Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School girls basketball team kept its season alive Thursday night in Middleton.
The Buffalo held off a furious rally from visiting Tampa Catholic in the Class 3A-Region 2 quarterfinals, securing a 54-50 victory late inside the VHS Gymnasium.
With the win, VHS (23-5) advances on to the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Windermere Prep.
The Buffalo led by double digits early in the first quarter and maintained the lead throughout the majority of the contest, including an 11-point advantage with just five minutes to play. That's when the Crusaders made their push back into the game, using a press defense to force VHS into multiple turnovers late.
But with her team leading 52-50 with less than 10 seconds to play and in need of a pair of clutch free throws, VHS senior
Zion McRae calmly sank both attempts to ice away the victory.
McRae finished with a team-high 21 points for the Buffalo, while
Eva Mann hit four 3-pointers to tally 12 points and
NiNi Harris finished with 11.
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
