Cardinal Mooney girls basketball survives and advances

Cardinal Mooney High girls basketball Head Coach Rico Antonio sat in his office and leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands and letting out a sigh. 

He knew the margin between relief and agony was paper thin Tuesday night. 

Cardinal Mooney defeated St. Petersburg Catholic 53-48 at home in a Class 3A regional semifinal game. The Cougars started hot, but came dangerously close to letting the win slip through their claws. 

The Cougars (18-8) were without star sophomore Jordyn Byrd, whom  Antonio said is nursing an ankle injury. Antonio said the absence of Byrd, who averages 15.2 points and 12 rebounds per game, affected the team offensively and defensively — though it didn't seem like it in the first half, when the Cougars ran up a 32-18 lead on the Barons (20-6).

Sophomore guard Olivia Davis was able to buoy the Cougars by scoring 16 first-half points, much of that on three-point attempts. 

They needed every bit of the cushion, as the second half was a different story. St. Petersburg Catholic chipped away at the lead through taking advantage of Mooney mistakes, including missed free throws. The Cougars also got in foul trouble. They finished with 14 fouls, most of them in the second half. Antonio said the team let the game's officiating dictate how it played, taking responsibility for that as a coach.

The Barons got to within two points, but Cardinal Mooney never relinquished the lead. 

Even though Mooney hung on to the win, Byrd's absence was felt. 

"We do a lot of things through her," Antonio said. "She does a lot of things defensively. We like to put pressure on the ball, and if they get by us, she's there to deter that. Chances are it's one-and-done for them when she's in the game."

Despite the team's second-half missteps, Antonio said he was proud of his team. He can live with physical mistakes, as they mean his team is playing hard, but he won't tolerate mental ones.

There were not many of those, which he called a positive sign. The Cougars are young; there are no seniors on the roster. The team is still learning how to close out playoff games, and even though there were tense moments in this one, they did get the win. A less resilient team might have given up once momentum swung to the Barons, but Cardinal Mooney never did. 

Davis finished with 27 points to lead the team. Jasmine Scurry added 13 points, the only other Cougar in double-digits. Antonio said he was particularly proud of Madison Smithers. She had four points, but she contributed in other ways, too.

"She just dives on the floor," Antonio said. "She gives everything she has when she's on the floor. She's our engine. I don't know if anyone plays harder than we do." 

The Cougars will travel to the Community School of Naples (15-4) on Friday to play for a spot in the state semifinals. Antonio said he is hoping to have Byrd back for that game, though nothing is definite. If Byrd can play, she has the potential to dominate. Byrd is 6-foot-4; the tallest CSN player is 5-foot-10.

Cardinal Mooney has one common opponent with CSN: The Out-of-Door Academy. Mooney played ODA twice and won both; CSN played ODA once and lost. Mooney (14.2) has also played a more difficult schedule than CSN (2.3) in getting to this point, according to MaxPreps data.

Mooney is 10-5 on the road this season. Make it 11-5, and the Cougars will be traveling to Lakeland. The state semifinals begin Feb. 24 at the RP Funding Center.