Class 7A: Top Players at Lakeland

The FHSAA State Tournament took place from Wednesday the 23rd until Saturday the 26th in Lakeland at the RP Funding Center. In Game One, Vero Beach hung with Dr. Phillips until the second half in a high-paced game that DP took 79-57. Game Two was a thriller that saw Colonial nearly come back, but they took the L to Miami High by a score of 56-53. The State Championship just might have been the best game of the week with Dr. Phillips storming back in the second half to take a 47-45 State Title behind [player_tooltip player_id="247197" first="Asiana" last="Govan"]’s only made shot of the night - a 3 ball with 22 seconds left to put them up by 2. Here were the top players who showed out in Class 7A on the big stage: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91573" first="Kalea" last="Rainey"] | Dr. Phillips - MVP</strong> It was tough to pick the MVP, but I had to give it to Kalea after the sequence she had to end the State Championship game. She scored a bucket to get them within one, took a gamble and helped get a steal, and then assisted on the game-winning shot. In the semifinal game, she led the team in scoring with 23 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Her shot was consistent, she made some big plays, and she was just so clutch in both games. Kalea put up 12 in the State Championship and helped lead her team with a lot of hustle plays and energy as a key Senior on a young team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="248320" first="Trinity" last="Turner"] | Dr. Phillips </strong> Trinity showcased all week why she’s one of the best 2024 guards in the state. In game one, she had a 22 point/11 rebound double double with 3 assists and steals as well. Her spin move is nasty, she gets good height on her jump shot, and she really controls the pace as a talented/poised PG. She led the team in scoring in the State Championship with 19 points to go along with 6 boards and 4 assists. Power 5 talent for sure. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243961" first="Janay" last="Quinn"] | Miami</strong> Janay has been a mainstay at Lakeland during her career. She helped put Colonial away in the semifinal game with 20 points on some deep 3’s that complimented her 4 steals/assists/rebounds. In that game, she hit some big FT’s and had a nasty no-look pass. The Senior shot it well again in the Championship as the teams leading scoring with 11 points and 4 boards. Her career was just about as good as one’s could get with the amount of success the Stingarees saw. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="346835" first="Jaida" last="Civil"] | Vero Beach</strong> Jaida might have been the most athletic player I saw all week. When she starts driving the ball downhill, she’s hard to stop. She’s long, smooth, crafty, and can elevate in a hurry to finish or swat a shot away. Jaida finished with a massive double double of 18 points and 16 rebounds in the semifinal loss. <strong>Davionne Stinson | Vero Beach</strong> Davionne was just about as consistent as you can get. Small in size, but she’s got a lot of speed and can finish amongst the bigs. Her game was very opportunistic and she took advantage of the weak spots of her opponents and benefited from the impressive play of Jaida and the VB squad. In the semifinal loss, she had 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists on over 50% shooting from the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="243934" first="Milan" last="Santos"] | Colonial</strong> In a game that Colonial struggled to shoot it, Milan stepped up to hit the team’s only four 3’s on her 8 attempts. She finished with a team-high 14 points, 5 boards, and 4 steals. The second quarter really hurt Colonial in this game, but Milan used her speed and made some big shots that gave them a chance. The Grenadiers will be back with some really talented returners coming back for next season that include the two listed here as well as [player_tooltip player_id="243892" first="Carmen" last="Richardson"]. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="166212" first="Sophya" last="Barreiro"] | Colonial</strong> Sophya was the only player on the team to shoot the ball over 50% in the semifinal loss. She led the team in assists (4) and steals (6) and had 12 points. In the first half, she actually didn’t even score but she was huge in the second half for Colonial. Her energy gave the team a spark, and she had some true hustle plays that led to much needed offense for her team. <hr /> <p style="text-align: center;">Your 7A State Champs - Dr. Phillips!</p> <img class=" wp-image-395519 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/7A-DP-300x268.jpg" alt="" width="367" height="328" />