Palmetto's Tina Stephens celebrates her homecoming with 31 points
PALMETTO -- Last summer when Robert Kelly found out Tina Stephens was coming home he knew this could be a special season.
But the Palmetto girls basketball coach wanted it to be his secret, so he didn't say a lot about the impact the junior could have.
The secret is out after Stephens scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the host Tigers to 71-19 rout against Naples Gulf Coast in a Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinal game Thursday.
"She brings experience, leadership, direction and perseverance. She brings a host of things to a young team that is trying to understand what it takes to get to the parquet floor in Lakeland," Kelly said. "She always makes sure that the team plays together as a unit."
Stephens started for Palmetto as a freshman and played for Seffner Christian last season. She leads the Tigers with averages of 15 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Palmetto is home next Tuesday against Lakewood Ranch in a regional semifinal. The Tigers earned home court by upsetting the second-ranked Mustangs last week in the district title game.
"People said that game was a fluke, but we don't believe it," Stephens said. "The last time we realized it was time to pick it up and we played with more intensity and more heart. We wanted to be the first seed to begin our streak of winning. My mindset tonight was play aggressive and go hard all the time."
It didn't take Palmetto (22-6) long to establish its dominance. The Tigers opened in a full-court press and raced to a 17-2 lead, forcing 10 turnovers and limiting the Sharks (15-9) to six field-goal attempts in the process.
The second quarter offered more of the same. Palmetto took a 42-13 lead into halftime and the game went to a running clock less than five minutes into the second half when the Tigers opened a 50-13 lead.
"We just couldn't put the ball in the basket, and Palmetto had a lot to do with that. They are a very good team," Gulf Coast head coach Mark Woodruff said. "They turned us over left and right. We just got down early and kind of caved in on ourselves."
The Tigers also received a big game from senior Taylor Rozier, who scored 17 points and hauled in six rebounds. Guard Anissa Washington scored 17 points.
"This team plays well together and it's been a great team effort from day one," Kelly said. "The summer to the present time and then the return of Tina. We lost a great leader (from last season) in Jermisha Collins, and Tina came in and picked everything up. We have been blessed."
Palmetto lost to Lakewood Ranch by 15 and 16 points before defeating the Mustangs 48-44 in the district final.
"People said we were predictable and we needed to make some changes, which we are still doing. Tonight was about executing and the girls showing they bought into those changes," Kelly said.
This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palmetto's Tina Stephens celebrates her homecoming with 31 points ."