BCAA and GMAC Titles Claimed by Blanche Ely and Norland
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BCAA and GMAC Titles Claimed by Blanche Ely and Norland By Michael Wholey 2/2/21 5:00 PM EST Broward and Dade County annually host the BCAA and GMAC Tournaments at the end of the regular season and before the start of…
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Continue ReadingBCAA and GMAC Titles Claimed by Blanche Ely and Norland
By Michael Wholey 2/2/21 5:00 PM EST
Broward and Dade County annually host the BCAA and GMAC Tournaments at the end of the regular season and before the start of the FHSAA State Playoffs. Recently two champions were crowned.
Blanche Ely Claims BCAA Title with 3-Pointer by Freshman Phenom
Hosted over a four-day period at multiple sites, the BCAA hosted its annual tournament last week featuring 8 teams from Broward County. In dramatic fashion Blanche Ely defeated St Thomas Aquinas 57-54 on a game winning 3-pointer by Freshman Janessa Kelley Janessa Kelley 5'9" | SG Blanche Ely | 2024 State FL to win their second consecutive Big 8 title. Tied at 54, Junior Michiyah Simmons Michiyah Simmons 5'8" | PG Blanche Ely | 2022 State FL split several defenders in the open court and found Kelley in the corner for 3. The 5’9 lefty drained the open shot to give Ely a 57-54 lead with 10.8 seconds to go. Check out the shot here:
Facing each other for the second time this season, the game was back and forth with Simmons and St Thomas Aquinas hard Breanna Gustave Breanna Gustave 5'7" | CG St. Thomas Aquinas | 2022 State FL setting the pace early for their respective teams each of them reaching double digits in the first half. Simmons led Ely with 22 points, while University of Miami signee Ja’Leah Williams Ja’Leah Williams 5'9" | CG Blanche Ely | 2021 State FL did her thing scoring 17 points. Kelley finished with 9 points (all from the 3-point line), while Junior Mya Kone Mya Kone 6'1" | SF Blanche Ely | 2022 State FL added 3 points and an impressive 13 rebounds. For St. Thomas, sophomore Karina Gordon Karina Gordon 5'8" | CG St. Thomas Aquinas | 2023 State FL led the team with 19 points and Gustave had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Gordon was named to the All Tournament team while Simmons was named Tournament MVP.
Norland defeats Miami Senior High School for GMAC Championship
Behind 15 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds from Jaiyah Harris-Smith Jaiyah Harris-Smith 5'7" | PG Norland | 2021 State FL , Norland defeated the defending champions Miami Senior High School to win the GMAC Championship. Freshman post Ka’Zahria Johnson had a double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds to go along with 3 blocks and Emoriah Mchenry Emoriah Mchenry 5'9" | SF Norland HS | 2023 State FL added 9 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
For the Miami Lady Stingarees Janay Quinn Janay Quinn 5'2" | PG Miami Sr. HS | 2022 State FL scored 10 while Kiara Cruz Kiara Cruz 5'4" | SG Miami Sr HS | 2021 State FL added 7 points.
BCAA Semi-Finals
Blanche Ely 92 – Western HS 45
Blanche Ely jumped out to a 14-0 lead to start the game and never looked back. Michiyah Simmons Michiyah Simmons 5'8" | PG Blanche Ely | 2022 State FL paced the Tigers early finishing with 18 1st half points. University of Miami signee Ja’Leah Williams Ja’Leah Williams 5'9" | CG Blanche Ely | 2021 State FL led Ely with 20 points. Junior Zaria Blake Zaria Blake 6'0" | SF Blanche Ely | 2022 State FL had 18 points, Junior Mya Kone Mya Kone 6'1" | SF Blanche Ely | 2022 State FL had 16 points and freshman Janessa Kelly had 12 points. Taja Stephens Taja Stephens 5'8" | CG Western | 2022 State FL led Western with 26 points.
St Thomas Aquinas 67 – Dillard 30
In what Head Coach Oliver Berens described as STA’s best game of the season, St Thomas Aquinas jumped on Dillard for a 37 point blowout behind a 21-4 second quarter! St. Thomas featured a balanced offense on Friday. 2022s Karina Gordon Karina Gordon 5'8" | CG St. Thomas Aquinas | 2023 State FL and Maya Williams Maya Williams 5'6" | CG St Thomas Aquinas | 2022 State FL led St. Thomas in scoring with Gordon finishing with 16 points and Williams dropping 15. Arkansas signee Samara Spencer Samara Spencer 5'8" | CG St Thomas Aquinas | 2021 State FL chipped in with 14 points and Junior Forward Jada Green Jada Green 6'0" | PF St. Thomas Aquinas | 2022 State FL had a solid all-around performance.
BCAA First Round
Western HS 73 – Cardinal Gibbons 69
In the best opening round game of the event, Western defeated Cardinal Gibbons 73-69 behind 2022 Taja Stephens Taja Stephens 5'8" | CG Western | 2022 State FL impressive 4th quarter performance. The 5’9 guard at one point scored 8 straight points including the go-ahead basket to give Western the lead 70-69 with 18 seconds to go. Western outscored Gibbons 22-9 in the final quarter. In total Stephens was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points, 14 of which came in the final quarter to lead Western to the win. Jordan Provato (13 points), Alana Sharpe Alana Sharpe 6'0" | C Western | 2021 State FL (13 points), and Tamara Elliot (11 points) all reached double figures for Western giving them a balanced offensive attack. Flagler signee Sharale McCormick Sharale McCormick 5'10" | SG Cardinal Gibbons | 2021 State FL led Cardinal Gibbons with 22 points while Ashleigh Battle Ashleigh Battle 5'2" | PG Blanche Ely | 2023 State FL and Chloe Celler Chloe Celler 5'8" | SF Cardinal Gibbons | 2022 State FL each had 14 points.
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