Gallery: Vanguard tops Tavares for district basketball title

After losing in last year’s district finals by one point to Springstead, the Vanguard girls basketball team was determined to not fall short of their goal this season.

Mission accomplished, as Vanguard used balanced scoring and a big rebounding advantage to beat Tavares by a score of 35-29 in Thursday night’s Class 5A-District 5 championship game.

The win was their third in a row and improved the Knights to 8-14 on the season. Vanguard will play in a regional quarterfinal next week.

“This was a great win, and I loved our attitude, the atmosphere and the support we had,” said an elated Knights coach Terrance Lewis. “Our total focus from the first day of practice was to redeem ourselves from last year. That makes this win extra sweet. Our game plan was to outrebound Tavares and if we do that we will always win. The girls left everything out there and we weren’t leaving this gym without that district championship trophy.”

Tavares, a small but scrappy squad, never led but made a late run before falling short to drop to 9-11 overall.

Defenses dominated the first quarter before Vanguard junior guard Makiya Mitchell scored four of her eight points to give the Knights the lead, but Tavares senior Gianna Parolisi scored four points and freshman Tiana Washinton added a bucket to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead heading to the second period.

Vanguard went on a run sparked by a swarming defense that forced Tavares into eight turnovers in the first half. Senior Jyla Gunsby scored four of her co team-high eight points and freshman guard Kenaria Dowdy added five points as the Knights enjoyed a 22-13 lead at the half.

The lead ballooned to 26-13 before Tavares took advantage of some sloppy ball handling and turnovers by Vanguard to claw its way back into the game. Senior Kamia Goodley poured in seven of her game-high 12 points to pull Tavares within 28-22 heading to the final eight minutes.

Bulldog guard Deandria Leslie knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game midway through the quarter, but Vanguard kept its composure and answered with a run as freshman center Aniyah Hope scored three of her seven points, Diana Gegaj drove for a layup and Mitchell converted a pair of free throws.

Tavares went cold from the floor and Vanguard was able to run clock with each possession to secure the hard-fought victory and the district title.

“I told the girls to do what they’ve been doing the entire year,” coach Lewis said. “We had the lead late, ran clock, took care of the basketball and came home with the championship. Now we have to get ready for our next game.”

Vanguard will play a regional quarterfinal next week and the Knights are hoping for a home game as district champions.

“We won’t know who and where we play until this weekend,” coach Lewis said, “The format is different with pairings determined by the state rankings. We would like to play at home but at this point we’re playing with house money.”