OKEECHOBEE– The OHS varsity basketball team beat the Lady Hurricanes 40-37 in overtime.
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Okeechobee trailed in the early minutes of the first quarter of the quarterfinal. But a big second quarter performance, particularly by Sanye Washington, let the Lady Brahmans head into halftime with a 16-14 lead.
Sanye would go on to lead the Lady Brahmans in scoring on the night with 10 points, her highest of the season.
Following halftime, Okeechobee kept their foot on the gas, at one point taking a 26-17 lead in the third quarter. But credit to Northeast, who proved they deserved their spot in the regional playoffs and fought back. The Lady Hurricanes didn’t panic when Okeechobee appeared to be running away with the game. They weathered the adversity of the opening minutes of the third quarter and came back to trail the Lady Brahmans 25-28 by the start of the fourth quarter.
The Lady Hurricanes continued their rally in the fourth quarter, eventually tying the game 34-34 in the final seconds to force overtime.
Okeechobee had a few chances to pull away from Northeast throughout the game, but a bevy of missed free throws helped keep the Lady Hurricanes in the game. OHS was 4 of 22 from the free throw line on the night.
The Lady Brahmans broke the tie in overtime, and finally put the dagger in Northeast’s hopes of advancing in regionals. The tenacious Okeechobee defense came out in extra time, frustrating the Lady Hurricane offense. One sequence midway through overtime saw Adryauna Baker increase Okeechobee’s lead to 39-34 with a layup, followed by Baker immediately stealing the in-bound pass from Northeast and getting fouled while going for another layup.
Baker, Justice Shanks, and Semaj Jasper all had seven points in the regional quarterfinal. As a team OHS had 17 steals, led by Baker who had six.
The win advances Okeechobee to the regional semifinal where they will travel to face the powerhouse American Heritage Lady Patriots.
American Heritage went 21-2 this season and have looked dominating all year. The Lady Brahmans and Lady Patriots take the court at 6 p.m. on Feb. 16.
