Lake Highland Prep rides big run into CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational semifinals

Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) proved Saturday why it’s one of the top teams in the nation.

The Highlanders – ranked No. 1 in Florida, according to MaxPreps.com – are one step away from competing for a CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational championship after a 56-45 win over Center Point (Ala.) in the quarterfinals at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“I just thought it was a really good game. Our girls played hard,” said Lake Highland coach Al Honor, whose team is nationally ranked (No. 96) in the USA Today girls basketball computer rankings. “We knew what we were up against, we knew they had some really talented players and we just wanted to play our game, play good, solid defense and try to be effective down the stretch. And we did a good job of that.”

Center Point appeared to be in rhythm early on, taking a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes. But that momentum didn’t last very long as the Highlanders went on a 19-0 run over the next six minutes to run away with the lead.

Center Point never caught back up, trailing by at least eight for the remainder of the contest.

“It was very important,” Honor said of the 19-0 run. “We were trying to get a good feel for their team. Once we knew what we were working with, we wanted to put a lot of pressure on them, get some turnovers and convert them into points. Once we were able to do that, we just had to keep some distance between us.”

Eagles coach Ulysses Haynes said he felt like his team got a little complacent, and the Highlanders took advantage.

“I’m disappointed because we didn’t play well in the first half and didn’t defend that well,” Haynes said. “We just couldn’t recover. We did get our composure later on, but we were trading baskets and that [was not] going to get the job done; we needed stops.”

Alabama signee Jordan Lewis paced Lake Highland in the second half as she scored 12 of her team-high 14 points after the break. Lewis frequently got to the line and hit 6-of-9 free throws in the second half, and also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a game-high five assists.

“Jordan Lewis is my workhorse. She’s one of our captains, she’s my leader and she’s been with me since she’s been in the eighth grade,” Honor said. “She plays hard and her dedication to the game is what has enabled her to sign with Alabama and play in the [Southeastern Conference]. She’s going to be a great talent there, and I depend on her quite a lot. She’s just a really good player, one of the best I’ve ever coached.”

Jiselle Havas contributed 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Rachel Jablonski scored 13 for the Highlanders.

Sakina Wynn had 22 points, four rebounds and four steals to pace the Eagles.

“Sakina is probably one of the most complete players I’ve ever coached,” Haynes said. “She can handle the ball, she can shoot it, she can defend and she has a great basketball I.Q. She played a great game tonight. We just didn’t have other players step up that we needed to.”

Now in the semifinals, Honor knows his girls will need to be on top of their game if they want to compete for a title.

“It’s just going to take some good, sound defense. We’re a little undersized, so it’s going to be important that we be able to rebound and execute down the stretch. At this point, all teams are good,” Honor said. “There’s such good competition, so now we just have to compete and play good basketball. Also, keep in mind, we’re talking about teenagers so we have to make sure we stay focused on what we’re trying to do. Hopefully we can compete and achieve our goals.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Lake Highland Prep rides big run into CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational semifinals."