Land O’ Lakes second-straight trip to the Final Four ended in the semifinals.
The Gators lost to Paxon, 56-13 in the Class 5A state semifinal at the Lakeland Center Friday night. Paxon will play for the 5A title LIVE on BHSN (Channel 47/HD 1147)Saturday at 8 p.m.
Paxon’s in-your-face defense led to a lot of Land O’ Lakes turnovers, including 16 in the first half, 25 overall. The Eagles, who scored 31 points off those turnovers, pride themselves on defense and it showed against the Gators.
Land O’ Lakes was held scoreless in the second quarter as Paxon increased its lead to 28. The Gators shot only three-of-12 in the first half, while the Eagles shot 50% from the field. Overall, Land O’ Lakes were four-of-19 from the field.
Paxon increased its lead to 35 midway through the third to put the running clock in affect.
The Eagles were led by Arianna Emmaunel-Wright with 16 points. Rayven Wade added 12.
Land O’ Lakes leading scorer was Jhaqde Hayes with seven points. She also had five rebounds.