Braden River girls rally to defeat North Port in OT basketball thriller

O’mariah Gordon scored 39 points, Julia Rodriguez hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, and the Braden River girls basketball team rallied to defeat host North Port in a 92-89 thriller Thursday evening.

Cheyenne Stubbs scored 24 points, and Mela Sharma added 14 as the Pirates improved to 9-2 and 5-0 in district play.

Gordon also had 10 assists, 11 rebounds and eight steals for a triple-double.

The game was tied 83-83 at the end of regulation.

Braden River was down 18 points in the first half and came back to beat the Bobcats (11-2), who were led by Aryana Hough with 36 points.

The Pirates will compete in the Naples Shootout Dec. 28-30.

Lakewood Ranch 63, Venice 38: India Searles had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks to lead the Mustangs over the Indians.

Kayla Bell added 11 points, six assists and three steals, and Sarah Fazio contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two steals as Lakewood Ranch improved to 10-7 and 5-1 in district competition.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Braden River girls rally to defeat North Port in OT basketball thriller."