Holy Trinity earned a spot in the Class 2A state championship game after defeating Evangelical Christian 65-45 at the University of North Florida on Friday, March 6.
The Tigers will play the winner of the Miami Country Day/San Jose Prep game in the state championship on March 7 at 2:30 p.m. at the University of North Florida.
In the first quarter, Lorena Faber scored the first basket of the game to put Holy Trinity in front early. The Tigers went on to build a 7-1 lead after Kylie Green made a 3-pointer with 5:15 on the clock. Holy Trinity ended the quarter in front 19-7.
Gianna Conklin-Jones scored two points to quickly extend the Tigers’ lead just a minute into the second quarter. Holy Trinity stayed in control throughout the second and Leila Bryant scored a basket with just seconds left in the quarter to put the halftime score at 31-17.
Evangelical Christian made a push to cut into the Tigers’ lead in the third quarter. Nalah Smith scored for the Sentinels with 5:24 left in the quarter and got her team within seven points of the Tigers. Conklin-Jones made a 3-pointer on the following play to help Holy Trinity regain a double-digit lead.
Holy Trinity closed out the third quarter in front 49-34 and remained ahead in the fourth quarter to advance to the Class 2A state championship game.
Conklin-Jones led the Tigers’ scoring with a game-high 23 points. Bryant finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Green added eight points and seven rebounds for Holy Trinity.
Smith led the Sentinels (24-5) with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mo Walker scored 11 points for Evangelical Christian.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Holy Trinity girls basketball advances to 2A state championship game
Reporting by Chasite Banks, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
