SBLive Florida Girls Basketball Power 25: Montverde Academy and Dr. Phillips end the season as our No. 1-2 teams in the Sunshine State

The girls basketball season has finally concluded and seven state champions were crowned at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. All throughout the season, Montverde Academy and DME Academy held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, but Dr. Phillips made its push and will round out the season at our runner-up spot to the nationally ranked Eagles. Several other teams impressed at the state championships and it might've been enough to move them into our final girls basketball Power 25 rankings of the 2022-2023 season. Checkout our final rankings of the season and let us know what you think. 

Find the complete final breakdown of the SBLive Florida Girls Basketball Power 25:

1. Montverde Academy (24-1): The Eagles are coming off their first national championship (Geico High School Nationals) and return a star-studded cast of players. Players like Lety Vasconcelos, Sahnya Jah and Mjracle Sheppard are the primary players to watch for over at Montverde Academy. Montverde Academy lost its first game of the season to Sidwell Friends 65-53.

2. Dr. Phillips (30-1): When Trinity Turner is around, all is well with the Panthers. They displayed that when she stays out of foul trouble, Dr. Phillips is as good as they come. The Panthers brought home the Class 7A state championship, defeating an upset-minded Winter Haven squad. Dr. Phillips proved they are the state's No. 2 club. 

3. Lake Highland Prep (25-6): Early season wins against St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami Country Day proved to be big games early on in the 2022-2023 campaign. With players like guard Eleecia Carter, Bri Rivera and Lexi Blue make this team extremely formidable. A 61-56 loss to Montverde Academy told us this Lake Highland team isn’t far off from the top spot. The Highlanders won the Class 4A state championship and defeated Bishop Kenny in a comeback 55-45 win. It's the fourth straight title for the program. 

4. St. Thomas Aquinas (24-8): Coming off a stellar 27-4 season and winning the Class 6A state championship over Wekiva, the Raiders brought back the bulk of their roster and pulled it off again. St. Thomas Aquinas cruised to a 67-43 win in the Class 6A state championship game against Charlotte. The star-studded cast for the Raiders ended up saving their best basketball for last.

5. Winter Haven (24-5): Losing guard/forward Kayla Smith is tough, but this Blue Devils team returns plenty of talent across the board and nearly won a state championship. Head coach Johnnie Lawson will bring back a youthful bunch for the 2023-2024 season and should be a contender once again for the Class 7A crown. The Blue Devils fell 47-43 to Dr. Phillips, our No. 2 team in these rankings. 

6. Palm Bay (21-9): Avenging an earlier season loss to Miami Country Day and routing them the second time around 55-42, gives validation that Palm Bay had to be re-inserted into the Power 25 rankings. The Pirates also defeated St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Mooney as well. Palm Bay won the Class 4A, District 8 championship and defeated Lake Weir 81-14 in the region quarterfinals. Pirates lost to Lake Highland Prep in the region final. 

7. Blanche Ely (22-4): Only losses on the year came up against Legacy Early College (SC), Miami Country Day and St. Thomas Aquinas. The Tigers have met every other challenge and just recently defeated Westminster Academy 50-49, catapulting this team into the top 10. Blanche Ely clinched winning the Class 6A, District 13 championship, but fell to St. Thomas Aquinas in the region final. 

8. Miami Country Day (25-7): Seven state championships in eight years isn’t too shabby. The Spartans are back and though Andrea Daley is now to George Washington for college ball, this program is always one of the state’s best. Country Day won the Class 3A state championship against Cardinal Mooney despite playing without leading scorer Kayla Nelms. 

9. IMG Academy (12-13): This Ascenders group has the talent to be the best in country compared to recent years. A loss to Seffner Christian drops IMG Academy in our rankings. IMG Academy brings back Virginia commitment Olivia McGhee to the roster and Kelis Fisher arrives with a new offer from UConn. The Ascenders fell to Montverde Academy in their last game 67-56.

10. Cardinal Mooney (21-6): The Cougars have had one of the more impressive starts to the season as the notched key victories over Faith Christian, Chaminade-Madonna and Lakewood. Key matchups against Bell Creek Academy, Calvary Christian and Bradenton Christian coming up. Cougars dropped their first game of the season to Seffner Christian. The Cougars won the Class 3A, District 11 championship and cruised past Bishop Verot in the first round. Cardinal Mooney ended the season with 54-38 loss to Miami Country Day in the Class 3A title game. 

11. DME Academy (20-7): DME Academy is just about as talented as they come. The team is averaging 59.2 points per game and is led by a slew of talented players, including Minnesota commit Dominika Paurova. A loss to Central Pointe drops DME Academy in our rankings.

12. Central Pointe Christian (20-5): You might see the White Tigers have losses to their record already, but they’re against the No. 1 team Montverde Academy, No. 2 DME Academy and Elizabeth Seton (MD). Point guard Sofia Munoz is one of the team’s top players back on the roster.

13. Bishop Kenny (30-2): An early season 40-35 loss against Westminster Academy showed where this Crusaders club is exactly at. Clare Coyle, a junior forward, leads Bishop Kenny with 11.5 points per contest through 27 games. Bishop Kenny won the Class 4A, District 4 championship and beat West Florida 66-28 in the region quarterfinal round. Bishop Kenny's season ended with a 55-45 loss to Lake Highland Prep in the Class 4A state title game. 

14. Dillard (19-9): So this was a long time coming in getting the Panthers put into our Power 25, but this team has the viable wins to back it up. Dillard has defeated South Florida powers like St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaminade-Madonna and Everglades. It’s no surprise they’re getting it done throughout the season and heading into districts. The Panthers defeated Everglades 53-32 to open up the Class 6A playoffs before falling to St. Thomas Aquinas. 

15. Mainland (21-8): The Buccaneers started off the season with a 72-43 loss to Montverde Academy, which isn't a bad mark against them. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Mainland finished carrying the Class 5A state championship out of the RP Funding Center in an impressive 72-61 win over Plantation American Heritage. 

16. Plantation American Heritage (23-8): It was a rout in the Class 5A state championship game over Orlando Bishop Moore last year and the Patriots returned to states, losing to Mainland 72-61. Plantation American Heritage is led by Sydni Studesville, who is the top returning point scorer from a year ago. The Patriots won the Class 5A, District 14 championship and defeated North Miami handily to start the postseason. 

17. Colonial (21-9): The Grenadiers fell to Hagerty in the Class 7A, District 4 championship game, but just by a single point. This team still has plenty of enough talent to make a run through the playoffs and who knows, maybe see Hagerty once more time. Colonial defeated West Port to reach the region semifinals and lost to Winter Haven 61-52 to end their playoff run. 

18. Faith Christian (16-11): The Lions were a tough team to get any kind of read on throughout the season. Though they had strong victories against teams like King's Academy and St. Johns Country Day, losses piled up among some of the state's elites. That's actually what made them better come playoff time and eventually defeating Horeb Christian for the Class 2A title. 

19. Westminster Academy (22-8): The defending Class 3A state champions from a year ago bring back a very talented roster, which features sophomore guard Lena Girardi. If that last name sounds familiar, she’s the daughter of former MLB manager Joe Girardi. The Lions fall after dropping two in a row last week. The Lions won the Class 3A, District 14 title over Miami Country Day Last week and beat Ransom Everglades to begin the postseason. In the rematch with Country Day, the Lions lost 55-39 in the region final. 

20. Miami (23-6): Miami has been playing solid basketball all season long as they’re coming off a 69-47 win over Lourdes Academy. The Stingarees has proven victories over Horeb Christian and Doral Academy. Miami snatched the Class 7A, District 16 championship last week and defeated Cypress Bay 62-33 in the region quarterfinals. The Stingarees played Dr. Phillips tough in a 40-31 Class 7A state semifina loss. 

21. Plant (25-5): When you look at the Panthers’ schedule, they are preparing to be a team in making another deep playoff run. The team’s go-to-player is senior guard/forward Morgan Sieper, who is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game. A recent loss to Palm Bay doesn’t drop Plant in our rankings. The Panthers won the Class 7A, District 10 crown over Sickles last week and face No. 23 Venice in the region semifinals before losing to Winter Haven in the region final. 

22. Hagerty (27-2): Though the Huskies make a big leap into our Power 25 poll, this probably should've happen sooner. A 51-50 win over Colonial for the Class 7A, District 4 championship provided more than enough convincing that Hagerty should be included in this week's rankings. The Huskies defeated Ocoee 50-33 in a region quarterfinal matchup and lost in the rematch against Colonial in the region semis. 

23. Seffner Christian (25-5): The Crusaders entered the Power 25 rankings for the first time this season after pulling off a victory over Cardinal Mooney. Seffner Christian’s losses are to Sarasota Booker, McGill-Tookes (AL), McDonogh (MD) and Liberty (NV). The Crusaders won the Class 3A, District 7 championship and defeated The First Academy in the region quarterfinal. Seffner's season ended in the region final, a 60-50 loss to The King's Academy. 

24. Somerset Academy Silver Palms (21-5): The Stallions have been in our rankings before and return after picking up an impressive 71-62 victory over No. 21 ranked Miami. Ashley Martinez (13.9 points), Shanaii Gamble (14.6 points) and Victoria Valle (14.2 points) are the team’s leading scorers. The Stallions pulled away winning the Class 3A, District 16 crown, but their season ended in a 59-50 loss to No. 19 Westminster Academy. 

25. Charlotte (22-7): The Fightin' Tarpons lived up to the billing and gave it a strong run through the Class 6A playoffs. Defeating Oakleaf in the state semifinals led to a matchup with St. Thomas Aquinas, in which Charlotte fell 67-43. Charlotte had a solid season all the way around, including victories over Plant, Oak Ridge and Sarasota Booker.  

Teams on the bubble: Academy of the Holy Names, Bishop Moore, Bloomingdale, Bolles, Brooks-DeBartolo, Cardinal Gibbons, Clearwater, Edgewater, Fort Walton Beach, Hawthorne, Horeb Christian, King's Academy, Nease, North Broward Prep, Oakleaf, Ponce De Leon, Sarasota Booker, St. Johns Country Day, Rutherford, The King's Academy, Wildwood

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.