St. Thomas Aquinas, Charlotte win setting up girls 6A title game
LAKELAND, FLORIDA – More and more, it’s about the schedule.
Two-time Class 6A defending state champions St. Thomas Aquinas scheduled the toughest teams possible. It paid huge dividends Thursday when the Raiders toppled Lake Gibson, 77-35, in a 6A semifinals at the FHSAA girls basketball state championships in the RP Funding Center.
The win catapults St. Thomas (23-8) into the state championship game against Charlotte (22-6) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for a chance at a three-peat state championship.
“We are really excited to be back in the state championship,” St. Thomas coach OIiver Berens said. ”It is something we preach to try to take advantage of every single moment. I know we have been here three years in a row, but every year our expectation is to win a state championship.”
St. Thomas Aquinas guard Reina Green (12) looks for help from a teammate while Lake Gibson defenders Taleah Turner (10) and Jamila Ray (11) close in on defense at the FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state semifinals on Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Photo by Bill Kemp
St. Thomas defeated Charlotte in the 2021 semifinal 62-48. A state title win Saturday would add St. Thomas to a list with 13 other teams which have won three consecutive girls basketball state championships in Florida.
“We know we are going to have a tough state championship game. We just have to fix the little things.
St. Thomas Aquinas junior Kamryn Corporan fights for control of the ball with Lake Gibson’s Jamila Ray at the FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state semifinals on Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Photo by Bill Kemp
St. Thomas rolled out full-court pressure from the opening tipoff, which didn’t seem to rattle Lake Gibson (16-11) at first, but the Athletics eventually utilized it to take a 20-8 first quarter lead. They stretched it to 42-25 at the half.
“I thought Lake Gibson did a good job of competing in the first half, but we kind of made a spurt at the end of the first quarter and our pressure was starting to get to them. We also came out with a very strong second quarter.”
Berens said he was thrilled with the way his team took care of the basketball and especially the fact the Athletics dished out 23 assists to find the open shooters and outrebounded Lake Gibson 42-27.
“(Assists) is a really high number,” Berens said. “I think the great thing about this team is we play so many different defenses. Throughout the course of the year, we’ve played six or seven different defenses.”
Lake Gibson’s Jamila Ray dribbles the ball up court while guarded by St. Thomas guard Reina Green at the FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state semifinals on Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Photo by Bill Kemp
St. Thomas was led by Nyla McFadden with 27 points and 11 rebounds – five on the offensive glass – while Karina Gordon and Kamryn Corporan both scored 16.
Gordon and Reina Green are the only two members of the team with a chance to win a third straight state championship ring.
“There was no let down coming in here,” Gordon said. “We were down 18 in our (regional) final, so we took nothing for granted.”
Lake Gibson was making its first appearance at the state tournament. The Braves were led by Jamila Ray with 19 points. She was a sizzling 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Braves head coach Antonia Bennett also said she constructed the toughest schedule possible to prepare her team to get to this level.
“It has definitely been a journey,” said Bennett, now in her eighth season. “Each year we chip at it and try to make the schedule more competitive. This year was probably my toughest schedule, but it ended up paying off. It got us here.
“The first part of the season was kind of ugly, we weren’t getting the wins that we wanted but we learned how to compete with the best of them. You can always go out there and beat up on a smaller school, but you are fooling yourself just to get a win.”
St. Thomas won 6A state titles in 2021 and 2022, knocking off Wekiva both times in the title games.
Charlotte 54, Oakleaf 47
LAKELAND, FLORIDA – The third time to a state semifinal proved to be a charm for Charlotte.
The Tarpons (22-6) held off two furious Oakleaf runs to come away with a huge win in the second 6A semifinal Thursday at the RP Funding Center.
Charlotte will now face two-time defending state champions St. Thomas Aquinas in the girls basketball state championship game Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Oakleaf guard Fantasia James goes up for a shot while Charlotte guard Kamie Ellis trails on defense at the FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state semifinals on Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Photo by Bill Kemp
“We’ve been to the semis three times but this will be our first time playing for the championship,” Charlotte coach Matthew Stephenson said. “We were watching St. Thomas. They are a good program but we are going to come out and try to do what you have to do to win a state championship.”
Charlotte was led by Adriana Iorfida with 22 points while D’Yanis Jimenez scored 21 with five rebounds. Collectively, Charlotte shot 56 percent from the field.
St. Thomas beat Charlotte in the 6A semifinals two years ago, leaving the Tarpons ready for this rematch.
“It’s going to be hard but we want to get payback for (two years ago),” Jimenez said. “I think our team can do it. We are a really good team and we are family.”
Charlotte held a 27-18 halftime lead but watched the nine-point lead dwindle in the third quarter after being outscored 13-11. The lead fell to just seven points with five minutes left when Charlotte regrouped and halted the Oakleaf momentum.
Oakleaf (26-3) was led by Fantasia James with 26 points, 11 rebounds and six steals in the loss.
“Oakleaf is a good team, and we knew their two scorers were going to get after it,” Stephenson said. “We withstood their runs. We didn’t do a good job with that. But we handled the adversity and won.”
