Lake Highland Prep defeats Montverde to Claim Top Spot in FL

Lake Highland Prep defeats Montverde Academy to Claim Top Spot in Florida By Michael Wholey 1/11/21 9:00 AM EST Montverde Academy and Lake Highland Prep are Florida’s # 1 and # 2 ranked teams and are both ranked top 5 nationally. They squared this past week with Lake Highland Prep coming out on top. Here is our recap. Tied at 6 a piece early in the 1st quarter, it was a great matchup between the lead guards for both teams, [player_tooltip player_id="219933" first="Mjracle" last="Sheppard"] for Montverde Academy and [player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"] for Lake Highland Prep. Early on Sheppard controlled the game by getting to the rim and setting up her teammates for baskets. The impressive front court of both teams ([player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"] and [player_tooltip player_id="91496" first="Kayla" last="Blackshear"] for Lake Highland Prep and [player_tooltip player_id="145091" first="Mariana" last="Valenzuela"] and [player_tooltip player_id="219954" first="Fatima" last="Diakhate"] for Montverde Academy) neutralized each other. Both teams played solid defense early and brought a ton of energy! Guard play was definitely the deciding factor in the 1st quarter with Lake Highland Prep [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"] heating up from outside knocking down two 3-pointers and helping Lake Highland Prep to a 17-12 1st quarter lead. [player_tooltip player_id="219933" first="Mjracle" last="Sheppard"] lead Montverde scoring 8 of the teams 12 points while [player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"] and [player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"] each finished with 6 points. It was obvious that both the Head Coaches from both teams (Al Honor and Special Jennings) spoke with their teams after the 1st quarter about getting the post players involved and look to play inside out as both teams went to high post touches to Blackshear and Harris for Lake Highland Prep and Valenzuela for Montverde. Ultimately Lake Highland Prep went on a running increasing their lead to 31-15 by getting straight line drives to the rim and kicking to 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"] and 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="217666" first="Briana" last="Rivera"] for corner 3s. With Lake Highland getting loose attacking the rim, Montverde over helped from the corners, allowing the sharp shooting duo of Carter and Rivera to get wide open 3s while offensively Montverde was stagnant with limited floor spacing. Sheppard was the only player for Montverde to get anything going on offense, having success in ball screens but it was enough as Lake Highland Prep went into half time up 35-19 after outscoring Montverde 18-7 in the 2nd quarter. At the half, [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"] led all scorings with 17 points including four 3-pointers, while Ingram chipped in with 8. For Montverde, 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"] led the team with 8 points while Sheppard had 6 and Valenzuela had 4. In the 3rd quarter, both teams once again looked to get post touches early where [player_tooltip player_id="219954" first="Fatima" last="Diakhate"] got on the board knocking down a high post jumper and finishing at the rim on a put back. Harris and Blackshear were also effective early on in the 3rd but it was UCF verbal commit [player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"] who continued to establish herself as the games most valuable player through her physical play, finishing ability at the rim, outside shooting, tough defense, and ability to run her team from the point guard position. [player_tooltip player_id="145091" first="Mariana" last="Valenzuela"] had a couple nice buckets by putting it to the floor off high post touches and attacking the rim off the dribble but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Ingram for Lake Highland Prep sent the Sailers into the 4th quarter with a 46-32 lead. In the 4th quarter, Montverde had some success in the two man game with [player_tooltip player_id="145091" first="Mariana" last="Valenzuela"] and [player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"] cutting the deficit down to 48-42 with 4 minutes to go. Lake Highland Prep appeared to get tight on the offensive end with several costly turnovers and Montverde energy and effort really picked up. After being held scoreless for the first 3 ½ quarters, [player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"] (Lake Highland Prep) knocked down a baseline jumper and Rusne Augustaine (Montverde Academy) hit a deep 2 to make it 50-44. After defensive stops and several missed free throws by both teams, Furman signee [player_tooltip player_id="145093" first="Niveya" last="Henley"] knocked down a 3-pointer to bring it within 5 points, making it 52-47 with 1:05 to go. Down the stretch [player_tooltip player_id="217666" first="Briana" last="Rivera"] went 2/2 from the line and [player_tooltip player_id="91496" first="Kayla" last="Blackshear"] went ¾ to seal the victory leading Lake Highland Prep to a 57-47 win. Overall, it was an excellent game between <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/12/seven-florida-teams-ranked-nationally/">two nationally ranked teams</a> who were well coached and played very disciplined. As we <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2021/01/who-is-floridas-number-one-team/">previewed earlier in the week</a>, too often games like this don’t happen due to scheduling and top teams not wanting to play each other. It was a great matchup very enjoyable to watch as a fan with at least 8 players between both teams that can play major division one basketball at the collegiate level. Lake Highland Prep pulled off the win shorthanded with just six players after their Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="91596" first="Sierra" last="Godbolt"] went down with an ACL earlier in the week while helping <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2021/01/florida-brings-home-two-championship-trophies-from-sc/">LHP take home the title in Myrtle Beach</a> and sisters [player_tooltip player_id="243995" first="Priya" last="Gupta"] and Pooja Gupta missed the game due to a family emergency. Lake Highland Prep now stands at 11-0 and has 5 games remaining on their schedule in January with DME Academy and Plant up in the next 2 weeks. Montverde Academy goes to 13-1 on the season and they have DME Academy as well as Wekiva and Central Pointe Academy on the schedule in January. PLAYER EVALUATIONS 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="91496" first="Kayla" last="Blackshear"] (Lake Highland Prep) – 6’1 ALABAMA SIGNEE Recent Alabama signee who had a quiet night but pretty much all the posts did. She active on both ends of the floor and a monster rebounder! While she didn’t get much going on the offensive end, she played hard for the entire 32 minutes and knocked down some clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win. 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="145093" first="Niveya" last="Henley"] (Montverde Academy) - 6’0 Wing/Forward FURMAN SIGNEE Versatile, lefty wing/forward who does a little bit of everything for Montverde. She is a hustle player who plays hard on both ends of the floor and does all the little things and seems to be constantly around the ball. Defensively she can cover 1-4 and can cover a ton of ground with her strong, athletic build and long wingspan. Offensively, she doesn’t do any one thing great but is a well-rounded multiple skill player who can do a bit of everything. She is signed to go to Furman and is one of the players that is hard to take off the court because she is a glue player who plays her role and does all the intangible things and is a good rebounder. 2021 [player_tooltip player_id="145091" first="Mariana" last="Valenzuela"] (Montverde Academy) - 6’2 Forward FSU SIGNEE Valenzuela did not do much to establish herself inside or on the low block as most of her touches were 12-15 feet away from the rim. Offensively she did display the ability to put the ball to the floor from the high post and attacking off the dribble on the baseline. As mentioned above, the post players essentially neutralized each other as there was arguably four future BCS post players on the court (Blackshear – Alabama, Valenzuela – FSU, and Harris and Diakhate being recruited highly). There is no doubt Valenzuela is extremely talented and has a ton of offensive skill. She was very effective on defensive end as a shot blocker and rebounder, just like to see her play more physical and play inside and out, not just on the perimeter. She is <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/10/fsu-lands-two-of-states-top-prospects/">signed to attend Florida State</a> next season. 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="219954" first="Fatima" last="Diakhate"] (Montverde Academy) - 6’4 Center Has an extremely imposing presence on the court just by her sheer size. She was relatively ineffective on the offensive end with her lone points coming off a high post jumper and a put back on an offensive rebound. Having seen her development since 7th grade, she is one of the most improved players. The question remains how will her development progress as her potential is unlimited but when will the production be put on display consistently. At 6’4 she will be followed closely by high major D1 schools monitoring her development because a large majority of them have a player of that size in their conference that they have to go against and there are very few players of her size. 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"] (Lake Highland Prep) - 6’2 Forward Harris had a real quiet night by her standards. The 6’2 post is <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2022-rankings/"># 34 in the Prep Girls Hoops national rankings</a> for the 2022 class and the <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/florida/rankings/2022-rankings/"># 2 ranked player in Florida</a>. She did not appear to be 100% healthy playing with a knee brace and not running the floor as smoothly as I have seen her in the past. She still remains one of my favorite players as she has a unique and rare combination of height, athleticism and skill which is why she is one of the countries most sought after prospects in the 2022 class having <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/11/class-of-2022-whos-next/">narrowed down her recruiting to Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, and NC State</a>. 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="91585" first="Stefanie" last="Ingram"] (Lake Highland Prep) - 5’8 Guard UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA VERBAL COMMIT Was the game’s most impactful player on both ends of the floor. The recent <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/2020/12/florida-roundup-news-around-florida-volume-2/">UCF verbal commit</a> played extremely hard and aggressive on both ends of the floor. She is a strong, tough player with a compact build. She gets after ball handlers on the defensive end keeping penetrators out of the paint and using her strength to body them up. Offensively she can put her head down and take bumps while attacking the rim and can finish vs contact. 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="243965" first="Maria" last="Myklebust"] (Montverde Academy) - 6’0 Wing/Forward Solid 6’0 wing/forward who mainly plays on the perimeter. She is a hustle player who is a good rebounder and is not afraid to play physical and mix it up. She is an intriguing prospect if she can establish herself as a consistent 3 point shooter who can play as a pick and pop, trail 4 player or a big wing! 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="219953" first="Fernanda" last="Ovalle"] (Montverde Academy) - 6’0 Guard/Wing Was Montverde’s best player and leading scorer. She is an extremely skilled offensive player who turned down multiple 3-pointers to get to the rim. She has a nice stroke, ability to finish at the rim and excellent court vision and a high basketball IQ. She is a scorer who can put it in the basketball multiple ways. In my opinion, she almost plays too unselfish and needs to be more assertive on the offensive end as she is a high level talent and one of the state’s most under rated players. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"] (Lake Highland Prep) - 5’7 Guard Smooth stroke with a quick release. Very active on both ends of the floor. Slender build who is most deadly at the off-guard position spotting up for 3 from the corner but is a capable ball handler that can play some point guard position. Her biggest strength is her deep range as she was the player of the game in the 1st half accounting for 17 of Lake Highland Preps 35 first half points. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="219933" first="Mjracle" last="Sheppard"] (Montverde Academy) - 5’8 Guard Sheppard had a relatively quiet night finishing with 8 points with 6 of those coming in the 1st quarter. This was my first-time catching Sheppard play live as she transferred to Montverde from Eastside Catholic in Washington. Through 13 games Sheppard has been a scoring machine having multiple 20+ point games and taking home MVP honors in the She Got Game Classic in Georgia. She is a raw, athletic, combo guard with a slender build. She changes speeds well with the ball in her hands and is very good in ball screens. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="217664" first="Lexi" last="Blue"] (Lake Highland Prep) - 6’0 Wing Long, athletic wing player with an impressive build. She was a bit timid and deferred to her very talented and older teammates. She has a decent perimeter shot and has a ton of potential (check out our recent 2024 rankings where she is # 6). Look for her to be the corner stone of this team over the next 3 years as she builds up confidence, gets stronger, and improves her handle. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id="217666" first="Briana" last="Rivera"] (Lake Highland Prep) - 5’7 Guard Rivera had a quiet night finishing with 7 points coming off the bench. I was looking forward to seeing her sharp shooting on display live after seeing several of her performances where she got hot from outside in Myrtle Beach at the United Bank Holiday Classic where she helped LHP to win their 2nd consecutive championship. She has a nice stroke, solid handle and can play the 1 and the 2. Carter, Blue and Rivera definitely ensure that Lake Highland Prep will continue to be one of the top teams in Florida for the next 3-4 years. Michael Wholey is the Senior Scout of Prep Girls Hoops Florida. You can reach him at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or on <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/WholeyPrepHoops">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.Instagram.com/WholeyPrepHoops">Instagram</a> at <a href="http://www.Twitter.com/WholeyPrepHoops">@WholeyPrepHoops.</a>