Recapping the 2A Finals

Recapping the 2A Finals By Michael Wholey 3/5/22 10:00 AM EST Miami Christian defeated Faith Christian 66-59 to claim the FHSAA 2A State Championship. Miami Christian defeated St. John Neumann, while Faith Christian defeated University Christian in the semi-finals to set up the championship game. Here is a recap of all the action.   <img class=" wp-image-394813 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/Samantha-Vales-2019-PC-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="117" height="176" />Miami Christian defeated St. John Neumann fairly convincingly jumping out to a 16-6 lead after 1, and 35-16 at half, and winning 68-47 to advance to the championship game. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="221843" first="Samantha" last="Vales"] was one of four players to score in double digits for the Lady Victors, finishing with 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id="353521" first="Victoria" last="Aranguren"] added 13 points, while the Gonzalez sisters, Ziul (12 points) and Enjulina (11 points) all eclipsed double digits. Miami Christian lead the entire game and lead by as much as 25 points in the 3rd quarter. The win was even more impressive seeing how they got outrebounded 45-29 but they used full court and half court pressure to turn St. John Neuman over, grabbing 20 steals and forcing 29 turnovers.   <img class=" wp-image-204319 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/09/80-Enjulina-Gonzalez-2.jpg" alt="" width="270" height="180" />The championship game was a bit more competitive, but Miami Christian once again never trailed, and led by as much as 18 in the 3rd, defeating # 1 seed Faith Christian 66-59 to claim the 2A State Championship. Miami Christian once again had four players in double digits, this time with Eizaenirya Allende jumping into the action dropping 12 points. Mercer signee [player_tooltip player_id="154908" first="Enjulina" last="Gonzalez"] led all scorers and finished with an impressive and efficient stat line (24 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals on 7/10 from field and 10/11 from free throw line. [player_tooltip player_id="221843" first="Samantha" last="Vales"] once again reached double digits with 10, as did [player_tooltip player_id="244205" first="Ziul" last="Gonzalez"] who went 7/9 from the field for 15 points. <img class=" wp-image-394815 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/FIQhLKqXsAEd_RZ-e1646161199692-229x300.jpeg" alt="" width="132" height="173" />Faith Christian entered the tournament as the # 1 seed with a 26-4 record. They defeated University Christian 37-33 to match up against Miami Christian in the finals. In the semi-final game, Faith Christian led by 11 with 6:21 left and did not score for the remainder of the game, holding on to win by 4. [player_tooltip player_id="243908" first="Ciara" last="Hayes"] showed why she is ranked so highly in the Prep Girls Hoops Florida rankings, playing all 32 minutes, scoring 15 points on 6/10 from field and 3/5 from 3. [player_tooltip player_id="248305" first="Celina" last="Forine"] gave Faith Christian an inside presence and impacted the paint by grabbing 9 rebounds (6 offensive) to go along with 4 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals while [player_tooltip player_id="249438" first="Victoria" last="Rodriguez"] came off the bench to score 7 points.   <img class="wp-image-385646 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/Patterson-2024-Faith-scaled-e1646161276405-185x300.jpg" alt="" width="116" height="188" />In the finals, Faith Christian was much more effective offensively but in the end, it was not enough as they fell 66-59 in the championship game. [player_tooltip player_id="248306" first="Camryn" last="Patterson"] did her best to keep Faith Christian in the game, scoring 21 points on 9/11 from the field while [player_tooltip player_id="243908" first="Ciara" last="Hayes"] once again scored double digits with 14 points and [player_tooltip player_id="248305" first="Celina" last="Forine"] chipped in with 10. And although they scored 59 points on 47% from the field, it was their defense that struggled as Miami Christian shot an impressive 68% from the field, scoring 66 points on 34 field goals, shooting 19 less shots than Faith Christian going 23/34 from field along with 17/22 from the free throw line. Look to see Faith Christian quite a bit, as they feature one of the state’s youngest rosters, and should they keep their core roster intact, should be a consistent visitor in Lakeland for years to come.   University Christian arrived in Lakeland fresh off a big 55-53 win over Florida A&M in the regional final and finished the regular season as one of the state’s top defensive teams statistically holding teams to just 28.3 points per game. University Christian did their part on the defensive end, holding Faith Christian to just 37 points but ultimately could only muster up 33 points with Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id="353625" first="Taijshiah" last="Baldwin"] accounting for more than half of those dropping 18 points. University Christian needed more contributions offensively but Senior Forward Monique Cepeda was held to 8 points, while [player_tooltip player_id="247154" first="Yakiya" last="Milton"] was held to just 5 points. In the other semi-final matchup, St. John Neumann fell to Miami Christian 68-47 despite Senior forward Leah Martin-Gonzalez scoring 15 points and Sophomore Forward Sophie McCartney accomplishing the rare feat of a 20/20 game dropping 22 points and snagging 20 rebounds. The combined 37 points by Martin-Gonzales and McCartney were not enough as Miami Christian shot an impressive 43% from the field to go alone with 13/22 from free throw line.   Michael Wholey 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.