Teams to Watch: Broward County

There will be a time and place to talk about some of the top teams in Broward County. I am referring to <strong>Blanche Ely,</strong> <strong>St. Thomas Aquinas</strong>, <strong>American Heritage</strong>, to name a few. Beyond those programs, the 954 has plenty of talented teams. Let’s give them some spotlight. <strong>Deerfield Beach</strong>  - <em>(Last season: 5-8)</em> The Bucks lose a talented player in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="244140" first="Aaliyah" last="Reid"]</strong>. The 5-foot-8 captain averaged 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor. Her play and leadership will need to be replaced. 2024 guard <strong>Arielle Facyson </strong>showed she might be able to fill that void. The 5-foot-6 guard averaged 13.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 31 percent from the field as a freshman. Moreover, she went 24-of-77 (31 percent) from deep. Granted, Facyson needs to shoot the ball better in her sophomore year. She was named honorable mention by the Sun Sentinel. I think Facyson will take that next step in her game. <strong>Northeast - </strong><em>(Last season: 8-8)</em> The Hurricanes will have a new head coach after <strong>Brittney Scott</strong> joined the staff at <strong>FAMU</strong>. Her successor will have a good team returning in Oakland Park. 2023 guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="219936" first="Mariah" last="McKenzie"]</strong> averaged over 15 points and nearly five rebounds per game. Outside of 2021 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="248735" first="Shade" last="Richardson"]</strong>, the Hurricanes bring back every player listed on its roster from last season. This is a team you cannot look over on the schedule. <strong>Flanagan</strong> - <em>(Last season: 8-4)</em> The Falcons will need to replace 2021 <strong>Kyanna Bowling</strong>. Bowling led the team in rebounds and grabbed ten or more in six games. The good news is they should bring back a talented player in <strong>A’Zzariah Brown</strong>. The 2024 Brown averaged 10.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 steals while shooting 40 percent from the floor as a freshman. Moreover, Brown shot 38 percent (17-of-45) from deep. On defense, she recorded 43 steals. 2023 <strong>Infinity Thomas</strong> followed her in scoring (8.2 ppg) and grabbed 6.6 rebounds per game. Flanagan has a good core to work with. <strong>Western</strong> - <em>(Last season: 10-7)</em> The Wildcats have a pair of good seniors in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="153108" first="Taja" last="Stephens"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="244209" first="Jordan" last="Pravato"]</strong>. Stephens is versatile guard/forward that averaged 17.8 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior. 5-foot-8 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="244209" first="Jordan" last="Pravato"]</strong> averaged 11 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. 2024 point guard <strong>Tamara</strong> <strong>Elliot</strong> is a young engine in this offense. The 5-foot-6 Elliot averaged 11.4 points, 4.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals a season ago. A bit of an improvement as a shooter and from the free-throw line could take her to the next level. Overall, she played well and is a good defender. Elliot averaged nearly three steals per contest. <em><strong>For any South Florida Prep Girls Hoops news or information...please contact Michael Costeines @Steins_23 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.</strong></em> &nbsp; &nbsp;