Florida girls basketball playoffs: Sarasota edges Sickles in 7A regional quarterfinals (video)

Paisley Binswanger ices one-point victory with a steal after Sofi Miller's game-winning basket in final seconds

TAMPA, FLORIDA – In perhaps the most exciting Class 7A girls basketball regional quarterfinal, Wednesday, Sarasota went on the road to Sickles and pulled off a thrilling, 62-61, victory over the host Gryphons.

Sickles surged in front, 61-60, in the final minute on a three-point jumper by Julia Comfort. Sarasota then advanced the ball across mid-court and twice called timeout before settling on a course of action for its go-ahead shot.


FHSAA GIRLS BASKETBALL CLASS 7A PLAYOFF BRACKET


With time winding under 10 seconds, Kennedy McClain fired a pass to Sofi Miller, on the baseline. Miller attacked from the right side of the rim, but her first attempt caromed off to the left. She, however, grabbed the rebound and went right back up for the put-back which proved to be the game winning shot.

Sarasota's Sofi Miller netted the game-winning basket with a put-back of her own miss, in the final seconds of the Sailors' 62-61 FHSAA Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal win over Sickles, as the Florida girls high school basketball state tournaments got underway on Wednesday.
Sarasota's Sofi Miller netted the game-winning basket with a put-back of her own miss, in the final seconds of the Sailors' 62-61 FHSAA Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal win over Sickles, as the Florida girls high school basketball state tournaments got underway on Wednesday

Sickles had time to bring the ball back up court and drive into the paint, but before a shot could be taken, Paisley Binswanger created a steal for the Sailors and dribbled the ball down to the opposite end as time expired.

With the victory, Sarasota advances to a Regional Semifinal match-up at Winter Haven on Monday. Winter Haven advanced with a 64-30 rout of Steinbrenner in its playoff opener.

Click on the bracket link above to see the results of all of Wednesday's Class 7A girls regional quarterfinal contests, as well as the match-ups for the next round. To follow all seven classifications, click on the link below.

Florida high school girls basketball playoff brackets: 2024 FHSAA Regional and State matchups, game times


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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.