Barron Collier girls gets revenge, wins district championship

NAPLES, FLORIDA – It's been an up-and-down year for the Barron Collier girls basketball team.

But when the shots aren't falling -- like they weren't Friday in the district finals – the Cougars can always rely on their defense. That was the case in the Class 5A-District 12 championship game as Barron Collier clamped down on D to outlast crosstown rival Naples 36-31 and win the title.

"Consistency on offense has been a problem all year," Barron Collier coach Mike Hamburg said. "That's why I've always stressed, 'You've got to play defense. You've got to play defense.'"

The Cougars (18-11) got back to their postseason dominance and exacted revenge on Naples. Last year the Golden Eagles beat Barron Collier in the district finals to end Barron's streak of 12 straight championships.

In 23 seasons with Hamburg at the helm, the Cougars have won 20 district titles. They've also won five regional and two state championships (not to mention two state runner-up finishes). By winning this year's district Hamburg now has 495 career coaching victories, all at Barron Collier.

On Friday, the Cougars led the final 27 finals minutes, and Naples (12-13) only got closer than three points once. However, Barron Collier couldn't pull away as both teams struggled to score in the second half.

The Cougars led 21-18 at halftime. The teams then scored just 28 points combined in the final two quarters.

The schools scored five points each in the fourth quarter. Only one point total was scored in the final 2 minutes and 50 seconds of the game.

"We were just trying to set the tempo, not force anything, and take advantage of everything we got," Barron Collier senior point guard Juanita Rendon said. "We had to control the game and stay calm."

The Cougars were without one starter and their sixth man due to injuries. Rendon, the team's top scorer on the season, scored 12 points to lead Barron Collier. She was the only player in the game to score in double digits.

Sheila Forbes and Peyton Heffelfinger each scored eight points for the Cougars, and both of them made two 3-pointers.

Naples had a balanced scoring attack like it has all season. Seven players scored for the Golden Eagles, all of them between two and eight points. Leading scorer Annika Anderson was held to six points, less than half of her season average (14.7).
By winning the district title, the Cougars secured a spot in the FHSAA state tournament. Barron Collier, just two years removed from a trip to the regional finals, should host a regional quarterfinal game on Thursday.
Naples will have to wait and see if it earns an at-large bid to regionals. Four teams that did not win district titles earn at-large berths in each region. The FHSAA will announce its playoff brackets on Sunday