SUFFOCATING EXECUTION: Lakewood Ranch girls nasty to Niceville; earn another shot at Winter Haven in state basketball title game

Lakewood Ranch girls nasty to Niceville; reach state title game

LAKELAND -- Lakewood Ranch used a suffocating defense and dominated the boards to defeat Niceville 47-29 in the Class 7A girls basketball state semifinal Friday at the Lakeland Center.

The victory sends Lakewood Ranch into the state final against Winter Haven at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Lakewood Ranch head coach Tina Hadley lauded the girls for their efforts and following her game plan to perfection in the program's first appearance in a state semifinal.

"Execution rocks my world," Hadley declared after the game in which Lakewood Ranch outrebounded Niceville 45-30 and held the Eagles to 22-percent shooting (10-46).

In contrast, the Mustangs converted 20 of 49 field goal attempts for 40.8 percent.

Lakewood Ranch lost to Winter Haven 46-45 in overtime during the regular season, but the Mustangs were not at full strength. Kyra Klarkowski did not play because of an injury.

Hadley also credited the loud, boisterous Lakewood Ranch crowd for contributing to the victory. Two busloads of students attended the game.

"We loved the crowd. We were pushing for a fan bus and got that filled up quickly and our athletic director said we have to order another one," Hadley said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "SUFFOCATING EXECUTION: Lakewood Ranch girls nasty to Niceville; earn another shot at Winter Haven in state basketball title game ."