Five girls high school basketball teams in the western communities advanced to their respective district tournament finals played Friday, Feb. 3. Three of those schools emerged victorious: The King’s Academy, Palm Beach Central High School and Berean Christian School. Wellington High School and Seminole Ridge High School lost their respective district championship games.
The TKA Lions (20-4) hosted Cardinal Newman High School in the Class 3A, District 8 tournament final. The Lions — now winners of 10 straight games — prevailed 61-58. It was the third district title in a row for TKA and the 19th in the history of the girls basketball program.
With that win, the Lions advanced to the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 3A state tournament. TKA is the No. 2 seed in Class 3A, Region 2. The regional quarterfinal game will be Thursday, Feb. 9, when the Lions host Edgewood High School of Merritt Island. With a victory, TKA would then host the regional semifinal against either No. 6-seeded Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy of Melbourne or No. 3-seeded Windermere Prep.
Last year’s team from TKA advanced to the Class 3A state finals in Lakeland, where the girls lost in the state semifinals to Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney High School, 50-42. To advance to this year’s Class 3A state finals set for Feb. 22-25 in Lakeland, TKA must win three regional games.
The Palm Beach Central Broncos (17-8) hosted crosstown rival Wellington in the Class 7A, District 8 tournament final. The Broncos won, 51-41. Palm Beach Central’s E’Zaria Adams was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points. It was the third time that both teams had faced one another this season, with the Broncos winning all three times.
“It’s not easy defeating a team three times in the same season, but we did it,” Palm Beach Central head coach Bruce Gaffney said.
Wellington concluded its season with a 13-14 record.
Palm Beach Central has now won three straight games. With that victory, the Broncos advanced to the Class 7A state tournament as the No. 7 seed in Class 7A, Region 2. Their opening game will be Thursday, Feb. 9 when they host Orlando’s Oak Ridge High School (18-8), the No. 2 seed, in the regional quarterfinal. Even though Palm Beach Central is the lower seed, the Broncos will host the game by virtue of being the district champion.
If the Broncos win, they will play at either Palm Beach Gardens High School or West Orange High School from Winter Garden on Tuesday, Feb. 14 in the regional semifinal. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. Palm Beach Central must win three regional games in order to advance to the state finals, set for Feb. 24-25 in Lakeland.
The Bulldogs from Berean Christian (17-6) hosted the Boca Raton Christian School Blazers (16-8) in the Class 2A, District 14 final. The Bulldogs outscored the Blazers, 55-29, and have now won five straight games. It was the third time that Berean had defeated Boca Raton Christian this season. The win marked the third district title in a row for the Bulldogs and the fourth in program history.
Berean’s head coach Kevin Green was pleased with his team’s effort in the victory. “We executed the game plan, and our defense was strong,” he said.
With that win, the Bulldogs advanced to the state tournament. They are the No. 3 seed in Class 2A, Region 4. Their opening game will be Thursday, Feb. 9 when they play Boca Raton Christian, again, in the regional quarterfinal. The game will be played at Berean. The Blazers, the No. 6 seed, received a bid into the state tournament based on their strong FHSAA Power Ranking. It will be the fourth time this season that the two teams will play one another. If the Bulldogs win again, they will advance to the regional semifinal which, most likely, will be at No. 2-seeded Miami Christian (12-14) on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Last year, the Bulldogs advanced to the regional final, where they lost at Miami Christian, 67-29. This year’s potential rematch on Feb. 14 between the two teams should be a close game, since both teams have similar FHSAA Power Rankings. To advance to the Class 2A state finals set for Feb. 22-24 in Lakeland, Berean must win three regional games.
The Seminole Ridge Hawks (14-6) played against Pompano Beach’s Blanche Ely High School (20-3) in the Class 6A, District 13 tournament final. The Hawks lost, 69-44. Despite that loss, they were awarded an at-large bid as the No. 4 seed in the bracket, based on their strong FHSAA Power Ranking. Their regional quarterfinal game will be Thursday, Feb. 9 when they play at Hollywood’s South Broward High School (20-4), the No. 5 seed.
If the Hawks defeat South Broward, they will advance to a regional semifinal match on Tuesday, Feb. 14. That game, most likely, will be a rematch against Blanche Ely, the No. 1 seed.
Last year’s Seminole Ridge team advanced to the regional final, where they lost at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, 79-25.
To advance to the state finals set for Feb. 23-25 in Lakeland, Seminole Ridge must win three regional games.
