Florida girls basketball state semifinals recap: Cardinal Mooney, Miami Country Day to meet for Class 3A title

The Spartans and Cougars will face off in Saturday morning’s Class 3A state championship

This week kicked off the start of state championship basketball for the girls and boys between the next two weeks at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. 

Over the course of two weeks, the state semifinals and state championship games for both boys and girls will be played from classes 1A to 7A. Six games in total were played to get everything going en route to the state title games. 

Below are our recaps of the games that took place yesterday and the results, including the upcoming state championship matchups, days and times. 

Wednesday’s state semifinals 

CLASS 3A: Miami Country Day 58, Providence School 33 

For the ninth time in 11 years, the Spartans are back in a state championship game. The Spartans built a 37-13 halftime advantage and cruised into Saturday’s state championship game. 

The matchup against Cardinal Mooney will be pitted between two programs that have reached the state championship two out of the last three years. Miami Country Day opened up the game with a 20-4 lead after one period and never looked back. 

Florida Atlantic signee Kristina Godfrey led Miami Country Day with 15 points in the win. Janai Jordan led Providence School with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field in the loss. 

CLASS 3A: Cardinal Mooney 52, The King’s Academy 39 

Looking to avenge last year’s state championship loss in the Class 3A state championship loss to Westminster Academy, Cardinal Mooney is one step closer. 

The Cougars used a strong second half effort to get by a stingy King’s Academy bunch to advance into Saturday’s Class 3A state title game. Cardinal Mooney will face Miami Country Day. 

At halftime, Cardinal Mooney was all tied up with King’s Academy at 28-all before surging in the last two quarters for the win. The Cougars used a suffocating third quarter defensive effort to pull away. 

Cardinal Mooney only allowed two points in the period, helping them build a double digit lead. Sophomore Bri Behn led the team in scoring with 17 points. 

CLASS 2A: Faith Christian Academy 77, St. Johns Country Day 65 

It was a scoring firework display between Faith Christian Academy’s Holland Harris and St. John’s Country Day’s Taliah Scott. 

The two players combined for 82 points, with the former’s team coming away with the victory to advance to the Class 2A state championship game. 

Scott, an Arkansas commit, left it all out on the floor for the Spartans. She ended the contest with a game-high 47 points. Not to be out done, Harris had a strong game herself, finishing with 35 points in the victory. 

Faith Christian built a 44-27 halftime lead that was too much for St. John’s to come back from in the end. 

CLASS 2A: Horeb Christian 66, Evangelical Christian School 58 

There’s a first time for everything. 

Horeb Christian will be playing for its first-ever state championship in team history after defeating Evangelical Christian School on Wednesday. 

It would ultimately be the Emely Rodriguez show for the Mustangs. Rodriguez put on a masterpiece, scoring a game-high 24 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, blocking five shots. 

CLASS 1A: Hawthorne 50, Ponce De Leon 45 

Last season ended at the hands of Wildwood, but Hawthorne will have a shot at redemption. 

The Hornets overcame an 18-17 halftime deficit and came back to defeat Ponce De Leon on Wednesday afternoon. 

What became crucial was the third period for Hawthorne as they out-scored the Pirates 20-12 in the quarter. That opened the door for the Hornets to play with a lead in the final quarter. 

Sophomore Demya Adams led Hawthorne with a team-high 20 points. 

CLASS 1A: Wildwood 66, Graceville 45 

The Wildcats will face a different opponent this time around in the Class 1A state title game.

Wildwood raced out to a big 21-9 lead and was able to remain in control throughout the game. The Wildcats lost to Ponce De Leon last year in a heartbreaking 39-38 loss in the 1A state title game. 

Now the Wildcats are back against a familiar opponent from last year. A big fourth quarter proved to be the difference as Wildwood was able to pull away. 

Trinidy Harris led all scorers with 25 points and Charity Fountain paced Graceville with 24, respectively. 

State championship matchups 

CLASS 3A: Saturday, 10am - Miami Country Day (24-7) vs. Cardinal Mooney (21-5) 

CLASS 2A: Friday, 4:30pm - Horeb Christian (19-4) vs. Faith Christian Academy (15-11)

CLASS 1A: Friday, 7pm - Hawthorne (14-5) vs. Wildwood (24-1) 

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.