High School

New Smyrna Beach girls basketball wins first state title in school history

The Barracudas hold off Gainesville, 56-49, to capture the school's first-ever state championship on Friday night.

Ross Van De Griek

New Smyrna Beach players celebrate after defeating Gainesville 56-49 in the FHSAA Class 5A high school girls basketball final on March 7, 2025. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
New Smyrna Beach players celebrate after defeating Gainesville 56-49 in the FHSAA Class 5A high school girls basketball final on March 7, 2025. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union] / Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LAKELAND, Fla.- The New Smyrna Beach Barracudas girls basketball program came into this week with the verge of making history.

Just a couple weeks ago in their regional final win over Leesburg, The Barracudas punched their ticket to their first ever Final Four. Two wins later, they capture their first-ever state championship.

New Smyrna Beach, The No. 1 seed in FHSAA Class 5A behind a 30-point outburst from Marshall signee Olivia Olson put away the No. 3 seeded Gainesville Hurricanes, 56-49 on Friday night.

The Lady Cudas finished with a 27-5 record and a 15-game win streak, where they recorded a program-record for most wins in a single season.

Head Coach Aisha Patrick in just her second season with the Lady Cudas also picked up her first state championship as a head coach, after previously reaching the Final Four back in 2020 with the Cocoa Tigers.

It was a slow start for the Barracudas where they fell behind as many as eight (15-7) before they ended the quarter on a 7-0 run capped off by a buzzer-beating three by sophomore guard Iniya Reddicks to cut the deficit to one.

On the first possession of the second quarter, Reddicks gave the Barracudas their first lead of the game (16-15) and never trailed the remainder of the game.

The Barracudas would take a 29-26 lead heading into the half behind a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Olson.

With 4:18 left in the fourth quarter, Olson knocked down a jump shot from 10-feet out to push the Barracudas lead to double-digits (50-40).

The Hurricanes wouldn't go away quietly as they responded with a 6-0 run, capitalized by 5'10 senior point guard Jamison Cardwell, who would finish with a team-high 18 points.

Louisiana Tech signee Jayden Terry also finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Hurricanes.

Olson would seal the game knocking down three free-throws in the final 33 seconds to give the Barracudas the win.

Gainesville finishes the season with a 17-9 record, falling just short of winning their first state title in the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Modern Era.

Reddicks finished with 11 points and five steals for the Barracudas, while Corrin Austell added 10 of her own.

Published
Ross Van De Griek
ROSS VAN DE GRIEK

Ross Van De Griek has been a high school sports writer covering the state of Florida since 2021. Ross also has been scouting high school basketball and Grassroots Basketball across the Southeast Region since 2022. Ross has been covering basketball and recruiting for High School on SI since August 2024. He has collaborated with Next Up Sports, Prep Hoops, and On The Radar Hoops throughout his scouting career. You can follow him on X @rossvdg14 or reach him via email rossvdg14@gmail.com for story ideas.

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