Class 2A Florida Girls Basketball State Championship preview: Evangelical Christian vs. CFCA
LAKELAND, FLORIDA- It’s all or nothing when it hits 5:30 p.m. at the RP Funding Center when Evangelical Christian and Central Florida Christian Academy meet for the Class 2A state championship.
For both teams, it’s been a magical ride through the 2023-2024 season that has landed them in Polk County for the right to compete for a state crown.
Looking at the Sentinels (25-3) of Fort Myers, winners of their last 12 games, they’re averaging 64.6 points per game through 28 contests this season. Though when you look at the body of work, there’s not a bevy of blowouts, Evangelical certainly has won some impressive games along the way.
Defeating postseason clubs like Keswick Christian, Neumann and Venice were nice feathers in the cap for the Sentinels. Down below are the playoff appearances in any round for Evangelical Christian.
Region quarterfinals: SLAM Tampa, 85-2
Region semifinals: Keswick Christian, 65-50
Region finals: Neumann, 61-42
Sate semifinals: University Christian, 59-43
When talking about balance among a starting five, there might not be a more even group than the Sentinels. Evangelical has four players averaging 10 points or better per game. Leading the team in scoring is Maddie O’Berski at 11.4 points per game.
Also scoring 10 or better with O’Berski is Kellsia Grant (10.7 points), Zaira Mitchell (10.5 points) and Jadah Toombs (10.4 points).
Flipping over to the Central Florida Christian Academy (24-4) side of the spectrum and the Eagles played a very tough regular season slate.
Among their four losses on the season are against Dr. Phillips, Lake Mary, Leesburg and Miami. That’s a murderers row when it comes to top flight teams in the Sunshine State.
The Eagles may have had a bit tougher of a postseason road when it comes to their end of things. Down below are CFCA’s playoff wins.
Region quarterfinals: Academy at the Lakes, 56-7
Region semifinals: Seven Rivers Christian, 68-37
Region finals: North Tampa Christian Academy, 47-29
State semifinals: Miami Christian, 51-47
Speaking of the balance that Evangelical Christian has, CFCA offers a similar style of basketball on the offensive end.
The Eagles’ top scorer this season is senior combo guard Trinity Harden, who is averaging 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.1 assists per game.
Only two other players on the team average better than seven points per game, with freshman Janiya Swift (9.9 points) and sophomore Valeria Munoz (7.6 points) as the others.
The girls Class 2A state championship game is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the RP Funding Center.
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
