Italy — After falling behind Gateway, 19-11, the Lady Gladiators received a scoring spark from guard Ryisha Copeland and then turned to their interior strength of Cory Chance and Jaclynn Lewis to tie the game 23-23 going into halftime.

Early in the third, Kortnei Johnson scored from the field and then put in two free-throws to give Italy their first lead of the game, 27-25. Gateway responded with consecutive three-pointers to go up 31-27.

Gateway managed to force Italy out of their half-court game, causing the Lady Gladiators to run the floor with the Lady Gators. With Italy struggling to finish at an increased rate of speed, Gateway poured in six more points to take control of the intense district matchup, 37-27.

Copeland then made two freebies from the stripe, making the score 37-29, but the Lady Gators extended their lead and eventually got the district win, 58-47.

Johnson led the Italy effort with 15-points, going 5-of-13 from the line. Chance put in 11-points, going 3-of-4 from the line. Lewis and Copeland each scored 8-points with Lewis putting in 4-out of-5 free-throws and Copeland making both of her free chances.

Point guard Tara Wallis made 3-of-4 from the stripe while K’Breona Davis put in 2-of-4. Taleyia Wilson helped force turnovers and secured rebounds while Bernice Hailey helped in the rebounding department and in setting up the half-court offense.

Box Score:

JV Action vs Itasca:
With point guard Alex Minton running the offense, Italy’s JV utilized their explosiveness to seal the deal against Itasca. Both Minton and teammate Halee Turner poured it on with 8-points each while Janae Robertson added 7-points.

With Lizzy Garcia putting in a field goal in the second period, Italy’s JV girls led 16-11 by halftime. Oleshia Anderson scored 4-points in the second half while Vanessa Cantu and Ashlyn Jacinto played tough defensive to help keep Italy’s fast break in high gear. Try as they might, Itasca was unable to keep pace with Italy’s athletic bunch who went on to win 29-17.

Box Score:

Go Lady Gladiators!