DP’s two-time defending State Champion Women’s Basketball was ranked 10th in the nation by USA Today going into this weeks Florida Prospects Invitational. DP came out on fire Friday night with an 83-53 victory over Winter Haven and followed up with a strong 82-65 victory Saturday night over 8A state power Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer. Against Winter Haven, DP (4-0) held a six-point lead, 43-37, at the half before they broke the game open with a 40-16 second half barrage. Sydnei McCaskill led the Panthers with 23 points and 14 assists, Hannah Schaible logged 11 points and 12 rebounds, Matea Britvar finished with ten points and seven rebounds and Jade Cheek added 14 points. In the tournament finale, DP saw five players score in double figures in their 82-65 victory over Dwyer. DP opened up strong with a 25-14 first quarter lead and held serve with an 11-point margin at the half, 45-34. Dwyer, a team most basketball pundits project to be in this year’s Final Four with the Panthers, closed the deficit to seven midway through the third but that was as close as they’d get. DP went on a 14-6 run to build a 20-point lead with 3:20 left and that was more than enough. Sydnei McCaskill poured in 20 points and dished out 12 assists, Hannah Schaible closed with 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Jade Cheek picked up 13 points, Kyla Allison chipped in 11 and Ciara Cumbie registered ten points and pulled down six rebounds.
Men’s Basketball tipped off their season with back-to-back games against two of the state’s best and came away with a split. DP knocked off a strong Ft. Myers team in Friday’s Metro vs. Florida Invitational with an 89-75 victory but came up short in Saturday’s match-up with Lake Highland, 64-52. Ft. Myers is considered one of the top teams in Class 6A this year and gave the Panthers all they could, cutting a 13-point first lead down to just two, 63-61, heading into the fourth quarter. DP (1-1) went on to outscore the Green Wave, 26-14, in the final period to win going away. RaShawn Powell continued his torrid shooting pace with 31 points, seven assists and five steals while Tyriefe Beard picked up 23 points and ripped down nine rebounds. Pedro Lalor, Shawn Clement and Jerard Pierre Louis each finished with ten points. In the Lake Highland game, a packed house was on hand to witness two of the nation’s finest point guards in DP’s RaShawn Powell and Lake Highland’s Joel Berry. Both played up to expectations, but the nationally-ranked Highlanders took home the victory. Powell finished with 19 points, four assists and four steals to lead DP while Pedro Lalor finished with 11 points, Jerard Pierre Louis tallied eight points and nine rebounds and Tyriefe Beard collected 12 rebounds.
DP Women’s Cross Country was well-represented at the Foot Locker South Regional meet in North Carolina this weekend as seniors Bridget Blake and Amber Johnson shattered their personal records. Blake finished sixth overall in the 139-deep field with a time of 17:12, qualifying the three-time State Champion for the Foot Locker National meet in San Diego December 8th . Johnson, the bronze medalist at this year’s State Championship, ran her career-best time of 18:07 to finish 29th overall.
Last Friday Dr. Phillips avenged last season’s playoff loss to reigning State Champions Tampa Plant with a 24-7 victory that was nothing short of dominating. DP (12-0) allowed just 85 yards of total offense by the defending State Champions and sacked Plant quarterback Aaron Banks seven times. Junior Roderick Proctor was the star for the DP offense with five receptions for 179 yards, including an 85-yard score, and Eric Harrell rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers advanced to next Friday’s Regional Championship against Tarpon Springs East Lake (11-1).
Senior running back Eric Harrell, the second leading rusher in DP Football history, has verbally committed to play for Bowling Green State University.
