the final eight minutes.

Buchholz refused to fold and Cardwell showed her versatility by scoring from behind the arc or in the paint, including a determined drive to the basket to knot the score at 52 with under two minutes to play.

Trinity Catholic kept its composure and ran its offense before Sanders drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Buchholz failed to score on its next possession and Sanders was fouled on a drive to the basket. The junior, who had six assists and three steals, calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the Celtics’ lead to 57-52 with less than a minute left in the game.

Booth drilled a 3-pointer from the left baseline to narrow the Bobcats deficit, but Gravel scored on a layup and swished a free throw to seal the victory for the Celtics.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Trinity Catholic, which competed in a tournament in Tampa over the Christmas break.

“Tampa was good for us because we got hit in the mouth pretty good,” coach Moyer said. “I didn’t want to go 25-0 this season, so we scheduled some good teams that will help us improve. We want to play tough competition so that we’re prepared for the postseason.”

Trinity Catholic is back on the hardwood on Thursday night with a road game at Dunnellon, while Buchholz is at P.K. Yonge on Wednesday night.