The Palm Beach Central High School girls varsity basketball team steamrolled Royal Palm Beach High School 65-15 on Thursday, Jan. 24 in Wellington.
Though the Lady Wildcats fought a hard battle, Palm Beach Central’s strong defense blocked them from scoring and enabled the Lady Broncos to dominate most of the game.
Palm Beach Central took possession right from the start of the game, controlling the ball for most of the time. Early on, Devin Gray and Jasmyne Martin nailed baskets to put the Lady Broncos on the board.
Though Royal Palm Beach managed to squeak in a few points, Palm Beach Central easily outscored them to finish the quarter 28-6. Chelsey Smith, Jasmine Carlisle and Shamiah Manely scored the Lady Wildcats’ only baskets, while Gray, Martin, Kensha’dra Smith and Caroline Winston added baskets for Palm Beach Central.
Gray kicked off the second quarter with a 3-point basket for the Lady Broncos, and the team continued to dominate from there. A minute later, Martin sank a second 3-pointer to make the score 34-6.
Palm Beach Central kept up a strong defense, often stealing the ball away from Royal Palm Beach to maintain control of the ball. Though the Lady Wildcats went to the foul line several times, they missed opportunities for free points.
Palm Beach Central held Royal Palm Beach to a scoreless second quarter, meanwhile, putting in 20 points of their own to finish the half 48-6.
The Lady Wildcats picked up the pace in the second half and were able to outscore Palm Beach Central. While Royal Palm Beach added 7 points, they held the Lady Broncos to only 5 points to finish the quarter 53-13.
But it wouldn’t be enough to overtake Palm Beach Central, who added another 12 points while allowing Royal Palm Beach only 2 more points to win, with a final score of 65-15.
Palm Beach Central also defeated Monsignor Edward Pace High School 69-51 on Saturday, Jan. 26 in Miami. They now head into the playoffs.
Above: Bronco Devin Gray looks to shoot while Chelsey Smith blocks.
