Central Square girls basketball ends breakthrough season with loss in Section 3 final

Indian River (21-2) advanced to face Section 10 champion Malone in a first-round state playoff game this week.

Central Square finished with a 15-8 overall record after reaching the program’s first-ever sectional final in head coach Kevin Brazell’s 38th season.

The Warriors were playing in their first title game since 2018 and broke through for their first sectional crown since 2008, which was also guided by head coach Jim Whitley.

“We would come to these games when we were little and just want to be those teams that would win,” IR junior point guard Ravan Marsell said. “So, I think that us finally getting here is just the best thing that could ever happen to us.”

Isabella Davis scored 13 points as the only player in double figures for Indian River. Michaela Delles added nine points and six steals while Marsell delivered eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Central Square junior Natalie Bush scored 12 points and senior Samantha Haley added six points to go with eight rebounds before she fouled out with 4:11 left. The backcourt duo averaged a combined 25.7 points for the season.

Brazell, who has more than 400 career victories, led Central Square to its highest win total in six seasons after finishing just 4-17 while battling injuries last year. They held a pep rally at the school earlier this week along with the boys team, who played in their Class A final Sunday in the same location.

“I’m really proud of this team, last year we were 4-17, and worked hard in the offseason,” Brazell said. “We had some good games this year and came together at the end of the year and made our first sectional final, so we’re really happy about that.”

Indian River was held below 40 points for the first time all season, but also held Central Square to its lowest scoring output to claim the defensive-minded battle.

The Warriors shot just 21 percent from the floor, including a 2-for-20 mark on 3-pointers, but forced 13 turnovers and tallied 10 steals, eventually overwhelming the Redhawks with their full-court press.

Indian River led just 25-22 entering the final period after four third-quarter lead changes, but gradually extended the advantage and held a 10-4 edge in the fourth.

Michaela Delles drained two pivotal 3-pointers in the fourth quarter — the only 3’s all game for IR — the last of which pushed the Warriors ahead, 32-25, with four minutes and 33 seconds left.

“That was a huge 3, because we weren’t hitting anything, 35 is our season low,” Whitley said. “When you play good defense, you can have games like that and still win.”

Indian River forced six turnovers in the fourth quarter alone and limited Central Square to less than 22 percent shooting overall.

“They played real tough defense,” Brazell said. “We didn’t have a good shooting night, some of our players got some good shots but they played real tough defense. They’re a very good team, their press hurt us a little bit, it got us out of sync and out of position, but they did play very good half-court defense.”

Indian River sophomore Allison LaMora — one of four players averaging double figures entering the game — was called for her third foul less than three minutes in and was held out the remainder of the first half.

Davis also missed much of the second quarter with three fouls and a four-minute span between the third and fourth after picking up her fourth.

“We had some of our key players out for foul trouble, and they picked it up when they came back in the game, we were pretty much stronger than ever,” Marsell said.