Braden River Earns Bragging Rights Over Southeast: Five Key Takeways

On Tuesday night, Southeast traveled (not very far) to their city rival's home court at Braden River HS. The biggest difference in this game was the two runs and momentum shifts that the Pirates were able to make in a 75-58 victory over the Seminoles. O'Mariah Gordon scored a quick bucket to start the game before the two teams took us on a roller coaster of a first quarter by trading two sets of scoring runs. Southeast went on a 7-0 run to make it 7-2  and Braden River fired back their own 6-0 run to bring it to 8-7. After that, Southeast went on a 6-0 run to take a 13-8 lead before Braden River scored 7 in a row to end the first quarter with a lead at 15 to 13. The Seminoles started the second quarter with a 3 to take the lead before the biggest run of the game happened when the Pirates scored 13 in a row and eventually took a ten point lead into half at 34-24. There were a lot of back and forth buckets in the third quarter until a couple minutes left when Southeast got it to within a 6 point game at 51 to 45 heading into the final quarter. Southeast hit a big three to start the quarter and brought the game to within one possession of what everyone assumed would be a battle in the fourth. O'Mariah didn't let that happen, though. Braden River went on another 7-0 run, Perryauna Youmans got T'd up, and the Pirates set sail the rest of the way home to grab those Bradenton bragging rights. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><em>Here are five of my takeaways from this exciting matchup:</em></span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>O'Mariah Gordon is STILL the best player in the state</strong></span> This isn't a hot take by any means, and I'm sure it doesn't surprise many people. She was the Gatorade POY and has all the ability to repeat this year. O'Mariah is more focused on the team's success which is a huge reason why she has so much individual success with her 33 points last night being a prime example. She is fast, intelligent, unselfish, shoots at an elite rate, and has the best jumper I've seen from a high schooler. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Southeast can scrap with anyone</strong></span> This Seminoles team is a hard-nosed, physical team that can play with anyone. They are one of the best 5A teams who don't have a weak link in their starting five. <strong>Mikera Patton</strong> did a good job of guarding O'Mariah with physicality, and she helped on the offensive end with 13 of her own. <strong>Perryauna Youmans</strong> is their best offensive player who is aggressive and ended the night with 14 points before getting ejected after some frustration set it. <strong>Kayla McDuffie </strong>is their pure shooter that scored 9 who also gets after it on defense. <strong>Charmaine Murray</strong> is the Noles anchor in the post that also scored 9, and was a strong presence on the boards last night. The final starter is <strong>Ce'mya Brooks </strong>who takes good care of the ball and displays strong moves to the hole. Their defense and physicality will allow them to compete with any team, and I think they have to make sure to stick to that plan for the entirety of their games. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Braden River's post players are improving every game</strong></span> The Pirates have two underclassmen who are over 6-foot and they seem to be improving on each occasion that I see them. The tallest and eldest is<strong> Bella Patterson </strong>who scored 11 last night and did a great job on the boards. She has a strong frame that makes her a good inside presence on both ends of the floor. The youngest of the two is <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aaliyah-capers/">Aaliyah Capers</a> who is one of the best Freshman in the area. She only added 4 points, but did a good job at the top of the zone and rebounded the ball for a team that doesn't need her to score to be effective. These two are really getting in a groove and could be huge factors on this teams success as complimentary pieces to O'Mariah and Julia's scoring. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Southeast is the deeper of the two teams</strong></span> Neither of these teams have a very deep bench, but SE goes 7 strong with junior <strong>Zamarehia Heaven</strong> and freshman <strong>Kymani Freeman</strong> coming off of the bench. BR doesn't have a player outside of their starting 5 that averages over a point, but both of these teams have a strong 5 so I don't think it will be an issue if they stay healthy and stay out of foul trouble in big games. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Both teams have the capability to make a deep run</strong></span> Braden River has one of the best duos in the state with the super athletic combo of O'Mariah Gordon and <strong><a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/julia-rodriguez/">Julia Rodriguez</a></strong> who scored 23 in last nights win. They have a very good shooter in <strong>Ellie DiGiacomo</strong> who can also take care of the rock and play tough D. Add those three in with their developing bigs, and this team is going to be very strong at the end of the season by playing one of the most competitive schedules in the state in a loaded 6A class. The Class 5A picture isn't nearly as strong (still tough), and Southeast will be battle tested after their rigorous schedule too. &nbsp;