Hernando Christian (10-14) used big nights from seventh grader Milly Jackson and her sister, Mary, to squeak into the program’s third playoff appearance with a 38-37 win over Bayshore Christian in a Class 2A-8 semifinal at Keswick Christian.
“I’m just thrilled to death,” Lions coach Mike Drummond said. “I never thought we would get as far as we did, as young as we are.”
Milly Jackson led HCA with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Mary finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven steals. The Lions held Bayshore’s leading scorer Alexandrya Myers to 14 points — 10 fewer than what she scored in their last meeting.
The Faith Warriors (10-5) rallied late but missed two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to propel HCA into the district title game.
Keswick Christian, the top seed, had little trouble with Canterbury in the other semifinal. The Crusaders led only 18-12 at halftime but outscored Canterbury 40-15 in the second half to win 58-27. Ashley Broaderick scored 12 points and Madison Span added 11 to lead Keswick.
Keswick had 10 players score. Canterbury was led by Samantha Burgess, who scored 11 points.
“We played the way we have for most of the season,’’ Keswick coach Karrmayne King said. “Ashley and Madison played very well.’’