When his current group of seniors were merely freshmen, Southeast coach John Harder brought them to The Lakeland Center on a field trip to experience the state tournament atmosphere.
It left an indelible impression on the group of girls, and on Saturday, they created their own championship moment. Southeast defeated Choctawhatchee 52-35 in a defensive battle to claim the Class 5A title, the program’s fourth and first since 1990.
Harder said after the Seminoles state semifinal victory that defense wins championships and free throws win games. His team proved that against the Indians.
Southeast forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 14 points. The Seminoles also took advantage of Choctawhatchee’s foul trouble. At the charity stripe, Southeast was 20-of-30, including a string of seven free-throw points in the final minutes that more than cushioned their lead.
DeAngela Mathis led the Seminoles with 15 points, while Keshawna Robinson contributed a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Actually, everyone contributed, including Bevin Mays, another Southeast player in double figures (10), Janelle Gould, who had some key assists and Breyonna Reed, who hit some of those key free throws.
In the first quarter, Southeast forced four turnovers early on to take a 9-4 lead. Mathis scored six of her team-high 15 points. In the second, after Choctawhatchee pulled within one, Southeast closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room.
The Indians opened the second half with a 4-0 run to cut Southeast's lead to three, but just like they did in the first half, the Seminoles had an answer. Mathis sparked a 6-0 run that helped her team begin to pull away.
And in the final quarter, Choctawhatchee's frustrations began to show as they were called for a technical foul, which led to Seminole string of seven free throw points.