Saint Stephen’s girls basketball falls to First Baptist in region semis

The First Baptist Academy girls basketball team stayed on top for most of Thursday’s Class 3A regional semifinals. But, it’s lead dwindle late.

Visiting Saint Stephen’s made a push during the fourth quarter and cut First Baptist’s lead from nine points to just two. But that was as close as they drew.

With less than three minutes to go, the Lions put together a 9-1 run to close out a 48-39 victory.

First Baptist (25-4) will host Bradenton Christian (28-1) in the regional final on Tuesday.

First Baptist’s Nicole Smith sparked the run by hitting two free throws and putting the Lions up by four. After that, Grace Dean took over. The Lions’ seventh-grader got to the basket and hit a layup, then came up with a steal on the Falcons’ next possession. She immediately attacked the basket and drew a foul, which led to a made free throw and an eight-point lead.

“My team really helped me to get back,” Dean said. “They were helping me get encouraged to help win it.”

After another turnover, Paige Scullin put the nail in the coffin, hitting a layup and putting First Baptist back up by 10 with less than two minutes to go.

Claudia Sbaschnik sparked Saint Stephen’s late comeback after drawing a foul during a layup and converting a three-point play midway through the fourth quarter. The Falcons went on to hit four free throws, narrowing the gap to 39-37, Saint Stephen’s smallest deficit of the second half.

“We battled,” Saint Stephen’s coach Mike Verrill said. “That’s how we play. We play as hard as we possibly can, and I’m really proud of the girls.”

The Falcons’ season ended on Thursday, but they capped one of their most successful campaigns. Saint Stephen’s (10-12) hit double-digit wins for the first time since 2004.

“We made some strides,” Verrill said. “We had an outstanding year. I thought everything went really well. We’re happy with our season and where we ended up.”

Sbaschnik finished with 11 points, all of which came in the second half. Sarah Stevens scored eight points for the Falcons, and Lenae Jones had seven. Stevens, the Falcons’ center, fouled out before First Baptist’s late run.

“We jumped on them early with some pretty good defense, but Saint Stephen’s is good basketball team, so I knew that they were going to come back,” FBA coach Jennifer Lines said. “They were going to hit shots. So, it wasn’t so much what we did poorly, but I think Saint Stephen’s stepped up their game.

Dean and Smith led First Baptist with 13 points each. Paige Scullin added 11 more.

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 12:07 AM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s girls basketball falls to First Baptist in region semis."