Ranch rips Pirates, clinches district's top seed.
LaDazhia Williams led the way with 14 points along with four rebounds and two steals as Lakewood Ranch clinched the top seed in its district tournament with a 55-21 girls basketball win over Braden River on Tuesday.
Kailyn Scully added 12 points, four steals and three rebounds for the Mustangs (16-4, 7-0), who host Venice on Thursday in their district finale.
PALMETTO 49, SARASOTA 25 -- Tina Stephens poured in a game-high 20 points with 12 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals to lead the Tigers.
Taylor Rozier had 13 points and five assists, while Asinna Washington added 11 points for Palmetto (17-5, 4-3), which clinched the No. 2 seed in the district tournament. The Tigers next play Thursday at Braden River.
Boys basketball
SAINT STEPHEN'S 62, ST. PETE CATHOLIC 59 -- Eighth grader Travis Toby connected on 44 percent of his 3-point attempts on the way to 26 total points in the Falcons' district win.
Jordan Edwards (11 points, six assists), Nick Runde (nine points, 11 rebounds) and Bobby Harrison (eight points, seven rebounds) also stood out for Saint Stephen's (5-11, 3-5), which next plays Thursday at home against Bradenton Christian.
ST. PETE LAKEWOOD 69, BAYSHORE 61 -- Jaylen Pauley led the Bruins with 16 points in a losing effort.
Deny Dessin added 14 points while Bonna Baker scored 11 for Bayshore (10-10).
LAKEWOOD RANCH 81, VENICE 63 -- Damien Gordon led the way with 24 points, four assists, six rebounds and four steals as Ranch picked up a road district win.
Sam Hester totaled 20 points, including 4-for-4 3-point shooting, while Evan Spiller added five points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals for the Mustangs (14-4, 6-0), who face Boca Ciega on Saturday in a shootout at Seminole High School.
BRADEN RIVER 61, PALMETTO 52 -- Deoni Cason scored 21 points with five rebounds, connecting on 8-for-9 free throws, and led the Pirates to a district win.
Curtis Cobb added 17 points and six assists, while Tyler Dyson scored all 11 points of his points in the second half and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds for the Pirates, who opened the game with a 13-0 run and never trailed.
Braden River (9-8, 2-3) visits Venice on Friday.
This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Ranch rips Pirates, clinches district's top seed. ."