Gallery: West Port Defeats Dunnellon 81-53

The West Port Wolfpack girls basketball team improved to 11-3 on the season after going on the road and beating a solid Dunnellon Tigers squad by the score of 81-53.

West Port got off to a quick start with junior Ciarra Lake (23 points, seven rebounds and three assists) knocking down a sweet left-handed layup. Dunnellon’s Tatiana Matthews answered with a 13-foot jumper to even the score in the first minute of the game.

West Port then went on a 10-0 run on points from Lake, Trinity Goodson and Mileyka Rodriguez Mercado to jump out to a 12-2 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter. Matthews would stop the run with a pair of free throws.

A half-court pressure defense led by Rodriguez Mercado forced Dunnellon’s offense into a bevy of mistakes that gave West Port momentum and a 21-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter would be the best period for West Port as they scored 27 points. The relentless defense paired with an offense that could not miss gave them a 48-31 lead at halftime. During the second quarter, five different players scored multiple points for the Wolfpack as they scored in the paint with ease thanks to transitions off steals and superb passing from the guards outside.

Having more than one option that can score at will is a cushion that West Port head coach Corey Rollerson said he enjoys having during the long grind of the season as they prepare for a deep playoff run.

The West Port offense came out of halftime and did not lose their touch as Rodriguez Mercado and Ciarra Lake both scored on layups to put their team up by 21. The depth of West Port showed itself in the third quarter as Calise Smith (11 points, seven rebounds) scored five points and Mia Lake (17 points, 12 assists, four rebounds and two steals) scored four points to extend the lead to 26 by the end of the third period.

For Dunnellon, Matthews knocked down two impressive three-point shots in the third quarter and Nia Heppner scored four of her seven points in the game with two free throws and a tough layup with a defender close by.

The fourth quarter was the most even period of the night as Dunnellon started to move the ball offensively and get more people involved as Matthews, Heppner, Paige Powell and Kmari Williams all scored.

Despite trailing by double-digit points from the middle of the first quarter on, Dunnellon did not quit and showed determination by trying to keep pace. Dunnellon head coach Chris Thompson noticed some arguing between the players early in the game but said was happy to see his team start communicating and playing fundamental basketball in the final period.

“The biggest thing was just them overcoming blaming each other. We had good ball movement and ran it up the middle. The fourth quarter was our best quarter. We had 3-4 touches each possession and that’s what we need,” Thompson said.

West Port leaned on their scoring-by-committee approach in the fourth quarter as Caniyah Graham dropped in a three-pointer from the right side and an impressive one-handed layup. Rodriguez Mercado, Ciarra Lake and Smith all scored in the fourth quarter as they each scored at least four points in all four quarters.

Matthews led the way for Dunnellon with a game-high 35 points while adding three steals, four rebounds and two blocks. Heppner was second on the team with seven points and Turner finished with five and five rebounds. Mitchell scored six points and led the team with four steals.

For West Port, the energizer bunny that led the way was Rodriguez Mercado with 21 points, seven rebounds and a game-high seven steals.

“She is a very good guard and plays defense well. She handles the ball and sees the floor well so it was good for her to step up tonight. She is going to have play big for us if we want to be successful,” Rollerson said.

Rodriguez Mercado was the just the tip of the iceberg that was the West Port defense as they combined for 16 steals on the night.

“We pride ourselves on our defense and forcing turnovers. We have the people to pressure the ball and we used to that to our advantage,” Rollerson said.

West Port’s next game will be Tuesday at home versus Eustis at 7:30 p.m. Dunnellon starts a four-game week next Monday when they visit Vanguard at 7 p.m.