Three times is the charm: Dr. Phillips girls basketball brings home 3rd straight state title

LAKELAND, FL — Earlier this season, longtime Dr. Phillips High girls basketball coach Anthony Jones said completing a three-peat is the hardest accomplishment in team sports. 

Well, on Saturday, March 9, at the RP Funding Center, his Panthers (27-4) accomplished that near-impossible feat for the second time in program history — both of which came under Jones — by topping Colonial High (27-4) in the all-Orlando FHSAA Class 7A state championship game, 53-46. 

“It’s satisfying to … know that all the hard work we put in, it came (to) fruition,” Jones said. “It’s a lot of ups and downs, it’s very difficult to three-peat. We had some challenges, some injuries at the beginning of the season, like … all the stuff that we went through, man, I’m just proud of our program and my coaching staff and my players.”

This is the seventh state championship in program history and Jones’ sixth. 

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START FAST, FINISH STRONG

The Panthers got up quickly in the first half, taking a 34-15 lead into the locker rooms. Dr. Phillips got it done on both ends to start the game — shooting 57.1% from the field and holding Colonial to two points in the second quarter. 

One of the key players in DP’s hot start was senior forward and Oakland University commit Leah Bullard, who went 4/4 from the field in the first quarter.

“To me, the most important thing to getting off to a good start is preparation,” Bullard said. “I came into tonight’s game trying to be focused and keep all distractions out of my head and just stay focused. When I start a game, I always want to start off strong; I don’t want to start off slow.”

Bullard finished the game with 15 points on 5/6 shooting and six rebounds. 

But when the teams came out for the second half, Dr. Phillips wasn’t home free. The Grenadiers gave the Panthers a third quarter to remember, cutting the DP lead to 11 points. It was the same story in the fourth with Colonial bringing a 19-point halftime lead all the way down to just three points with a mere 1:06 left to play. 

Colonial coach Cindy Richardson’s half-time message and adjustments hit home with her team and turned what looked like a first-half blowout into a nail-biter. 

“Well, a lot of the girls weren’t sticking to the game plan,” Richardson said. “We were transitioning different defenses, and they were forgetting their assignments, and some were in man, some were in zone. We just lost a lot of our rotation in the beginning. … So at half time, I was just like, ‘Maybe DP thinks they have this; maybe they think we’re not going to come out and fight. We have nothing to lose. The one thing you can do is come out and fight.’ And they did.”

Ultimately, though, the Panthers’ poise and experience kept the lead in their favor throughout the fourth quarter with Panthers senior guard Trinity Turner hitting two clutch free throws with 46.4 seconds left to play, giving DP a five-point lead. 

Dr. Phillips’ Kendall Perry followed her backcourt mate’s lead when she was fouled with 14. 9 left in the game. Perry hit both of her free-throw attempts and pushed the DP lead to seven, sealing the game and third-straight state championship for the Lady Panthers.

PANTHERS LEGEND

Turner, a Georgia signee, not only led all scorers with 16 points and added five assists and three steals in the championship-winning effort, she also finished her DP career surpassing both the 1,000-rebound and 700-assist marks and just two points shy of the 2,000-career points milestone. 

“She’s one of the most athletic players and best all-around players that I’ve ever coached in my time at Dr. Phillips,” Jones said. 

Although Turner was a bit upset that she didn’t reach the 2,000-point mark, she knows the most important thing is the legacy she’s leaving behind for the girls carrying the torch for the program moving forward.

“My girls know how to win, and we all love winning, but they know to get back here they have to go hard every practice and outside of practice,” Turner said. “I’ve been playing with this group for a while and have known them for my life, so they know that I have big expectations for them and I want them to come back next year and get that four-peat. I’ll be there watching.”

Sam Albuquerque is the Sports Editor for the Orange Observer. Please contact him with story ideas, results and statistics.

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