Kalle Herring had a team-high nine points for Suwannee. 

BRANFORD, Fla. — On a night when they honored their four seniors, the Branford girls basketball team also celebrated with a 60-32 win against Suwannee. 

Tori Suggs had another big game and received plenty of help from her teammates on Thursday. Suggs scored 19 points and was one of five BHS players to notch at least seven points.    

“I feel like we’ve got a lot of different weapons,” said Branford coach Carla Suggs. “There’s so many different options — that’s a good feeling.”

After a slow start in the first two minutes of the game, Branford picked things up in a hurry. Backed by four 3-pointers and seven points from Amber Hitt, the Buccaneers went on a 19-7 tear to end the first quarter. 

Suggs then started to heat up in the second and third quarter. She had six points in the second and 10 points in the third. Suggs connected on three of Branford’s eight 3-pointers. Rene Root made two long-range shots and finished with 10 points. 

Suwannee, led by Kalle Herring (nine points) and Jasmine Jones (eight points), narrowed the deficit to 30-18 midway through the third quarter thanks to a 5-0 run. But turnovers, missed layups and poor free throw shooting kept the Bulldogs from finding any rhythm on offense, or making another run. 

Suwannee made 9 of 21 free throws and committed 19 turnovers. 

“We just weren’t together,” said Suwannee coach Brian Bullock, whose team was forced to play with a limited bench due to injuries.

Branford senior Kaylah Johnson had seven points and 12 rebounds. Also cleaning up on the boards was senior Trinity Thomas, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Carmilla Derringer (two points) and Arley Bryant rounded out the senior class that was honored before the game.   

“They got to play quite a bit,” Carla Suggs said of her seniors. “I’m proud of them. Kaylah is a kind of a defensive specialist and she made some points tonight. Trinity is a beast on the boards.”

Branford (18-2) has won 10 straight games while Suwannee (5-14) has dropped three in a row.

UP NEXT: Branford travels to Trenton today. Suwannee will play at Madison County on Saturday.  

Box score

Suwannee	7	6	8	11	—	32
Branford	19	11	14	16	—	60

Branford — Suggs 19, Root 10, Thomas 8, Johnson 7, Hitt 7, McElreath 5, Derringer 2, Hill 2

Suwannee — Herring 9, Jones 8, Cherry 5, Brown 5, Thomas 3, Shannon 2