In December, the Lady Knights barely snuck out with a win against the Spoto Spartans, winning 50-41. And on Wednesday, Feb. 7, that close-game scenario persisted, when the Lady Knights claimed the district title 53-44.

“We know that we’re a better team than Spoto. We didn’t come out and show it tonight,” Head Coach Alyson Gregorowicz said. “We got lucky that we still came away with a win tonight”

The Lady Knights came out strong, heading into halftime with a 30-10 lead. But the third quarter wreaked havoc when the Spartans made a comeback, pushing the score to 44-31. Spoto came within a four-point margin.

Point guard Kaliah Henderson (’19) led both teams in scoring with 29 points, with Christiana Rolack (’18) coming second in leading scorer for the Knights with seven points.

“You can’t just settle, you have to keep playing hard,” Henderson said. “They are just as hungry as we are, so even when we’re up by 20 the game is still not over.”

The Lady Knights are now consecutive district champions, after losing to Spoto 47-46 in the 2016 district championship.

“We know what we have to do, we just need to work on executing,” Gregorowicz said.

The girls will advance to the regional quarterfinals against Lake Wales High School on Thursday, Feb. 15. The Lady Knights will play at home (6311 S. Lois Ave., 33616).