Florida Prospects Thanksgiving Invitational Recap

Florida Prospects Thanksgiving Invitational November 27-28, 2020 Recap By Michael Wholey 12/9/20 9:00 AM EST We are 3 weeks into the High School season. Many teams kicked off their season playing in tournaments around the Thanksgiving Holidays. Here is a look at some of the scores and top performances at the Florida Prospects Thanksgiving Invitational November 27-28. Day 1 Results (November 27) Lake Mary (59) Haines City (34) Palm Bay (72) West Orange (46) Colonial (70) Jax Raines (50) Lake Highland Prep (55) Miami Country Day (33) Wekiva (53) St Pete Lakewood (44) Montverde Academy (76) Seffner Christian (37) Winter Haven (71) Dr Phillips (36) Day 2 Results (November 28) Colonial (55) Gainesville (16) Jax Raines (48) Lake Mary (46) Dr. Phillips (50) West Oaks (47) Wekiva (68) Seffner Christian (59) Timber Creek (53) Miami Country Day (47) Montverde Academy (58) St Pete Lakewood (24) Lake Highland (51) Palm Bay (37) Winter Haven (91) West Orange (62) Colonial HS finished the event 2-0, helping head coach Cindy Richardson her 300^th career victory in their 2^nd game of the event on November 28 vs Gainesville. Sophomore Milan Santos was the start in game # 1 drooping 26 points on an impressive 10/16 shooting while everyone jumped into the box score in the romp over Raines with 10 players scoring and Santos going for double digits again for a 2^nd game in a row. Lake Highland Prep put on display why there are considered not only the state’s #1 team, but the nations pre-season favorite as ranked by Maxpreps. They knocked off perennial powerhouse Miami Country Day 55-33 in convincing fashion and then it potentially the most anticipated game of the event took down Palm Bay 51-37 on day # 2. It is going to be a challenge for opponents to match up against LHP all season. They are deep and talented and the front court of 2022 6’2 Nyla Harris Nyla Harris 6'2" | PF Lake Highland Prep | 2022 State #34 Nation FL and 2021 6’1 Alabama signee Kayla Blackshear Kayla Blackshear 6'1" | PF Lake Highland Prep | 2021 State #61 Nation FL is pretty much impossible to match up against at the High School level. Repeat after me, the Winter Haven Lady Blue Devils are for real! Winter Haven showed they are going to be a force to be reckoned with all season picking up two victories in a very convincing manner taking down Dr Phillips 71-36 on day # 1 and the defeating West Orange 91-62 on day # 2 in the final game of the event. The Tampa Bay Tech transfers Jayla Murray Jayla Murray 6'1" | SF Winter Haven | 2021 State FL and Jasmine Peaks Jasmine Peaks 5'6" | CG Winter Haven HS | 2021 State FL made their presence known early and often, impacting the game on both ends of the floor. Murray is leading the team in scoring and Peaks is the team’s leader in assists. Montverde Academy was impressive winning both their games by 30+ points each. If there is any team in the state that may be able to match up against Lake Highland Prep’s front court of Nyla Harris Nyla Harris 6'2" | PF Lake Highland Prep | 2022 State #34 Nation FL and Kayla Blackshear Kayla Blackshear 6'1" | PF Lake Highland Prep | 2021 State #61 Nation FL it might be Montverde’s frontcourt duo of 2021 6’2 Florida State signee Mariana Valenzuela Mariana Valenzuela 6'2" | PF Montverde Academy | 2021 State FL and 2022 6’6 Fatima Diakhate Fatima Diakhate 6'6" | C Montverde Academy | 2022 State FL . Valenzuela went for 14 points and 9 rebounds in game # 1 while Diakhate went for 17 points and 10 rebounds against Seffner Christian. Valenzuela followed up game # 1 with 12 points on 6/8 shooting in game # 2 vs St Pete Lakwood. 2022 Fernanda Ovalle Fernanda Ovalle 5'11" | SF Montverde Academy | 2022 State FL and 2023 Rusne Augustinaite Rusne Augustinaite 5'10" | CG Montverde Academy | 2023 State FL were both impressive as well and allow Montverde to spread the floor from the perimeter positions. Head Coach Tommie Butts had his Wekiva squad ready to play as they went undefeated in the event picking up two solid wins vs St Pete Lakewood and Seffner Christian. Freshman 5’6 Guard Jade Eads (Class of 2024) is going to be an intriguing prospect to follow and monitor her development. Miami Country Day struggled losing both their games vs two difficult opponents. They have never been one to shy away from playing the best of the best across the state and nationally. They looked like a team that needs some time to build team chemistry and define their roles. They will rely heavily on Senior Forward Andrea Daley Andrea Daley 6'0" | SF Miami Country Day | 2021 State FL who recently signed with George Washington, Freshman post Kayla Nelms Kayla Nelms 6'1" | PF Miami Country Day | 2024 State FL , and a host of Sophomores including Cypress Bay transfer Aicha Keita Aicha Keita 6'1" | SF Miami Country Day | 2023 State FL , Bella Guevara, and Kristina Godfrey. West Oaks lost their lone game in the event but it was my first time to see the Ring sisters at their new school. 2021 Embry Riddle signee Amou Ring Amou Ring 6'2" | PF West Oaks Academy | 2021 State FL is a 6’3 wing that has a ton of potential and an extremely intriguing combination of length, athleticism and skill while 2022 Adout Ring Adout Ring 6'3" | PF West Oaks Academy | 2022 State FL showcases more of an interior game at 6’4. 2021 Mesi Triplett Mesi Triplett 6'3" | C West Oaks Academy | 2021 State FL and 2024 Paris Triplett are a second pair of sisters that suited up for West Oaks. All four are 6’2 and over and there are very few teams that have that type of height and length on one team. West Orange went 0-2 in the event but potentially played two of the top teams in the state. 2022 Guard Ajalon Gillard Ajalon Gillard 5'9" | CG West Orange | 2022 State FL is one of our spring/summer stock risers and she showcased her versatility and scoring ability while 2021s and 6’1 Post Lakada Bryant Lakada Bryant 6'1" | PF West Orange | 2021 State FL displayed why they are two of the state’s top unsigned Seniors with Bryant going for 14 points and 15 rebounds in the loss to Winter Haven. Lake Mary went 1-1 defeating Haines City convincingly to open up the event and losing by two 48-46 to Raines in one of the most competitive games of the event. Sophomores Jordan Boddie Jordan Boddie 5'9" | CG Lake Mary | 2023 State FL and Anika Kinnear were new faces to me that were impressive in the tough loss to Raines and Senior Bri Gallon got hot from outside knocking down 3/6 from 3! St Pete Lakewood took on two of the top teams in event and went down swinging. They were overmatched by two more talented teams but fought and competed hard in both games. They will rely heavily on 5’7 Junior Guard Reilly Webb Reilly Webb 5'9" | CG Lakewood | 2022 State FL to do it all. She is an energizer bunny who is on go made running 100 miles an hour on both ends of the floor from tip off to final buzzer!