Recapping the 1A Finals

<strong>Recapping the 1A Finals </strong> By Michael Wholey 3/6/22 6:00 PM EST <em>Ponce De Leon took home the 1A State Championship by defeating Wildwood.  Madison County and Port St. Joe made it to Lakeland but could not advance in the semi-finals.  Here is a recap of all the action.   </em> &nbsp; Ponce De Leon trailed Wildwood by 9 points in the first quarter but outscored Wildwood 21-11 in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters and held off a furious comeback in the fourth to win the 1A State Championship over Wildwood 39-38.  The game featured five lead changes and a tight low scoring defensive battle but in the end <strong>Carmen Jones</strong> and <strong>Nevaeh McCoy</strong> put Ponce De Leon on their back scoring 30 of their teams 39 points and lead their squad to victory.  The performance by McCoy and Jones was not a surprise as the two entered the game as the team’s leading scorers and rebounders with <strong>Nevaeh McCoy</strong> averaging 13 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and <strong>Carmen Jones</strong> averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.  Jones was hot from the outside knocking down 4/10 from 3 while McCoy relied on a balance of scores at the rim and getting to the free throw line where she went 4/4 and finished with a double-double also grabbing 10 rebounds (4 of them offensive). &nbsp; It was much of the same in the semi-final game with Jones and McCoy once again leading their team in scoring and <strong>Lindy Motley</strong> also reaching double digits.  Jones went for 14 points to along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals on 5/13 from the field and ¾ from 3.  McCoy again got to the free throw line scoring 10 of her 14 points from the charity stripe, going a perfect 10/10 from the line in the semi-final and a perfect 14/14 combined in both games.  Lindy Motley jumped in the action going 6/8 from the field for 13 points in a game where Ponce De Leon exhibited supreme dominance and intense defensive lock down holding Madison County to single digits in 3 of the 4 quarters including just 2 points in the 3^rd quarter outscoring them 17-2 on the way to a 52-22 rout. &nbsp; <img class="size-medium wp-image-208715 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/10/95-Kailani-Lindsey-2-e1623250217483-300x277.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="277" />Wildwood jumped on Port St Joe early in the first half jumping out to a 22-4 lead after 1^st quarter and then held on, getting outscored by 7 in the second half but coming away with the 51-39 victory and earning them an appearance in the championship game.  For Wildwood, it was their 3^rd straight trip to Lakeland and they relied heavily on their two go-to players Senior Center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91645" first="Kailani" last="Lindsey"]</strong> and Freshman <strong>Trinidy Harris</strong>.  Harris paced the way in scoring, dropping 17 while Lindsey grabbed 9 rebounds to go along 11 points.  Ultimately Wildwood defense was too much for Port St Joe to handle, as Wildwood had 18 steals and forced 29 turnovers. In the finals, Wildwood defense was not as impactful as they only collected 10 steals and only force 18 turnovers.  Harris again led them in scoring, nothing 11 points on 5/17 from the field but they really struggled from 3, shooting 2/12 as a team and only scored double digit points in the final quarter.  Ultimately their fourth quarter push was too little, too late as they fell 39-38 to Ponce De Leon. &nbsp; For Port St Joe, turnovers decided the game, as Wildwood forced them into 29 turnovers and Port St Joe could only muster 39 points.  <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="353524" first="Mimi" last="Larry"]</strong> scored nearly half of her teams’ points, dropping 16 on 5/15 from the field while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="353534" first="Amani" last="Jones"]</strong> grabbed double digit rebounds with 10.  Wildwood did a great job holding Port St Joe three leading scorers well below their averages.  Jae Lennox was held to just 6 points after leading her team in scoring during the regular season with 16 PPG, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="353534" first="Amani" last="Jones"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="352554" first="Mari" last="Johnson"]</strong> were both held to 4 points each after averaging over 10 PPG. &nbsp; In the other sem-final game, Madison County fell to Ponce De Leon in a 52-22 route.  Madison County had depended on a great deal of scoring from their big 3 <strong>Janiyah McKnight</strong>, <strong>Nia Long</strong>, and <strong>Dakayla Hopkins</strong>.  During the regular season they averaged over 35 points per game but McKnight was held to 2, Hopkins to 4, and Hopkins was Madison lone player in double digits scoring half of her teams points with 10. &nbsp; <strong>Michael Wholey</strong> is the lead scout for Florida Prep Girls Hoop Florida and a former division one Assistant Coach at American University, University of Memphis, and Georgia Tech.  Wholey and the rest of the Prep Girls Hoop staff, seek to cover the entire state of player, keeping subscribers up to date with player evaluations, recruiting info, and statewide news.  Our audience often supplies us with some of our best information.  If you have any information on players, teams, or statewide news in the state of Florida, emailing Michael Wholey at <a href="mailto:WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com">WholeyPrepHoops@gmail.com</a> or DM him through Twitter or Instagram @WholeyPrepHoops.