By Jeff Odom
Steinbrenner girls basketball coach JR Allen will be the first to admit his team hasn’t lived up to its full potential offensively in recent games.
The Warriors’ (14-1, 5-1) offense finally shifted out of neutral in a 62-49 win over Wiregrass Ranch Dec. 20 to secure at least the No. 2 seed in the Class 7A-District 9 tournament.
“That was a good game to finally clean the cobwebs off, man,” Allen said. “We’ve just been in a rut for awhile. … We’ve just not played well, and to come out tonight and execute great offensively, the score might not indicate it, but I thought we controlled the game from beginning to end, and I’m very pleased.”
Steinbrenner’s defense, led by senior point guard Justice Thigpen (nine assists, five rebounds, three steals), took command of the game early, helping the offense get into a rhythm.
On multiple occasions, the Bulls (9-6, 2-3) tried but failed to break into the Warriors’ lead, which got as large as 13 before halftime.
“Coach has been challenging us really all season with our defense,” Thigpen said. “He wants us to be the best defensive team in Hillsborough County, and that’s that we’re trying to do.”
Senior forward/guard Bailey Hooker (12 points) and junior guard Olivia Unger (11 points) helped Steinbrenner continue to roll in the second half, outscoring Wiregrass Ranch 16-10 before Allen pulled his starters with 5:27 left in the game.
The fourth-year coach said even though his team will have a first round bye in the district tournament, there’s still one more goal he wants them to meet.
“We still feel like we have a shot at the No. 1 seed, but we’re going to have to take care of business when we get a rematch with that team from the other side of the county,” Allen said in reference to Freedom, which dealt the Warriors their only loss this year. “We’ll see what happens, but we’re still gunning for that top seed.”
In the boys game, Wiregrass Ranch fought off a tough Steinbrenner squad and pulled away late for a 92-76 win.
The Warriors (6-6, 2-4) stayed close to the Bulls’ (9-2, 3-2) throughout the game despite missing their best defender in 6-foot-7 forward Bryce Nickles, who injured his ankle the night before in a loss to Sickles.
“The biggest disappointment was losing Bryce last night in that game because he protects the basket for us, and they saw that he wasn’t there and did a good job at attacking the basket,” said Steinbrenner coach Stephen Williams. “We just had too many turnovers.”
Wiregrass Ranch senior forward Rico Kerney had 25 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, along with 13 rebounds and five steals. Senior guard Chris Parra had 16 points and nine assists.
Bulls coach Jeremy Calzone said defense remains a question for his team, but he’s grateful for the result.
“I just wish we could play defense and stop fouling so much,” Calzone said. “Offensively, I’m very happy. If we can put our offense and defense together, I think we’ll be pretty good.”
Steinbrenner’s Keshawn Ingram led his team with 24 points. Christian Moore and Kendall Pearcey finished with 13 apiece.
