3A State Tournament Preview

The FHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals start this Wednesday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. All 7 classes are down to 4 teams who won their respective Regionals Finals. We will see some new faces, some teams who haven’t been in a while, and some of the usual suspects. Here is a breakdown of the Class 3A State Finals: <em><strong>February 23:</strong></em> <strong>Cardinal Mooney (1) vs. King’s Academy (4) – 2<em> PM</em></strong> <strong>Westminster Academy (2) vs. Florida State U High (3)  – 4<em> PM</em></strong> <em><strong>February 25:</strong></em> <strong>State Championship – 4:30<em> PM</em></strong> MaxPreps Bracket Link – <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/tournament/Vjowber0EeuAz5TgcHt2rg/ayGGzO4rEeuAz5TgcHt2rg/girls-basketball-21-22/2022-girls-basketball-state-tournament-3a.htm">2022 Girls Basketball State Tournament (3A) - MaxPreps</a> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Cardinal Mooney (18-6)</em></span></span> The Cougars come in as the overall #1 seed as the only 3A team left who played a top 5 (they were first) Strength of Schedule in their class. They lost in the State Championship last year to Miami Country Day, so they are looking to get that ring this season for the first time in school history. Cardinal Mooney had a tough road to get to Lakeland with wins over Calvary Christian (60-46), Evangelical Christian (62-56), and Carrollwood Day (62-43) in the Regional Final. This team only has three Seniors with just one of those giving significant minutes, so they are still a relatively young team with their top five scorers being in those ’23-’25 classes. Mooney has the height, skill, and experience to bring it home this year in a really tough 3A field. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91658" first="Olivia" last="Davis"] (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="243900" first="Kali" last="Barrett"] (2025), [player_tooltip player_id="91637" first="Jordyn" last="Byrd"] (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="221699" first="Kennedy" last="McClain"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="346856" first="Sy’monique" last="Simon"] (2025), Natalie Mercandante (2022)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Westminster Academy (25-5)</em></span></span> The Lions come in as the #2 overall seed after finally getting past Miami Country Day in the Regional Final for the first time in a few years by a score of 47-32. They had to get by Palmer Trinity (61-40) before reaching the final against MCDS for revenge, too. Westminster has beat King’s by 9 and lost to Mooney by 2 in this remaining 3A field. WA only has one senior on their roster, but she’s a focal point as she is: 2nd in scoring (14.2 ppg), 1st in assists (4.4 apg), 2nd in steals (2.4spg), and 4th in rebounds (4.3 rpg) as the shortest player on the team. The Lions lead all of 3A with 25 wins on the season, and they will be looking to snag two more in a crowded 3A field. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="243895" first="Lena" last="Girardi"] (2025), [player_tooltip player_id="151173" first="Claire" last="Erickson"] (2022), Taelyn Carey (2023), Aylana Mergilles (2024)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Florida State University High School (20-3)</em></span></span> The Seminoles have earned the overall #3 seed after barely missing the State Tournament the last two years thanks to Master’s Academy. This year, they coasted past Florida School for the Deaf &amp; Blind, Foundation Academy, and Providence School which was the closest game in a 25-point win. FSUHS will need their upperclassmen to lead the way, especially the two seniors at the helm - Tonie and Audia. If they can play like they did last month in their win against Wekiva, they could really make some noise and shake up this 3A series. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91556" first="Tonie" last="Morgan"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="151168" first="Audia" last="Young"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="244194" first="Laniyah" last="Gennie"] (2023), Chrishawndria Faust (2023)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>King’s Academy (24-5)</em></span></span> The Lions make their first ever trip to Lakeland as the #4 overall seed. They knocked off West Shore, Cardinal Newman, and Holy Trinity all by double digits to get here. King's only had two seniors on their squad, but they do give them regular minutes as all of these teams in 3A only go 6-7 players deep in any tight game. I think 3A will be the tightest of all classes with King's being a really solid bottom seed. TKA is a balanced team that will need those upperclassmen to step up and put up some big performances to assist those talented Freshman they have. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="243896" first="Jade" last="Jones"] (2025), [player_tooltip player_id="247134" first="Janessa" last="Williams"] (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="243926" first="Jordan" last="Race"] (2023), Mo’Nique Joseph (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="248417" first="Sophia" last="Kateris"] (2025)</strong> <hr /> <div class="article-content"> Here are some Twitter opinions for the 3A class (first is from January, second is currently still being voted on): <img class="alignnone wp-image-391348" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/3A-Jan-Poll-300x261.jpg" alt="" width="341" height="297" />  <img class="alignnone wp-image-391349" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/3A-Feb-Poll-300x278.jpg" alt="" width="321" height="297" /> <hr /> &nbsp; <strong>Brandon Fisher</strong> is a Senior Scout for Prep Girls Hoops Florida and a Regional Scout for the PGH Circuit. If you have any information on players or teams, please email Brandon at brandonpghfl@gmail.com or DM him through Twitter/Instagram at @BrandonPGHFL </div>