4A 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 4A State Finals: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>February 24:</strong></em></span> <strong>Lake Highland Prep (1) vs. Booker (4) – 10<em> AM</em></strong> <strong>Bishop Kenny (2) vs. Calvary Christian (3)  – 12<em> PM</em></strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Feb</strong></em><em><strong>ruary 26:</strong></em></span> <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">State Championship – 12:30<em> PM</em></strong> MaxPreps Bracket Link – <a href="https://www.maxpreps.com/tournament/Vjowber0EeuAz5TgcHt2rg/NLrsfe4qEeuAz5TgcHt2rg/girls-basketball-21-22/2022-girls-basketball-state-tournament-4a.htm">2022 Girls Basketball State Tournament (4A) - MaxPreps</a> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Lake Highland Prep (23-4)</em></span></span> The Highlanders come to Lakeland as the #1 overall seed and the only Florida State Tournament team ranked in the top 25 in the nation. They've played the toughest schedule of any team that will be at Lakeland. LHP is no stranger as they have won it all the last two years and been a regular at the RP Funding Center for years. Lake Highland Prep had the toughest Regional Final with a matchup against 3rd ranked Palm Bay who they edged out 56-51. Before that, they knocked off Cocoa and The Villages easily. It wouldn't shock me to see a three peat here, but I know these other 3 teams will be gunning for them. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91555" first="Nyla" last="Harris"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="217666" first="Briana" last="Rivera"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="91649" first="Eleecia" last="Carter"] (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="217664" first="Lexi" last="Blue"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="248449" first="Arianna" last="Woodard"] (2025), [player_tooltip player_id="91596" first="Sierra" last="Godbolt"] (2022)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline; font-size: 14pt;"><em>Bishop Kenny (25-4)</em></span> The Crusaders enter as the #2 overall seed. BK would like some revenge on LHP as they've knocked them out of the State Tournament the last two years, but they'll have to get by Calvary Christian first. They got past Keystone Heights, South Walton, and beat a solid Rutherford team by 12 in the Regional Finals. This team has some really nice wings/forwards that have good size and can shoot the rock. Could this be the year they knock off Lake Highland Prep? <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91575" first="Maddie" last="Millar"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="248345" first="Clare" last="Coyle"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="248348" first="Riley" last="Talbert"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="247118" first="Sophia" last="Rueppell"] (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="217663" first="Sydney" last="Roundtree"] (2024)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Calvary Christian (22-6)</em></span></span> The Eagles will be the #3 overall seed in Lakeland after an impressive year. This is probably the smallest team left, but they have a lot of underrated talent. CC has a mix of experience and youth that helped them defeat Somerset, Cardinal Gibbons, and a tough Mater Lakes team by one point in the Regional Final game. They'll have their hands full against an experienced BK team in the semifinal game, but they are up for the test. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91595" first="Samiyah" last="Briggs"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="243882" first="Jocelyn" last="Gagnon"] (2024), [player_tooltip player_id="220010" first="Elizabeth" last="Schnell"] (2022), [player_tooltip player_id="221649" first="Markeli" last="Jones-Tynes"] (2025)</strong> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Booker (20-7)</em></span></span> The Tornadoes will enter Lakeland as the #4 overall seed and only public school in the Final Four. They had some close games on their road with a 6-point win over Gibbs, a 4-point win over Lakewood, and a statement 24-point win over Port Charlotte. Booker's losses have been to some quality teams, but they will need to really show up if they want to hang with LHP in the first round. <strong>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id="91661" first="Chariot" last="Johnson"] (2023), Leah Dubose (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="349275" first="Jakai" last="Peterson"] (2024), Kymani Freeman (2023)</strong> <hr /> <div class="article-content"> Here are some Twitter opinions for the 4A class (first is from January, second is currently still being voted on): <img class="alignnone wp-image-391520" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/4A-Jan-Poll-300x261.jpg" alt="" width="331" height="288" />  <img class="alignnone wp-image-391521" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/02/4A-Feb-Poll-300x282.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="301" /> <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>