Gulf Coast, Lely, Neumann, Verot, ECS, Charlotte, Gateway win titles

A roundup of the Southwest Florida FHSAA Girls Basketball District Finals

NAPLES, FLORIDA – If the Gulf Coast High girls basketball team is facing an in-county opponent, the Sharks are a safe bet to win. Even with a title on the line.

Gulf Coast won the Class 6A-District 12 championship Friday while extending a lengthy winning streak. The Sharks beat Palmetto Ridge 63-29, their 77th straight victory against a Collier County opponent dating back to January 2016.

As dominant as the Sharks have been, they needed a third quarter explosion to secure their third district title in four years. Gulf Coast (19-4) went on an 18-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach.

Lilly Fultz scored 17 points, including 13 in the second half to lift Gulf Coast to a 63-29 victory over Palmetto Ridge in girls Class 6A-District 12 championship game, Saturday night / Photo by Adam Fisher

"I'm so proud of this team. I'm so proud of how far we came," Sharks junior Lilly Fultz said. "We stuck with it even though the game was a little close. We stuck with it and we ended up winning a trophy."

Fultz led the way with 17 points, including 13 in the second half. After leading 23-16 late in the second quarter, Gulf Coast scored the first 11 points of the third quarter and coasted from there.

Sophia Pasquerello scored 13 points for the Sharks and hit three 3-pointers. Gulf Coast finished with eight threes as a team, six of them after halftime.

Junior Meloday Charlton led Palmetto Ridge with 12 points. She had 10 points in the second quarter, including two deep threes, to keep the young Bears in the game.

Palmetto Ridge finished the season 10-10 and got to the district final in the first season under new coach Ron Mosbach. Before Mosbach, the Bears had four coaches in six seasons, and they had just one winning season in that span.

Palmetto Ridge head coach Ron Mosbach addresses Bears during a timeout in Saturday's Class 6A, District 12 championship game. Mosbach led Palmetto Ridge to the district final in his first season with the team / Photo by Adam Fisher

Addie Osborne added 11 points for Gulf Coast, who will host a regional quarterfinal on Wednesday, and Kali Cleary had 10. For Palmetto Ridge, Jordyn Villani scored 8.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 11

St. John Neumann 55, Seacrest 52: In a matchup of 20-win teams, the top-seeded Celtics (22-3) edged past Seacrest (21-5). Addilyn Bailey gave the Stingrays the lead with a 3-pointer with 90 seconds left, but Neumann's Sophia McCarthy made the go-ahead bucket with less than a minute to go.

McCarthy had a monster game, finishing with 27 points and 20 rebounds. It was the third straight district title for Neumann. Seacrest was led by Dragana Secpanovic with 15 points.

CLASS 2A-DISTRICT 12

Evangelical Christian 76, Gulf Coast HEAT 18: After winning 95-7 in the district semifinals, the Sentinels (21-3) had almost as easy of a time in the finals. ECS was up 38-2 after the first quarter and led 53-10 at the half.Kellisia Grant had 14 points to lead the Sentinels, who had 12 players score. Arielle Marc added 12, and Zaira Mitchell scored 10.

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 12

Bishop Verot 50, Canterbury 32: Cameron O'Halloran led the way for the Vikings scoring 18 points. Freshman Caroline Ward added 17 to help Verot hold off Canterbury. Kaya Langford scored 12 points for Canterbury, including 10 in the fourth quarter to keep the Cougars within striking distance.

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 12

Gateway 56 Aubrey Rogers 37: In a battle of new programs, the Eagles won their first district title in their third season of existence. Thatiyana Holiday, a junior, led Gateway with a game-high 22 points.

Gateway was hot early, jumping out to an 11-3 lead and never looking back. The Eagles were up 17-7 after the first period, led 32-16 at the break, and had a 47-24 lead after the third.

This was a battle of the newest school in Lee County (Gateway) vs. the newest school in Collier County. Aubrey Rogers just opened in the fall. Angelina Insana scored 14 to lead the Patriots.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 11

Port Charlotte 66, Cypress Lake 34: The Pirates led the entire way, scoring the game's first nine points on their way to a fourth consecutive district title. Port Charlotte led by 10 after the first quarter, 19 after the second, and 25 after the third.Hailey Cohen had a double-double, 18 points and 12 points, to lead the Pirates (16-11). Mariah Epting added 14 points and 9 steals. For Cypress Lake (16-9), Lilly Witz scored 14 and was the only Panthers player in double figures.

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12

Lely 43, Barron Collier 34: The hottest team in Southwest Florida knocked off the most successful program in Collier County as Lely won its first district title in five years. Barron Collier, a two-time state champion, had won 13 district championships the past 14 seasons.

The Trojans now have won 13 straight games and are headed to the playoffs after three straight losing seasons. Lely trailed 24-19 at halftime but locked down defensively in the second half.

Sofiia Kiritsa led Lely (18-8) with 19 points.

CLASS 6A-DISTRICT 11

Charlotte 74, Ida Baker 13: The Tarpons (15-5) raced out to a 25-7 lead at the end of one, then did even better in the second quarter. Then outscored Baker 25-0 to lead 50-7 at halftime, and the entire second half was played under a running clock.Acelia Beals put up 22 points for Charlotte. McKenzie Cole was Baker's leading scorer with six points.