Shamina Hunter scored 16 points and led Pensacola High's defensive effort with 10 steals as the Tigers knocked off unbeaten Sebastian River, 54-47, Friday night to advance into the championship game of the Queen of Palms Classic in Fort Myers.
The Tigers (13-1) will face Coral Springs at 7 tonight in the title game of the Ruby Division at Fort Myers-Dunbar High.
Chelsea Gibson scored a team-high 17 points for PHS and added four steals and six rebounds.
Pensacola High used a third-quarter surge to take a lead and then kept its strong defense going to seal the win.
Queen of Palms Tournament
At Fort Myers-Dunbar High
PHS 54, SEBASTIAN RIVER 47
PHS...11 11 17 15 -- 54
Sebastian River...13 10 9 15 -- 47
PHS (13-1) -- Shamina Hunter 16, Kayla Pritchard 2, Kayla Thompson 10, D'Arcy Draper 6, Chelsea Gibson 17, Takeisha Reasor 4.
PHS stats: Kayla Thompson 7 rebounds. Draper 9 rebounds.
Sebastian River (13-1) -- KP Pound 21, Caitlyn Smith 3, Jasmine Hodges 1, Katie Taylor 10, Micaela Martinelli 6, Taylor Smith 3.
Eagles split games at Faulkner St.
Rebounding from Thursday's opening-round loss to Shade Valley in the BallN Prep Invitational at Faulkner State, the Pine Forest girls basketball team beat Opelika (Ala.), 57-31, on Friday.
After splitting the two tournament games, the Eagles' record stands at 11-2.
The Eagles surged from a narrow lead at halftime to outscore their opponent 38-15 in the second half, led by Jayla King, who tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Jasmine McCants added eight points and eight rebounds for Pine Forest, and Britney Snowden grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Eagles return to the court on Thursday at Navarre.
BallN Prep Invitational
At Faulkner State University
PINE FOREST 57, OPELIKA 31
Pine Forest...6 13 16 22 -- 57
Opelika...9 7 7 8 -- 31
Pine Forest (11-2) -- Latonya Miller 7, Jasmine McCants 8, Ty Purifoy 4, Njeri Nelms 5, Jametria Jones 6, Tia Sanders 7, Jayla King 14, Brittany Snowden 2, Brea McCants 4.
Stats: J. McCants 8 rebounds, 3 steals; Snowden 12 rebounds, 4 steals; Sanders 5 rebounds, 5 assists; King 7 rebounds, 4 steals; Purifoy 4 steals, 5 assists; Miller 3 steals.
Next: Pine Forest at Navarre on Thursday.
Chiefs top LaSalle at Christmas Classic
With 33 points from Neino Robinson, the Northview Chiefs edged LaSalle, 64-60, in the second round of Catholic High's Christmas Classic.
The Chiefs, who lost to Godby in the tournament's first round, will take on Escambia at 4:30 p.m. today in a consolation game. LaSalle will match up with Navarre at 3 p.m. to compete for seventh place.
At Catholic High
NORTHVIEW 65, LASALLE 60
Northview...15 22 7 20 -- 64
LaSalle...17 5 22 16 -- 60
Northview: Neino Robinson 33, Jeffery Taylor 3, Travelle McWilliams 6, Cameron Newsome 10, Catrell 5, Blake McCall 2, Laderious Franklin 6.
LaSalle: Barouitas 8, Elvis Lopez 2, Nick Santana 38, Ronique Robinson 2, Chris Lopez 2, Santiago Laphitzonde 8.
King leads Gators over Raiders
Escambia survived a late Navarre surge to win at Catholic's Christmas Classic.
The Gators beat the Raiders 60-48 and will face Northview in a consolation game at 4:30 p.m. today.
Escambia started strong and built a 16-point lead by halftime.
But the Raiders rallied and outscored Escambia by four points in the second half.
At Catholic High
ESCAMBIA 60, NAVARRE 48
Escambia...14 13 10 23 -- 60
Navarre...5 6 22 15 -- 48
Escambia -- Terrance Robinson 11, Evans 8, Meyers 6, Rodgers 4, Cedric King 21, Bank 4, Walker 5.
Navarre -- Gatlin Casey 17, Blake Malter 9, Davis 1, Rasheed Williams 3, Dylan Main 8, Baker 2, Jante Cunningham 4, Alex Watley 4.
Murphy beats Godby for title shot
Mobile's Murphy High topped Tallahassee Godby 53-42 in the Catholic Christmas Classic.
Phillip Rankin led Murphy with 17 points, while teammate Cedric Thrash added 15.
At Catholic High
MURPHY 53, GODBY 42
Murphy...9 12 15 17 -- 53
Godby...8 13 10 11 -- 42
Murphy -- Cedric Thrash 15, Marcus McCants 8, Lendell Johnson 2, Tehvynn Crenshaw 5, Josh Coleson 4, Devyn Lykes 2, Phillip Rankin 17.
Godby -- BJ McClenton 6, Quan Jackson 4, Deric Culver 2, Trent Henderson 8, Deion Singleton 13, Kayton Coker 3, Quan Patterson 2, Terrell Huntley 4.
